STRUCTURE AND MISSION
Kathy Kurtin Stewart is the sole owner of Kurtin Financial Advisers, LLC, a Texas limited
liability company. Established in 2006, Kurtin Financial Advisers, LLC (KFA) provides
independent financial advice and custom financial solutions for the private wealth of select
families. Strictly committed to the families it serves, KFA provides independent strategic
planning, implementation and ongoing management and oversight of assets and liabilities
related to various types of family wealth structures.
PRESIDENT, CEO
Kathy Kurtin Stewart
Kathy has 37 years of wealth management experience including investment management,
fiduciary and estate responsibilities, charitable strategies, and multi-generational tax
planning. Having started Scudder’s southwestern mutual fund division then serving as the
firm’s key AARP Investor’s Delegate, Kathy’s investment career includes over three decades
developing custom wealth platforms designed to serve the unique needs of her clients. As
one of the nation’s leading wealth strategists for Northern Trust Company for fourteen years,
Kathy built a $5 billion private client following. On behalf of KFA, Kathy has been providing
independent and exclusive wealth advisory services for individuals, families and any related
trusts, charitable entities, and family partnership structures since 2006.
From Houston, Texas, Kathy was born into a large family in 1958. She graduated from
Memorial High School in 1977, obtained her BBA from Texas A&M University in 1981, and
later completed the three-year National Graduate Trust School program at Northwestern
University. Kathy has held several investment licenses. As a Registered Investment Advisor,
she currently holds the all-encompassing requisite Series 65 license.
Noted for her strong financial and people skills, Kathy and has served in the Dallas and
Houston communities for many years on boards that include the arts, churches and hospitals
including the President’s Advisory Board of UT Southwestern; has twice chaired the
Investment Committee for the UT Southwestern / St Paul Medical Foundation; is on the
Advisory Board of MD Anderson Living Legends Committee and is devoted to St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital, Young Catholic Professionals, Legatus and her church.
ADVISORY SERVICES
The majority of services provided by KFA are investment supervisory services for private
clients who seek overall wealth advice based on their family goals, tax structures, nature and
size of their wealth. KFA seeks to understand the client’s needs, goals, and level of education
in order to provide ongoing advice that represents their best interest. For maximum
prudence KFA also works with client’s other advisers, as well as with seasoned
professionals/subadvisors most knowledgeable in tangent areas such as capital markets,
domestic and global economies, estate and tax law.
KFA specifically works closely with subadvisor, Rahlfs Capital, LLC (RC), which brings
additional intellectual capital, analytical expertise, and significant custom wealth experience.
Typically, KFA develops the initial relationship, determines the overall investment strategy,
and manages the relationship. RC is introduced to client to explain and identify tactical
decisions and trading of individual stock equities and fixed income notes or bonds with
flexibility and discretion to employ multiple investment styles. While KFA and RC work as a
team, KFA also has direct input into trading in the accounts. Throughout the client
relationship, RC may join KFA with client to provide additional insights to capital markets
and particular explanations securities. For specific reasons on occasion, and if requested by
client, KFA provides direct access to RC. KFA and RC have ongoing communication and
KFA maintains records as appropriate.
Our work and conversations may also include research or advisory counsel on related
investments in private equity, real property and business evaluations. Investment strategies
are custom to each situation, as we do not use model portfolios. Portfolios often are heavily
weighted towards the production
of cash flow. Equity stock investment may be designed
towards value, growth, or conservative income styles, and may be adjusted according to
presumed market cycles or client’s specific requirements.
KFA may be asked to manage, or provide advice on, other assets of client on a non-
discretionary basis especially where information about such asset might influence strategy
and thinking about discretionary assets. Examples of non-discretionary assets may include
illiquid assets such as real estate, private equity, insurance or longer-term assets. Depending
on the client, sub-advisor may be asked to assist.
While clients may also provide or impose restrictions on investing in certain securities or
types of securities, KFA advice may include public and private investments for taxable, tax-
deferred and charitable entities.
Providing unique dual access to two experienced firms, KFA clients are able to be directly
involved in overseeing their wealth alongside the professionals who are actually managing
their funds. Clients receive the mutual benefits of ongoing education, professional
perspectives and results, all custom designed to maximize the client’s short and longer-term
goals and objectives.
KFA interacts directly with client and provides policies and procedures for ongoing
oversight for RC investment decisions.
The SEC defines “investment supervisory services” as continuous investment advice
provided to clients based on their individual needs, whether in terms of having sole
discretion to manage a portfolio or providing nondiscretionary advice. As of 12/31/2023,
$109,612,057 in assets receive continuous investment management and supervisory services.
TYPES OF INVESTMENTS
The firm may discuss and use all investment opportunities for a client. There are no model
portfolios or pre-labeled strategies or packages of funds. Each portfolio is built to achieve the
custom goals of, and reflect the circumstances and desires of, the owner or beneficiary or
trustee and thus no single portfolio managed by the firm is the same as another.
Investment returns can be severely reduced over time by the impact of fees or costs, taxes,
inappropriate diversifications or concentrations, and inflation or the depreciation of currency.
Poor results by any investor often stem from these factors. We have a natural preference to
avoid packaged investments and funds, and to invest directly in securities and assets which
address client needs. This also avoids layers of fee costs, avoids potential liquidity risks in
funds, and addresses some regulatory concerns that the fund industry is prone to systemic
stresses. As to the definitions of “types of investments” itemized by the SEC, we may offer
advice on all such items including equity securities, warrants, options, realty and mineral
interests, investment company securities, metals and commodity assets, corporate and
sovereign debt securities, tax exempt securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit and
money market securities.
Despite this flexibility, many of our clients maintain moderate portfolios geared to achieving
a balance of goals. Investments may reflect your own objectives, personal taxes, legal matters,
a possible range of time horizons, the impact of your involvement in any business or industry
cycles, your personal beliefs and interests, liabilities or risks outside the portfolios, the timing
of business project funding or personal needs, importance of relative performance or absolute
performance, life cycle factors, estate planning techniques and so on. We spend more time
selecting an investment for you than some people spend making their most important
decisions such as choosing a spouse. These factors should become obvious from our
conversations…but it is important that we know you.
Serving as a fiduciary, the firm only acts for the sole benefit and interests of a client, with
loyalty to those interests. This is the highest standard of care at either equity or law, requires
complete avoidance of any conflict of interest, and the firm may not be paid, profit nor be
rewarded in any way from the relationship without the principal’s consent by agreement.