A. David Wendell Associates, Inc. is an independent investment advisory
firm providing fee-only services to individuals and families, trusts,
retirement accounts, charitable organizations, businesses and banks. We
also provide investment advisory consulting services to a bank trust
department, a private trustee firm, two law firms and an investment
advisory firm.
We were established in 1979 and our principal place of business is
in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We are 100% owned by our employees:
DATE TITLE CONTROL
NAME TITLE ACQUIRED OWNERSHIP PERSON
Karen Wendell Chief Executive Officer 2017 97% yes
Treasurer 1998
President 2023
Chief Compliance Officer 2004
William H.L. Mitchell Chairman 2017 <5% yes
Neil G. Bleicken Senior Vice President 2023 <5% yes
Reid V. Smith Senior Vice President 2023 <5% yes
Anne F. Farris Sr Vice President/Operations 2023 <5% yes
Secretary 2018
Lorrie L. Maker Operations Assistant 2015 <5% no
Laura A. Zabkar Administrative Assistant 2016 <5% no
B. We provide continuous and regular investment supervisory or
management services and/or investment advisory services to three types of
clients.
Continuous and regular investment supervisory or management
services means that we manage our clients’ portfolios and give
continuous investment advice based on the individual needs of each
client. This part of our business is geared towards individuals and
families, trusts, retirement accounts, charitable organizations,
businesses and banks and constitutes 83.1% of our firm’s 2023 revenue.
Our fee schedule for these services is described below in Item 5.
We also provide investment advisory consulting services to a bank
trust department, a law firm, and an investment advisory firm. These
services are 15.1% of our firm’s 2023 revenue and are described below:
Bath Savings Trust Company (“BSTC”), Bath, Maine
We review the client portfolios of BSTC and provide investment
recommendations to BSTC’s Trust Officers ten times per year.
These portfolios may be agency accounts, IRAs, 401Ks, trust and/or
charitable accounts. Additionally, there are on-going telephone
consultations during the month and occasional private meetings
with BSTC’s clients. Our fee for these services is negotiated
annually and is based on the assets under management.
Ransmeier & Spellman (“R&S”) (law firm), Concord, New Hampshire
We review the client portfolios of R&S and provide investment
recommendations to R&S Trustees four times per year.
Additionally, there are on-going telephone consultations during
the month and occasional private meetings with R&S’s clients. Our
fee for these services is based on the assets under management.
Nashua Capital Management (“NCM”), Nashua, New Hampshire
We review client portfolios of NCM and provide investment
recommendations twelve times a year. Our fee for this service is
based on the assets under management and a negotiated rate.
Lastly, we also provide investment advice through monthly
meetings. These
services represented 1.8% of our firm’s 2023 revenue:
Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors (“LW&C”), Boston, MA
We meet with LW&C eight times per year to discuss the
overall investment background, current economic and market
trends, our current investment thinking, and our current
stock selection recommendations. Our fee for these services
is based on a negotiated rate.
Our work focuses primarily on equities and bonds. Item 8 below
describes our method of analysis, investment strategy and the risks
associated with our method and strategy. Even though we focus
primarily on equities and bonds, clients frequently ask for our opinion
and guidance on other types of investments. Thus, the types of
securities for which we provide investment advice include:
Equity securities (common and preferred), including those
-- traded on national exchanges,
-- traded over-the-counter and
-- of foreign issuers,
American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”),
U.S. government notes, bonds, and bills.
Corporate bonds,
Municipal bonds,
U.S. government-sponsored entities, including
-- Federal Home Loan securities and
-- Federal National Mortgage Association securities,
Treasury Inflation-Protected securities,
Mutual funds (load and no-load),
Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”) and Index Funds,
Step-up Notes,
Exchange-Traded Notes (“ETNs”),
Certificates of Deposit (“CDs”),
Warrants,
Commercial paper,
Commodities (primarily gold) and
Insurance products such as annuities and long-term care insurance.
The risks associated with investing in these types of securities
are described in Item 8 below.
C. Our services are tailored to the individual and specific needs of
our clients.
For new clients who are individuals and families, trusts,
retirement accounts, charitable organizations, businesses and banks, we
first meet with the client (either by phone or in person) to review any
existing holdings and to discuss the appropriate portfolio structure
based on the client’s investment goals, needs and desires. After
analyzing the existing holdings, we recommend a suitable long-range plan
and make initial recommendations.
For existing clients in this category, we review client accounts
at least once per calendar quarter, as described in Item 13 below, and
may or may not make investment recommendations, based on our current
stock selections and/or the current market environment and investing
background.
For our clients who are bank trust departments and law firms, our
investment recommendations are tailored to the guidelines as provided
by the client.
All of our clients may impose restrictions on investing in certain
securities or types of securities.
D. We do not participate in any wrap fee program.
E. As of December 31, 2023, our assets under management were:
U.S. Dollar Amount Total Number of Accounts
Discretionary $ 1,061,490,000 426
Non-Discretionary $ 209,467,000 61
Total $ 1,270,957,000 487