Meet Nick and Rachel.
St. George Wealth Management is a fee-based retirement and tax planning practice in Stanley, North Carolina, near Lake Norman. Nick St George started it in 2018 and works with every client himself, and Rachel Melgard keeps the office running. About two thirds of our clients live within twenty miles of the office. The rest are spread across the country and meet with us by video.
Nicholas St GeorgeCFP®, CRPC®, CPFA, BFA
Founder and principal advisor
Nick's start in finance was a stock-market game in grade school and a thank-you share of Disney and IBM from his grandparents. The curiosity stuck. It led to a finance degree at Bryant University, the designations after his name, and in 2018 to this firm, where he plans for families around Lake Norman and across the country.
He likes to start about ten years before retirement, when you can see the finish line and still have time to fix what needs fixing. His comparison is a physical. Nobody skips the doctor for ten years and assumes everything is fine, and your money deserves a check-up now and then too.
His style is direct and friendly. He lays out option A and option B, says which one he would take, and lets you decide. He has also run a business long enough to have made his own mistakes with it, and he figures that if he can save a client a couple of the same headaches, everyone is happier.
Nick lives in Denver, North Carolina, with his wife Kelly and their two kids, Bo and Caroline. Their future, he says, is his daily reminder that planning is about giving real people real choices, not charts. Outside the office he is playing golf or hockey, swimming, or out on the ocean looking for the big catch. He jokes that he has to be honest, because he is too slow to run and too big to hide.
Rachel Melgard
Client Service Manager
Rachel has spent more than fifteen years supporting financial and wealth-management practices: office operations, the calendar, projects, marketing and client events. Clients work with Nick directly, and Rachel is the reason the calendar works and the paperwork moves.
She lives in Connecticut, where she is raising her two sons and supports causes close to her family, including Fragile X programs and Unified Sports. Away from work she likes travel, art and new places, and time at home with her two pugs, Mabel and Rocky.
What people ask before they call.
How the firm is paid, where the money is held, how often you hear from Nick, and who you will work with.
See every questionWho do you work with?
Business owners, corporate executives, professionals and families within about twenty years of retirement who want the taxes, the income and the estate documents worked out together. Most of our clients built what they have themselves, by earning a good living and living within their means. No single industry is more than a small slice of the practice.
Who we helpDo I need to be near Lake Norman?
No. About two thirds of our clients are within twenty miles of the office in Stanley, and the rest are all over the country and meet with us by video. The plan, the tax work and the reviews are the same either way.
How are you paid?
St. George Wealth Management is a fee-based practice. Planning is a flat fee in one of three tiers, Harbor, Mariner or Admiral, and investment management is a percentage of the assets we manage. The figures are on the pricing page.
When providing investment advisory services, we act as a fiduciary; we also offer brokerage services through LPL Financial, which are provided under a different standard of care. Compensation may differ depending on the services provided.
See pricingWhat makes your approach different?
We start with your life, not your portfolio: your values, your goals, your timeline and your tax bracket are the foundation of the Anchor Process. The tax planning and the estate documents are part of the plan instead of somebody else’s problem, and you hear from Nick before there is a problem, not after.
Are you a fiduciary?
When providing investment advisory services, we act as a fiduciary; we also offer brokerage services through LPL Financial, which are provided under a different standard of care. Compensation may differ depending on the services provided. If you want to know which standard applies to a piece of the work, ask, and you will get a straight answer.
Where is my money held?
At LPL Financial, one of the largest independent broker-dealers in the country. St. George Wealth Management does not hold your money. You can see the accounts, the statements and the activity any time through the Client login at the top of this site.
Will I actually hear from you, or do I call and sit on hold for 45 minutes?
You will hear from us, and not because there is something to sell. Nick checks in every quarter about what is going on in your life, and he calls before a problem instead of after. Expect a full review at least once a year and whenever life changes, and tax planning every fall, when there is still time to act on it.
How we workWho will I actually work with?
Nick. Every client works with him directly, from the first call through the reviews. Rachel Melgard, the client service manager, keeps the calendar and the paperwork moving, so when something needs signing or scheduling, you will hear from her.
What technology will I use?
Your accounts are at LPL Financial and you can see them on a desktop or a phone through the Client login on this site: balances, statements, activity and documents. The plan lives in planning software you can log into too, so you can see the projections and try a change before we talk about it. Most of the rest is a phone call or a meeting with Nick.
Already have an advisor?
About half of the people who come to us do. Many of them had not heard from their advisor in a while, and nobody had looked at their tax return. We are glad to be a second set of eyes. Bring the statements and last year's return, and we will tell you what we would do differently and whether it is worth making a change.
Let's talk about where things stand.
Thirty minutes by phone, video or at the office. We'll go through where you are and whether we're the right fit, with nothing to sign and nothing to bring.
- A written plan first, then the investing.
- Your tax return read every year, not just filed.
- A call before there is a problem, not after.
- Straight answers on how we are paid.
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