30 Years of Navigoe: A Letter From Our Founder
Thirty years ago, I started down a path that would eventually lead to the firm that is now Navigoe.
I didn't set out to become a business owner. I had a clear idea of the kind of financial advice I wanted to provide, but at the time, the profession wasn't in a place where major firms would allow it.
I had studied economics at UCLA, where I learned what we now broadly call modern portfolio theory. The academic literature challenged much of what I encountered when I entered the financial services industry. Instead of broadly diversified, research-based investing, I saw an industry largely built around selling products and trying to identify the next winning investment.
That wasn't what I wanted to do.
I wanted to provide financial planning without having a product to sell and build diversified portfolios based on academic research rather than predictions about where the market was headed next. And most importantly, I wanted to understand what clients were trying to accomplish and give them advice I believed was in their best interest.
When I couldn't find the right place to do that, I decided to create it myself.
Building A Different Type of Firm
From the beginning, two ideas shaped Navigoe: evidence-based investing and fee-only financial planning.
Both were far less common 30 years ago than they are today. But I believed strongly in them, and one of the things I'm proudest of as we celebrate this anniversary is how much hasn't changed.
We're still investing according to the same fundamental philosophy that led me to start the firm, including working with Dimensional Fund Advisors, the investment manager I began using 30 years ago. We've been through major market crashes, fluctuating economic environments, and countless investment trends without feeling the need to reinvent our philosophy every time the market changes.
Thirty years ago, I believed our approach was academically sound. Today, we have 30 years of experience putting those principles into practice.
Our commitment to fee-only advice has remained just as important. I wanted to remove product sales from the equation so we could focus on providing advice and serving as a fiduciary to our clients. Today, that's still central to who we are.
From the beginning, I believed financial planning needed to bring more of a person's financial life together, from investments and taxes to estate planning and spending priorities. Over the years, we've built a more integrated approach to those areas, which eventually helped lead to the WealthSpan Index. The index formalizes an approach we've been developing for years, looking beyond a single portfolio number to understand essential spending, spending priorities, and the bigger picture of what someone's wealth needs to accomplish.
What Sailing Around The World Taught Me About Planning
Sailing around the world might not seem like it has much to do with financial planning, but it became an important part of Navigoe's story.
It had been a dream of mine since I was young. After my first son was born, conversations with clients made me think more seriously about what I wanted my own life to look like. I heard people reflect on the things they wished they'd done differently, including spending more time with their children. That really stayed with me.
Eventually, my wife, Mandi, and I decided to do something that sounded a little crazy: take our family sailing around the world while our boys were still young.
Making that dream a reality took years of planning. We had to prepare financially, but I also had to build a business capable of continuing to serve clients at the level they expected while I was halfway around the world.
In many ways, the experience put the principles of financial planning to the ultimate test. We had a big goal, figured out what it would take financially and practically, and built a plan around it.
The trip ultimately lasted two and a half years, and the systems we developed to make it possible became an important part of the firm Navigoe is today. The goal wasn't simply to make the business operate without me physically sitting in an office but instead to make sure clients received excellent service regardless of where I was.
That required us to build a business that didn’t depend on any one person. Today, we still operate with that philosophy. Everyone at Navigoe works together to serve our clients, and we've developed systems that allow us to provide consistent yet highly individualized advice.
We understand no two clients have the same goals, priorities, or financial circumstances. We've built our way of working to account for those differences and make sure the advice we provide remains personal to each client.
Looking Toward the Next 30 Years
Thirty years gives you plenty to look back on. But anyone who knows me knows I'm usually thinking about what's next.
My partner, Eric Toya, CFP®, and I have both committed to being here for Navigoe's 40th anniversary. We're also thinking carefully about the firm's eventual succession and how we can build the next generation of leadership while preserving the principles that got us here.
We’re continuing to look for ways to improve our tax planning and make the financial planning experience even more comprehensive. Technology will be part of that future too. I’m particularly interested in how secure AI tools could help us give clients faster answers to straightforward questions, while keeping financial advice and our relationships with clients at the center of what we do.
Thirty years ago, I started a firm because I wanted a better way to provide financial advice. A lot has changed since then, but the principles behind the firm haven't needed much changing.
We remain committed to evidence-based investing, comprehensive financial planning, great client service, and our responsibility as a fiduciary. That's what has guided us through our first 30 years, and it's what I want to carry with us into the next 30.
Thank you to our clients, the Navigoe team, and everyone who has been part of our journey. I'm grateful for the trust you've placed in us, and I’m excited for what's ahead.
Scott Leonard
CEO and Founder, Navigoe
With respect to concepts around Modern Portfolio Theory, keep in mind the following: Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against loss, particularly in a broad-based market decline. Remaining fully invested exposes the portfolio to the full extent of market downside; avoiding market timing does not avoid market risk. Diversification and correlation assumptions are drawn from historical data and may not hold during future market conditions. Any mention of Dimensional Fund Advisors is not a recommendation. Comments around the history of Navigoe reflect an adherence to an investment philosophy and are not claims of past performance. Past performance is not an indication of future returns. Investing in securities involves the risk of loss.