River Capital Advisors

What makes your practice different from the rest?
We are different in a number of important ways. For over 13 years, River Capital Advisors, L.C. (“RCA”) has been providing individuals, businesses, and institutions independent, objective investment and financial advice on a fee-only basis. Our only source of compensation is from our clients. We are not affiliated with any broker or wire house. We are not stockbrokers and do not sell any financial products. We are financial fiduciaries to our clients which means we put our clients’ financial interests ahead of our own. Finally, we are affiliated with the local CPA firm of Smoak, Davis & Nixon LLP. Our experienced staff of CPAs and CFP® practitioners have expertise in income and estate taxes as well as investments and financial planning, allowing us to assist our clients in all aspects of their financial life.

Who is your ideal client?
Our ideal client is one who wants to preserve and grow his/her wealth over the long term through investment, tax and financial planning. In addition, our ideal client is one who understands that he/she is best served by an independent firm who works for the client as a fiduciary and has the experience necessary to assist with all aspects of financial life.

Describe your customer service model.
We start with a thorough understanding of the client’s financial goals and objectives. Our skill set as CPAs and CFP® practitioners allows us to develop a customized plan that is responsive to all aspects of the client’s financial life – investments, taxes and cash flow. We tell our clients to look at us as their Personal CFO (Chief Financial Officer), a phrase that we believe encapsulates our service model and approach.

What is your investment philosophy?
Because we are a fee-only firm and only get compensated directly from the client, we are truly independent which allows us to select from the best investment managers and products available in the capital markets. We do not have any proprietary products. We “eat our own cooking”, meaning the owners and employees of the firm have the majority of their investable net worth (including the firms retirement plan) in the same investments as our clients. Our investment philosophy centers on diversification, by asset class, to provide downside protection. We believe that broad diversification, not just owning many different companies but different types of assets, tends to lower risk. We believe in value investing—price is what you pay and value is what you get. If we invest below a company’s inherent or intrinsic value we obtain a “margin of safety” and the potential for higher returns over the long term. We believe in taking cost into account when investing and will use a combination of active and passive managers when implementing our strategies. Finally, we believe that in the short run the markets are a voting machine, where fear and greed set asset prices too low or too high, but over the long term the market is a weighing machine, where the price and value of a financial asset converge. This philosophy allows for the preservation and growth of assets for the patient investor.

Do you offer financial planning?
We offer financial planning services both within the broader context of the services we provide to our wealth management clients or as a separate service through our affiliated CPA firm, Smoak, Davis & Nixon LLP.

Edward P. Schmitzer, CPA/PFS, CFP • President
For more than 29 years, Ed has provided comprehensive wealth management services to a variety of clients, particularly in the areas of investment advisory, estate planning, income tax planning and retirement planning. In addition to his role as a practicing partner of Smoak, Davis & Nixon LLP, he is the founder and president of River Capital Advisors, L.C. Ed is a Certified Financial Planner practitioner (CFP®), a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Ed enjoys spending time with his family, serving on charitable boards and traveling. He has been an avid Jacksonville Jaguars fan and season ticket holder since their inaugural season in 1995.

Scott A. Pelfrey, CPA/PFS, CFP • Senior Financial Planner
For more than 24 years, Scott has provided comprehensive financial planning services to clients including investment advisory, tax and cash flow planning and retirement planning. Scott is a Certified Financial Planner practitioner (CFP®), a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from the University of Cincinnati. When away from the office, Scott enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, golf, and reading.

Robert M. Simon, CFP • Financial Planner & Research Analyst
Rob has been providing financial planning and security analysis for over three years. He is a Certified Financial Planner practitioner (CFP®) and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with honors in business. Rob enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, concerts and traveling.

5011 Gate Pkwy., Bldg. 100, Suite 300, Jacksonville, FL 32256 • Tel. 904.398.2075 • www.rcawealth.com