Meet the Advisor
Ember E. Martin, CFP
Thank you for visiting Vested Wealth Advisors. Choosing someone to oversee your financial affairs could be one of the most important decisions you make. I understand that trust and respect for our expertise are paramount. I also know, from experience, that a personality fit between advisor and client is crucial to long term success.
I decided to establish Vested Wealth after years of witnessing clients not receiving measurable value nor accountability in their guidance from their advisors. I also felt that clients lacked a critical understanding of the field of managing their investments and their efficacy in helping them reach their goals.
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My vision has always been to create a company that can offer a single go-to advisor who proactively coordinates every moving part of their financial lives. We pride ourselves on education, transparency, listening before acting, and serving as a steward for clients’ financial security. This is what you can expect from Vested Wealth Advisors.
Prior to forming Vested Wealth I spent fifteen years of experience in investments, financial planning and wealth management. I’ve also had entrepreneurial careers in the hospitality industry and international trade. After graduating from U.C. Berkeley I traveled the world, spending time in the Caribbean, South America, Europe and Asia.
My first job was managing a boutique hotel in Sausalito, CA and then next a major luxury hotel in San Francisco. In 1989 I created an innovative Spanish restaurant called Sol y Luna. It was at the time San Francisco’s first authentic Spanish restaurant, introducing Tapas and featuring live Flamenco shows. My next company exported vintage American motorcycles to Japan. After selling the export firm in 1998 I answered an ad from Salomon Smith Barney seeking ‘entrepreneurs’ I began my career as a financial advisor.
The journey has been exciting and enlightening. The market crash of 2001-2 helped me learn about risk management and what it meant to be accountable to clients. It was then I knew I wanted to be a financial planner – and not just a broker – helping clients manage their life’s journey. There is no greater satisfaction nor fulfillment than a client sincerely thanking me for being their guide and counsel over the years.
On a personal note I enjoy sharing life with my high school sweetheart Donna, cooking, reading, traveling, hiking, playing chess and spending time with my two teenage daughters, Lucie and Truly.
I look forward to meeting you.
Purpose & Vision
We strive to deliver values-aligned planning advice to improve people’s lives.
Living a higher quality of life means making decisions and having experiences that are aligned with your closest held personal values.
We help you make the best use of your financial resources, freeing your time to enjoy what matters most in life. We show you where you are, protect you from financial dangers, create a roadmap for your future, manage your investments, and provide advice that touches every area of your life.
With a customized personal financial plan, you can make informed decisions, take advantage of opportunities – and avoid potential obstacles and pitfalls – so that you can make measurable progress toward your goals.
At Vested Wealth, we measure our success by the quality of life you achieve.
We Believe…
Informed clients make better decisions.
Our continuous and relentless approach to educating our clients so that they develop an informed and intelligent decision-making process has proved as effective as it is popular. For our clients, education is an ongoing feature of the value we provide.
In helping clients live their dreams.
In practice this means having clients identify their closest held values and matching them with their goals, both for the present and the future. Life is short and we want our clients to live it to the fullest, whatever their means.
Tailored solutions that meet client needs.
No client is like any other. Each client’s path will be uniquely their own. We are committed to creating plans specifically designed to best achieve each client’s goal.
In Trust and Integrity.
As a Fiduciary Advisor we are morally, ethically and legally obligated to acting in our client’s best interests 100% of the time.
In an advisor’s accountability.
This means fulfilling our commitment to creating a well-planned approach to getting and keeping clients ‘on path’. Whatever challenges the markets – or indeed life – throws your way, your plan must be able to not just survive but thrive. Life is unpredictable, your plan shouldn’t be.
Portfolio management is more science than art.
This means accepting that market returns are uncertain, investment risk is to be controlled not avoided, and that your portfolio’s most critical feature is its expected performance over a particular time horizon. We do not speculate with securities selection (stock picking), gamble on opaque investments (like hedge funds) or ‘follow the crowd’ every time the markets turn sharply. Finally, our portfolios expenses and our advisory fees are some of the industry’s most competitive.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are your client service standards?
Depending on the type of engagement we normally expect to interact with most clients up to 15 times per year. These interactions include phone calls, in-person progress meetings, performance statements, and live events. Emails and other correspondence interactions are considered separate from the above and may exceed several instances per month. Minimum interaction standards are once per month by phone or email. Ultimately, each client determines the amount of contact they prefer.
How are you compensated?
A complete listing of our services and fees are here.
What services do you NOT perform?
Vested Wealth Advisors does not offer any legal or accounting services, nor do we sell insurance products. Vested Wealth also does not accept performance fees of any kind.
How may I terminate using your services?
A client may cancel or terminate their association with Vested Wealth Advisors at any time by sending written notice (email or letter) to VWA. For more information please see our ADV-II.
Do you sell Insurance?
Vested Wealth does not sell insurance policies or insurance products such as annuities. We do however, in the course of our planning work, review our clients’ risk exposures (insurance needs) and provide recommendations and guidance on their existing insurance coverages and/or the need to obtain insurance.
Where will my investment assets be held?
Clients are free to hold (custody) their portfolio investment assets at Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade or another custodian. Vested Wealth never takes custody over clients’ assets.
Do you have any conflicts of interest?
No, we do not. Our status as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), obligates us to act as fiduciaries to our clients. For more information please request our ADV-II.