Pacific Point Wealth Management is a investment adviser based in Carlsbad, CA, that holds a 89.1/100 Fidelon TransparencyScore (50th percentile among state-registered advisers), with 5 registered advisors. Score based on public SEC and FINRA filings.
Pacific Point Wealth Management
Pacific Point Wealth Management · CRD #338392
A fee-only investment adviser with a clean regulatory record and fiduciary commitment.
Fidelon Fact Sheet
Pacific Point Wealth Management is a state-registered investment adviser in Carlsbad, CA. It has 5 registered advisors. It manages $6.4 million across 35 client accounts. It charges a percentage of the money it manages for you, and it does not report earning commissions. Its services include financial planning and portfolio management. It reports that it can hold or access client money, which the SEC requires firms to disclose. Its record shows no customer complaints, regulatory actions or fines.
Peer Context
7,820th of 15,825
state-registered advisers
Top 50%
1,263rd of 2,392
state-registered advisers in CA
Bottom 47%
16th of 32
state-registered advisers in Carlsbad, CA
Top 50%
How This Firm Works
Registration & Standard of Care
Investment Adviser — this firm is a registered investment adviser, held to a fiduciary standard — legally required to act in clients' best interests.
How This Firm Gets Paid
- Charges a percentage of assets under management
- Does not earn commissions on product sales
What you’d pay
Your balance falls in the All accounts band, charged at 2.00% on the full amount.
This fee is negotiable
Pacific Point Wealth Management states in its Form ADV that advisory fees may be negotiated.
From their Form ADV Part 2A. Most investors never ask.
Not included above
- • Clients will incur transaction fees for trades executed by their chosen custodian based on a percentage of the dollar amount of assets in the account(s). These transaction fees are separate from our firm’s advisory fees and will be disclosed by the chosen custodian. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”) does not charge transaction fees for U.S. listed equities and exchange traded funds. Clients may also pay holdings charges imposed by the chosen custodian for certain investments, charges imposed directly by a mutual fund, index fund, or exchange traded fund, which shall be disclosed in the fund’s prospectus (e.g., fund management fees and other fund expenses), distribution fees, surrender charges, variable annuity fees, IRA and qualified retirement plan fees, mark-ups and mark-downs, spreads paid to market makers, fees for trades executed away from custodian, wire transfer fees and other fees and taxes on brokerage accounts and securities transactions.
Estimated from the firm’s Form ADV Part 2A brochure — not a quote. Actual fees are set in your agreement and may differ. Costs charged by others (custodians, fund managers) are not included.
What This Firm Charges
| Account Size | Annual Fee |
|---|---|
| All accounts | 2.00% |
Billed monthly in advance
Extracted from Form ADV Part 2A brochure
Specializations
Extracted from Form ADV Part 2A brochure
Key Findings
Strengths
- Fee-only compensation — no commission income reported
- Registered as investment adviser with fiduciary obligation
- No broker-dealer registration — advisory services only
- Clean regulatory record — no disclosures, arbitrations, or fines
- Transparent fee structure — charges advisory fees, no commissions
Things You Should Know
- Its brochure says it receives research or services from brokers, but it does not say those perks can shape which broker it picks for you or whether every client benefits or only some. Ask how the firm chooses the broker for your trades and whether perks play any part.Item 12.A.1
Conflict Audit
Zero material conflicts identified in regulatory filings.
Source: Form ADV Part 1, Items 6-8; Part 2A, Items 10-14
Regulatory Track Record
0
Disclosures
Clean record — no disclosures found
$0
Total Fines
Clean record — no fines found
Regulatory Events
TransparencyScore Dimensions
Disclosure Record
Customer complaints, arbitrations, and fines. Frequency and recency matter.
100/100
Strong
Avg for investment adviser firms: 82.6 | Top 10%: 99.5
Filing Quality
How clearly the firm describes services, fees, and investment approach in regulatory filings.
94/100
Strong
Avg for investment adviser firms: 84.1 | Top 10%: 100
Conflict Disclosure
How openly the firm explains who pays it and what it's paid to sell. The conflict isn't the problem — hiding it is.
65/100
Fair
Avg for investment adviser firms: 54 | Top 10%: 67
Enforcement History
Self-reported legal and disciplinary history from Form ADV Item 11.
100/100
Strong
Avg for investment adviser firms: 99.7 | Top 10%: 100
Their two-page relationship summary
The SEC requires every SEC-registered investment adviser to hand you this summary, called a Form CRS, and says what it must cover. We checked this firm's against that list. What is a Form CRS?
Not required
This firm is not required to file a Form CRS.
Without a Form CRS, the score above cannot go over 90. A firm that gives us one is scored on the same yardstick and can earn up to 10 more points.
What their brochure tells you
The firm must give you this brochure, Form ADV Part 2A, before you sign. We read it against the SEC's own instructions, item by item. Quotes are the firm's own words; page numbers refer to the filed brochure. What is in a brochure?
Can you tell what you'd pay and when?Brochure Fee Clarity100/100
The SEC asks every brochure to spell out the fee schedule, whether fees can be negotiated, how and when you are billed, the other costs you pay, and refunds.
The brochure answers every one of these.
- Can you tell what you'd pay?CoveredItem 5.A
Without a fee schedule you cannot compare this firm with any other.
The maximum annual fee charged for this service will not exceed 2.00%.p. 5
- Does it say whether the fee can be negotiated?CoveredItem 5.A
If fees are negotiable, other clients may be paying less than you for the same service.
Fees are negotiable and will be deducted from client account(s).p. 5
- Does it say whether the fee comes out of your account or gets billed?CoveredItem 5.B
A fee taken straight from your account is easy to stop noticing.
Fees are negotiable and will be deducted from client account(s).p. 5
- Does it say how often you're charged?CoveredItem 5.B
Monthly, quarterly, in advance or in arrears changes what you owe when you leave.
Annualized fees are billed on a pro-rata basis monthly in advance based on the value of the account(s) on the last day of the previous month.p. 5
- Does it list the other costs you pay, like fund and custodian fees?CoveredItem 5.C
The advisory fee is rarely the whole bill; fund, trading and custody costs come on top.
Clients will incur transaction fees for trades executed by their chosen custodian based on a percentage of the dollar amount of assets in the account(s).p. 8
- Does it say how you get money back if you leave mid-period?CoveredItem 5.D
If you pay in advance and leave early, the refund rule decides what you get back.
Upon notice of termination our firm will process a pro-rata refund of the unearned portion of the advisory fees charged in advance.p. 8
Does it explain each conflict of interest and what it could cost you?Brochure Conflict Specificity70/100
The SEC asks the brochure to name each way the firm gets paid besides your fee, what that tempts the firm to do, and what it can cost you.
The brochure answers every one of these.
The brochure states the firm has no conflicts of this kind, and its Form ADV Part 1 agrees.
- Does the brochure say the firm has no conflicts of this kind?CoveredItems 10/11/12.B/14 + Part 1A
A clear statement that the firm earns nothing from commissions, perks or referrals is the simplest answer there is.
Our firm is not registered, nor does it have an application pending to register, as a broker-dealer, registered representative of a broker dealer, investment company or pooled investment vehicle, other investment adviser or financial planner, futures commission merchant, commodity pool operator, commodity trading advisor, banking or thrift institution, accountant or accounting firm, lawyer or law firm, insurance company or agency, pension consultant, real estate broker or dealer or a sponsor or syndicator of limited partnership, or an associated person of the foregoing entities.p. 15
If its people can earn insurance commissions, does it explain them?
Insurance commissions
An adviser's own license, not the firm's — scored once under Sales Compensation
Two representatives of our firm are insurance agents and will offer insurance products and receive customary fees as a result of insurance sales.p. 16
Do they earn commissions on products, and do they say so?Brochure Sales Compensation60/100
When a firm or its people sell products for a commission, the SEC asks the brochure to say so, name the pull, and tell you whether you could buy elsewhere.
Each point is marked Covered or Not found. When a point is not found, we say what to ask.
- Does it say that earning commissions is a conflict of interest?CoveredItem 5.E.1
A firm paid to sell a product has a reason to recommend it that has nothing to do with you.
A conflict of interest exists as these insurance sales create an incentive to recommend products based on the compensation adviser and/or our supervised persons may earn.p. 8
- Does it say commissions can shape what they recommend?CoveredItem 5.E.1
Naming the pull is the first step to controlling it; silence leaves it working on you.
A conflict of interest exists as these insurance sales create an incentive to recommend products based on the compensation adviser and/or our supervised persons may earn.p. 8
- Does it say you can buy the same products elsewhere?Not found in the brochureItem 5.E.2
You may be able to buy the same product for less somewhere else.
What to askAsk whether you could buy any recommended product through another broker or insurer.
- Does it say whether commissions lower your advisory fee?Not found in the brochureItem 5.E.4
If the firm earns a commission and the full advisory fee, you pay twice for one recommendation.
What to askAsk whether any commission the firm earns is credited against your advisory fee.
Do they get free research or services from brokers, and does it affect you?Brochure Soft Dollars53/100
When brokers give the firm research or services in return for your trades, the SEC asks the brochure to say what the firm gets and what it may cost you.
Each point is marked Covered or Not found. When a point is not found, we say what to ask.
- Does it list what the firm gets from brokers for free?CoveredItem 12.A.1.e
Research, software and data paid for by your trades are a cost you never see.
They include investment research, both Schwab’s and that of third parties.p. 19
- Does it say the firm benefits by not paying for those things?CoveredItem 12.A.1.a
A perk the firm would otherwise buy is money in the firm's pocket, paid with your trades.
The availability of these services from Schwab benefits our firm because our firm does not have to produce or purchase them.p. 19
- Does it say those perks can shape which broker it picks for you?Not found in the brochureItem 12.A.1.b
Your trades should go where you get the best deal, not where the firm gets the best perks.
What to askAsk how the firm chooses the broker for your trades and whether perks play any part.
- Does it say whether those perks stay within what the law allows?CoveredItem 12.A.1.e note
The law allows research paid for with client trades only within limits; outside them, it is your money.
Our firm does not receive soft dollars in excess of what is allowed by Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.p. 20
- Does it say whether you pay more in trading costs because of those perks?Does not applyItem 12.A.1.c
Paying up for trades to earn the firm a perk comes straight out of your returns.
- Does it say whether every client benefits or only some?Not found in the brochureItem 12.A.1.d
Your trades may be paying for research that helps other clients' accounts, not yours.
What to askAsk whether the research your trades help pay for is used for your account.
A point not found is not a finding against the firm; many points apply only when the firm has that arrangement, and state-registered firms file the same brochure form.
Next Steps
Advisor Roster
5 advisors
| Advisor | CRD | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Anthony Lacey | 1264017 | — | — |
| James Curran | 6569802 | — | — |
| Ryan Steven Gorski | 6327664 | — | — |
| Matthew David Marchand | 8130715 | — | — |
| Ben Thomas McCollum | 6087460 | — | — |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does the TransparencyScore measure?
The TransparencyScore measures how clearly and completely an advisor or firm discloses important information in their regulatory filings — things like fees, conflicts of interest, disciplinary history, and business practices. A higher score means better disclosure quality, not better investment performance.
Where does this data come from?
All data comes from public regulatory filings: SEC Form ADV (Parts 1, 2, and 3), FINRA BrokerCheck, and the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) database. These are official filings that firms and advisors are legally required to submit.
Does a low score mean they're a bad advisor?
Not necessarily. A low score means the firm's public filings are less transparent — they may use vague language about fees, skip details about conflicts, or have a more complex regulatory history. Some excellent advisors work at firms with poor disclosure practices. The score measures the filing, not the person.
How often is this data updated?
Fidelon refreshes data from SEC and FINRA sources on a regular schedule. Form ADV filings are updated annually by firms (with amendments throughout the year), and BrokerCheck data is updated as events are reported. Scores are recalculated after each data refresh.
Can an advisor or firm improve their score?
Yes. Scores are based on what's in public filings. A firm that rewrites its ADV brochure in clearer language, discloses conflicts more specifically, or resolves outstanding regulatory issues will see its score improve at the next refresh. The incentive structure is intentional.
Data Sources
Scores are generated using Fidelon's published scoring methodology and reflect the quality of public disclosures, not the quality of investment advice. A firm that improves its disclosures will see its score improve. Fidelon does not provide investment advice.
Verify on SEC IAPD
Last scored: · Score version: 3.15 · CRD #338392