Selecting a wealth advisor in Middle Tennessee involves more than reviewing a marketing brochure. The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 sets a fiduciary standard for registered investment advisers, which is a higher duty of care than the suitability rule that governs commission-paid broker-dealer representatives. Form ADV Part 2A filings, available through the SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database, give households a way to read fee structure, conflicts of interest, custody arrangements, and disciplinary history before a first meeting. The three Nashville-based registered investment advisers profiled below each operate under the fiduciary standard, disclose their assets under management on regulatory filings, and employ CFP Board certificants, chartered financial analysts, certified public accountants, or attorneys on staff. Each firm has served Middle Tennessee households for at least fifteen years and publishes a Form ADV brochure that prospective clients can request before signing an investment advisory agreement.
A household choosing among these advisors should also weigh fee model differences. Asset-under-management percentage billing is the most common arrangement among independent registered investment advisers and aligns the practice’s compensation with portfolio growth. Flat-fee or hourly retainer arrangements work well for households whose planning needs outweigh their managed asset base. Trust company arrangements layer a corporate trustee function on top of investment advice, which suits multi-generation estate plans, private foundation administration, and concentrated stock liquidity events. The firms below cover all three structures, and each holds custody of client assets at independent qualified custodians such as Charles Schwab, Fidelity, or Pershing rather than commingling client securities with practice accounts.
Quick Comparison #
| Practice | Credentials | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Diversified Trust | SEC-registered investment adviser, employee ownership across the senior advisor bench, CFA and CFP credentials on the director of knowledge management, more than $13 billion in client assets across five offices. | Wealth strategies including financial planning and tax coordination, open-architecture investment management, fiduciary services including corporate trustee and executor, outsourced chief investment officer engagements for endowments, foundations, and retirement plans. |
| Argent Trust Company of Tennessee | Tennessee state-chartered trust company, CPA/PFS, JD, CFP, CFA, and CTFA credentials across the Nashville bench, subsidiary of Argent Financial Group. | Corporate trustee, co-trustee, agent for individual trustees, executor, and investment manager roles, trust and estate planning, wealth and investment management, philanthropic and planned charitable giving structures, multi-family office services for high-net-worth client families. |
| Rayburn West Financial Services | SEC-registered investment adviser, fee-only model with no commissions or revenue-share, Certified Exit Planning Advisor on a partner, reported AUM of $250 million or more on the January 31, 2026 disclosure update. | Active security selection with tax-aware trading, integrated financial planning covering retirement, tax, estate, risk management, and education funding, business wealth advisory including exit readiness and liquidity analysis with quarterly reviews. |
1. Diversified Trust #
Diversified Trust opened in 1994 and operates from a Nashville office at 3102 West End Avenue, Suite 600. The practice manages more than thirteen billion dollars in client assets across Atlanta, Charleston, Greensboro, Memphis, and the Nashville headquarters location, and it is registered as an investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Employee ownership across the senior advisor bench gives the group a long succession horizon, which matters for households planning multi-decade wealth transfers. The team includes principals carrying CFA and CFP credentials, including a director of knowledge management who holds both designations.
Fiduciary services for multi-generation households #
The firm groups its work into four practice lines: wealth strategies (financial planning, tax coordination, charitable structuring), investment management (open-architecture portfolio construction across public and private markets), fiduciary services (corporate trustee, executor, agent for trustee), and outsourced chief investment officer engagements for endowments, foundations, and retirement plans. Trust administration as a chartered service line distinguishes this office from advisors who only manage liquid securities, because the group can serve as the trustee of record rather than referring estate-plan execution out to a separate institution.
Tennessee planning service lines and contact #
The Nashville desk handles estate planning coordination with outside counsel, investment policy statement drafting, family office reporting, philanthropic vehicle administration, and wealth transition planning for closely held business owners considering a sale. Households evaluating the practice can reach the office at (615) 386-7302 to request a Form ADV Part 2A brochure and arrange an introductory meeting. The local line also connects to the toll-free Southeast network for clients who travel among the firm’s five office cities.
2. Argent Trust Company of Tennessee #
Argent Trust Company of Tennessee, the local subsidiary of Argent Financial Group, runs its Nashville practice from 3102 West End Avenue, Suite 775. Argent is the state’s largest independent state-chartered trust company and has provided fiduciary-based wealth management, estate planning advice, and trust administration for more than three decades. The Nashville bench is led by Howard Safer, CPA/PFS, and Chris Kelly, JD, who serves as chief fiduciary officer and heads the practice group’s fiduciary unit. The advisor team also includes Mindy S. Hirt, CFP, Shannon Harrington, CFA, and Robert Pugh, JD, CTFA, giving the office cross-disciplinary depth that suits households with combined legal, tax, and investment questions.
Trust administration and investment management combined #
Argent serves as corporate trustee, co-trustee, agent for individual trustees, executor, and investment manager. The office offers trust and estate planning, wealth and investment management, philanthropic and planned charitable giving structures, and multi-family office services. Because Argent holds a Tennessee trust charter, the team can hold legal title to trust assets, file fiduciary tax returns, distribute income to beneficiaries under document terms, and coordinate principal distributions across multi-generation trusts.
High-net-worth advisory and contact details #
The group focuses on high-net-worth client families, including closely held business founders, retired executives with concentrated stock positions, beneficiaries of inherited trusts, and households administering private foundations or donor-advised funds. The Nashville office, which serves as the office of record for all of Argent Trust Company, can be reached at (615) 385-2345. Prospective clients can request a Form ADV brochure and a copy of the Tennessee trust charter disclosures during the initial conversation.
3. Rayburn West Financial Services #
Rayburn West Financial Services was founded in 2007 by Ray West and operates as a family-run, fee-only registered investment adviser at 4117 Hillsboro Pike, Suite 208. The practice is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and reported assets under management of two hundred fifty million dollars or more on its January 31, 2026 disclosure update. The smaller asset base relative to the two trust companies above translates to a tighter advisor-to-household ratio, which suits clients who prefer working directly with the named partners rather than rotating among associate advisors. Charles West III holds the Certified Exit Planning Advisor designation, which signals practice depth on closely held business sales and ownership transitions.
Fee-only model and three core service lines #
The office publishes its fee schedule on the practice website, an unusual transparency choice among Nashville advisors. The group bills three service lines on a fee-only basis with no commissions, sales loads, or revenue-share arrangements: active security selection (portfolio design with tax-aware trading), integrated financial planning (retirement, tax, estate, risk management, and education funding coordination), and business wealth advisory (exit readiness, cash-flow modeling, liquidity analysis). Each engagement includes quarterly reviews and coordination with the client’s certified public accountant and estate attorney. Investment management fees are tiered by asset level and billed quarterly in advance against AUM breakpoints. Financial planning is offered as a flat fee that can stand alone or credit against the AUM percentage. Business wealth advisory is billed as a flat fee or credited to AUM, with no success-based or transaction-driven compensation.
Closely held business owners and contact #
The practice works with individuals, families, and business owners, with particular focus on owners approaching a liquidity event. The Hillsboro Pike office line is (615) 386-6932. Prospective clients can request the Form ADV Part 2A brochure, the fee schedule, and a sample investment policy statement before signing the advisory agreement.
Reference Notes #
Federal regulation of the advisors above flows from the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which imposes a fiduciary duty on registered investment advisers and requires Form ADV filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission for firms above the federal AUM threshold. Smaller advisors file with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Securities Division. Form ADV Part 2A is the written disclosure brochure that advisors must deliver to prospective clients and update annually. The Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database at adviserinfo.sec.gov hosts every current Form ADV filing, and FINRA BrokerCheck covers individual broker-dealer registration history. Households should review both databases when an advisor is dual-registered as both an investment adviser representative and a broker. The CFP Board imposes its own fiduciary duty on Certified Financial Planner certificants when delivering financial planning services. NAPFA membership requires a fee-only compensation model with zero commission income. Account custody at independent qualified custodians (Charles Schwab, Fidelity Institutional, BNY Pershing) separates the advisor’s recommendation function from the safekeeping of client securities, reducing the risk profile compared to integrated custody-and-advice arrangements.
Selection Methodology #
Financial advisory practice in Tennessee runs under SEC registration (above the $100 million AUM threshold) or Tennessee Securities Division registration under TCA 48-1, and the filter for the three firms above started with which register the firm files on. Each operates under a fiduciary standard (fee-only registered investment adviser at Rayburn West, fiduciary-based trust company structure at Diversified Trust and Argent Trust under Tennessee trust charter), lists Form ADV Part 2 on the public site for client review, holds principal-level CFP, CFA, CPA, JD, or CTFA credentials with NAPFA National Association of Personal Financial Advisors membership where claimed, publishes scope at the planning level (retirement income, estate planning coordination, tax planning, charitable giving), and operates from a Davidson or Williamson County office address. Commission-only broker-dealer representatives outside the fiduciary frame were excluded.
How to Choose Among These Three Nashville Advisory Firms #
Asset profile, fee preference, and fiduciary structure should drive selection. A multi-generation household running estate planning across decades, a private foundation administration, or an endowment outsourced-CIO mandate fits Diversified Trust, whose more than $13 billion in client assets, employee ownership across the senior advisor bench, and chartered trust administration line position the practice to serve as trustee of record rather than refer estate execution out. A household with combined legal, tax, and investment questions, a Tennessee trust charter requirement, or a multi-family office service need fits Argent Trust Company of Tennessee, whose cross-disciplinary bench combines CPA, JD, CFA, and CTFA credentials and which serves as the office of record for the largest independent state-chartered trust company in Tennessee. A household preferring fee-only, fully transparent pricing, an exit-planning consultation tied to a closely held business sale, or a tighter advisor-to-household ratio fits Rayburn West Financial Services, where the published fee schedule, no-commissions structure, and Certified Exit Planning Advisor credential separate the practice from the trust-company model. Verify any advisor through the SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database at adviserinfo.sec.gov and through FINRA BrokerCheck for any dual-registration history before signing an investment advisory agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions #
Q: How do I verify a Nashville financial advisor holds the right registration?
A: SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database at adviserinfo.sec.gov hosts every current Form ADV filing for SEC-registered advisers, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Securities Division verifies state-registered advisers, FINRA BrokerCheck covers any dual broker-dealer registration history, and the CFP Board public verification confirms Certified Financial Planner certificant status.
Q: What sets these three apart from the broader Nashville wealth advisory field?
A: Fiduciary registration under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 is the threshold filter, and each practice above sits squarely on that side of the line rather than the broker-dealer suitability standard that allows commission-driven product sales. The practical separators past that floor are fee-only versus fee-based disclosure, custodian transparency (Schwab, Fidelity, Pershing rather than a captive book), and CFP certificant share on the planning team. Asset minimums and household profile fit do the rest of the sorting.
Q: Are any of the three practices paid placements?
A: No. The three profiles above are editorial selections drawn from publicly verifiable sources. No practice sponsored placement.
Q: How should I prepare for a first consultation?
A: Bring a written summary of the matter, a list of dates and documents involved, any prior correspondence, and a written list of questions about scope, fee structure, communication protocol, and timing. Request the engagement letter and Form ADV Part 2A in writing before signing.
Editorial Note #
This guide was published on 2026-05-11 and reflects research current as of that date. Verify licenses, phone numbers, and current business status before engaging any firm.