What Foundation Asset Management (FAM) does

Foundation Asset Management (FAM) operates through Cutler Investment Group, LLC, a privately-held fiduciary wealth management and investment advisory firm structured as a limited liability company. The firm was founded on fiduciary principles and built around an active Equity Income strategy that originated from Ken Cutler's equity research in the late 1970s, applying a proprietary screen for large-cap equities with at least 10 years of consistent dividend payments without a cut. Headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, the firm maintains four physical offices spanning Jacksonville (Oregon), Bellevue (Washington), Newport Beach (California), and Anchorage, serving individual investors, foundations and non-profits, business owners, and institutional retirement plan clients. Service lines span Wealth Management, Retirement Plans (including institutional consulting and 3(38) fiduciary services for 401(k) sponsors), and Dividend Investing (delivered via separately managed accounts and the Cutler Equity Fund mutual fund). The firm is led by CEO/Portfolio Manager Matthew C. Patten and CIO/Portfolio Manager Erich M. Patten, with the Patten family anchoring top-of-house governance; the broader team includes a 4-person C-suite (CEO, CIO, CCO, COO) and dedicated Directors of Wealth Management, Institutional Consulting, Institutional Services, and Client Relations.

Revenue is generated entirely through recurring advisory and management fees on AUM across wealth management, retirement plan consulting, and the dividend investing strategies. Pricing is quote-based and customized to client asset levels and service complexity rather than publicly disclosed, consistent with high-touch fiduciary practices. Distribution is direct and sales-led, with dedicated advisors delivering personalized financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and investment management; the Cutler Equity Fund is also distributed to other RIAs, asset allocators, and broker-dealers as a third-party channel. Marketing relies on content and community channels including market commentary blogs, quarterly market outlook webinars, Timely Topic video series, and regional event sponsorships (e.g., Crater Lake Council Boy Scouts of America Golf Tournament). The firm operates without public listing, no funding rounds, no parent company, and no subsidiaries per the available data, and shows no patent or trademark portfolio.

Name

Foundation Asset Management (FAM)

Legal name

Cutler Investment Group, LLC

Website

https://famanagement.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Foundation Asset Management (FAM) operates as Cutler Investment Group, a privately-held fiduciary wealth management firm managing active dividend-income strategies, retirement plans, and institutional consulting for individual investors, foundations, business owners, and 401(k) sponsors across Pacific Northwest and West Coast offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary) (FSAAABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Institutional Consulting RIAs (OCIO/Endowments/Foundations/Pensions) (FSAAACAG), Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

Keywords

• Fiduciary wealth management
• Retirement plan consulting
• Dividend equity investing
• Separately managed accounts
• Mutual fund advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Anchorage

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Advisory and Management Fees: Wealth management and investment advisory services generating revenue through fee-based arrangements. The firm provides fiduciary advisory services including wealth management, retirement plan consulting, dividend investing strategies, and financial planning.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Foundation Asset Management (FAM), doing business as Cutler Investment Group, provides fiduciary wealth management, retirement plan consulting, and dividend-focused active investment management. The firm offers separately managed accounts and a mutual fund (Cutler Equity Fund), and serves individuals, foundations/non-profits, business owners, and corporate retirement plans. Services are delivered through a team of advisors with decades of experience under a fee-based advisory model.

Product overview

Cutler Investment Group is a fiduciary wealth management and investment advisory firm offering a unified platform of investment management and advisory services. The core offerings include Wealth Management (serving individual investors, foundations/non-profits, and business owners), Retirement Plans (with Institutional Consulting and 401k Plan Sponsors services), and Dividend Investing (featuring the Equity Income Strategy managed as both separately managed accounts and the Cutler Equity Fund mutual fund). The firm emphasizes its active investment approach built on a history of institutional asset management, with a focus on dividend-paying equities that have demonstrated consistent dividend payment history.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wealth Management Comprehensive fiduciary wealth management covering financial planning, low-cost investment solutions, socially responsible investments, and income strategies for individual investors, foundations, non-profits, and business owners.
• Retirement Plans Institutional consulting and 401(k) plan management services for retirement plan sponsors including plan design, plan maintenance, vendor management, and 3(38) fiduciary services.
• Dividend Investing Active equity income strategy focused on dividend-paying equities with a 10-year dividend payment consistency screen, delivered through separately managed accounts and the Cutler Equity Fund.
• Cutler Equity Fund Mutual fund vehicle providing investors and asset allocators access to the firm's active equity income dividend-investing strategy.
• Institutional Consulting Retirement plan consulting services for organizations covering plan design, plan maintenance, vendor management, 3(38) fiduciary responsibility, and participant education.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Commonwealth Financial Network: Commonwealth is a large independent broker-dealer and RIA platform supporting thousands of advisors with wealth management and retirement plan services; broadly comparable to FAM's advisory and institutional retirement business but as a much larger support infrastructure rather than a single firm practice.
• LPL Financial: LPL Financial is the largest independent broker-dealer in the U.S., providing wealth management and retirement plan infrastructure to thousands of advisors and institutions — a much larger platform alternative to FAM for both client and advisor-side RIA services.
• Creative Planning: Creative Planning is a much larger, nationally scaled RIA offering comprehensive wealth management, retirement plan, and institutional services through a multi-office footprint; it competes with FAM in the same RIA fiduciary space but at significantly greater scale and brand recognition.
• Cetera Financial Group: Cetera is a large diversified broker-dealer and RIA platform serving independent financial advisors and institutions with wealth, retirement plan, and investment products; provides the same institutional and advisory channels as FAM but at enterprise scale.
• Cambridge Investment Research: Cambridge Investment Research is a leading independent broker-dealer and RIA platform serving individual investors and institutional clients with wealth and retirement services — comparable institutional consulting channel to FAM but as a large multi-advisor platform.
• Fisher Investments: Fisher Investments is a large privately held RIA serving high-net-worth and institutional clients with discretionary portfolio management and a separately offered mutual fund family — overlapping with FAM's actively managed equity strategy and mutual fund (Cutler Equity Fund) distribution model.

Direct peers

• Wealth Enhancement Group: Wealth Enhancement Group is an RIA serving individuals, business owners, and retirement plan sponsors through a multi-office, advisor-led model built on acquisitions — directly comparable in client mix and growth-by-add-on strategy to FAM's wealth management practice.
• Edelman Financial Services: Edelman Financial is a privately held RIA providing wealth management, retirement plan consulting, and institutional advisory to individuals and institutions, comparable to FAM across service lines and target client segments.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Buckingham is a national fiduciary RIA offering wealth management and institutional retirement plan consulting with a focus on evidence-based investing, directly comparable to FAM's fiduciary advisory and 3(38) retirement plan business.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Mariner Wealth Advisors is an independent RIA providing fiduciary wealth management, retirement plan consulting, and family office services to individuals, foundations, and business owners — a near-direct operational analog to FAM/Cutler across the same client segments and service lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/esther-travis-72a6a047

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments7 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Foundation Asset Management (FAM)