A singular focus: YOU

I’ve known from the start what kind of firm I wanted Ibello Wealth Management to be:

  • Focused on our clients – not on ourselves
  • Dedicated to the clients we have – not constantly chasing more
  • Creating lifelong partnerships built on a foundation of trust

Welcome to Ibello Wealth Management.

*As reported by Financial Planning magazine, 1996-2023, based on total revenue.

Forbes - Best-in-State, Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisor award imageNicholas A. Ibello, CFP®, AIF®

Founder & CEO

Q. Why did you become a financial advisor and can you provide us a brief history of where you’ve been?

A: As a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional, I have been helping clients with their wealth management needs for over 15 years, specializing in working with those who are within a few years of wanting to know if they can retire.

Choosing the path of a financial advisor was the only career trajectory I ever wanted after seeing first-hand how the lack of financial planning could cause stress, fighting, the compounding of various issues, and putting dreams/goals on hold.

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Growing up in a blue-collar household and watching my father leave the house at 4:30 AM each morning for work and my mother handling the household/domestic duties of getting me and my three sisters through school, meals, sports, and social engagements, there wasn’t much of an effort put on planning for our financial future or ensuring our financial ‘ducks’ were in a row on a year to year basis.

This oversight would often erupt into issues when things would invariably go wrong and would cause my parents to fight. The financial anxiousness, worry, and stress were often palpable in the household and ultimately was the motivation for me to learn all I could about “finance stuff” (which is what I called it back then).

After graduating cum laude with a bachelor of arts in economics with a concentration in finance from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, I decided to join T. Rowe Price to learn all I could about the world’s primary investment product offering (mutual funds) and to tackle all my financial licensing so after a few years I could then find a wealth management firm where I could grow, thrive, and start working with clients.

In 2015 I joined Williams Asset Management in Columbia, MD where I worked as a Senior Financial Advisor for almost a decade serving clients. Working for such a reputable and client-centric firm armed me with invaluable experience to handle and understand the nuances, complexities, planning, and ever-changing regulations/legislation required to indispensably serve my clients’ needs.

Q. Why did you start Ibello Wealth Management?

A: My grandfather started Ibello Upholstery, which my father eventually took over, and their entrepreneurial spirit has always inspired me to create something of my own. That said, I have always been patient and wanted to ensure that, before ever starting my own firm, I had the knowledge, skill set, resources, and know-how to create meaningful and enduring value for any clients I have the privilege of serving.

Fast forward over 15 years later, I have worked with hundreds of clients (in various stages of life, with different financial circumstances, goals, attitudes about money, and family situations), been exposed to thousands of different iterations of retirement plan modeling, seen and successfully helped clients through many very intense and impactful overhauls in tax, estate, and investment legislation (such as the tax cuts and jobs act of 2017 and the most recent SECURE Act), and endured and coached clients through countless whipsawing bull and bear markets.

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After being in the industry as long as I have and seeing the various conflicts of interest that are out there: the pushing of proprietary products, the incentives of more income to get more clients (even if it’s at the expense of the service of your current clients), the fact that larger firm staff bonuses are primarily based on how much new money came into the firm to manage (and less based on metrics that illuminate how much value we are bringing to our clients).

I have seen and studied the different avenues, business models, technology, and players involved when it comes to delivering wealth management services to clients and it is with the aforementioned experience and knowledge of the clients I serve and the industry paths available, that I decided to launch Ibello Wealth Management.

Q. Are there any notable accomplishments you’d like to share?

A: In my previous experience with Williams Asset Management, I am also proud to have been recognized as a Summit Club advisor in 2023—a distinction based on annual production that placed me among the top 18 percent of advisors affiliated with the broker-dealer, Commonwealth Financial Network.

Q. I keep hearing this word ‘fiduciary’…what does it mean and are you a fiduciary?

A: YES! Ibello Wealth Management is a fiduciary.

Fiduciaries are persons or organizations that act on behalf of others and are required to put the client’s interests ahead of their own, with a duty to preserve good faith and trust. Fiduciaries are thus legally and ethically bound to act in the other’s best interests.

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I even carry the reputable Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) designation which is a professional certification that demonstrates an advisor has a fundamental understanding of the principles of fiduciary duty, the standards of conduct for acting as a fiduciary, and a process for carrying out fiduciary responsibility.

As fiduciaries, we’ve dedicated ourselves to uncompromising integrity, accountability, and mutual respect. Our high expectations for ourselves ensure that we not only earn – but keep – your trust.

Q. What are the top 5 things you’ve learned over the years?

1. Beyond a certain point, security, freedom, and happiness do not come from more money. They come from knowing when to stop. How do we know when to stop? Well, we have to pause and think deeply and introspectively about our ideal retirement. What would we like to do? What will bring us meaning, growth, fulfillment, happiness, and joy?

2. There’s a concept you have to embrace before you can truly understand the value of an advisor. Once you fully internalize this concept, it changes everything:

  • Locksmiths don’t provide locks. They provide security.
  • Babysitters don’t provide supervision. They provide a relaxed night out with your spouse.
  • Financial Advisors don’t provide retirement planning or investment guidance. They provide confidence and clarity.
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3. Retirement and the planning and process that goes into it is a journey, not a destination. If we convince ourselves that our satisfaction is contingent upon a destination, or achievement, or milestone we will never find it. Real satisfaction and happiness is an inside job. We find it on the journey.

4. The cost of suboptimal financial planning and investing isn’t quantified in dollars and cents. It’s time you sacrifice with friends and family. It’s an extra 5 years working a job that controls your life. It’s a life of average experiences instead of unforgettable ones. Once you start thinking in these terms, you’ll understand what you’re really costing yourself by following general financial advice instead of having a truly tailored financial plan.

5. Risk exists in the stock market, even with a retirement time horizon of two-plus decades. This is what makes retirement planning so difficult. There are all kinds of unknowns to deal with, returns being one of the most nerve-racking. When planning for a multi-decade time horizon it’s important to:

  • Set baseline expectations with the understanding they are educated guesses.
  • Update your plans as those expectations do or do not become reality.
  • Include a margin of safety in the planning process.
  • Make course corrections along the way when needed.

Investment planning would be much easier if you were promised a specific rate of return but financial markets don’t work like that — you have to make reasonable decisions in the present about an unknowable future and be flexible enough to adapt when things don’t go as planned.

Q. What can you tell us about yourself outside of work?

A: I have always been a proponent of health is wealth. As such, my hobbies outside of work are all focused on movement. Golfing, exercising, going on walks with my wife and daughter, and enjoying time in Bethany Beach, when the opportunity allows.

I have three sisters and seven nieces and nephews and our (continually growing) family keeps us energized and active – something we are very grateful for.

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I am a die-hard Baltimore Ravens fan.

I enjoy eating immensely and you will never see me turn away food or an opportunity to enjoy a meal with family/peers.

I love reading and am constantly ingesting books on personal development, health and longevity, retirement, and financial planning and retirement strategies.

The purpose of financial planning

My favorite client outcomes are when we can move beyond “Am I going to be okay?” into more creative questions:

What is possible?

What do I want from my life?

How do I want to spend my time, and with whom?

What is the highest and best use of my unique gifts and talents?

What am I doing (or not doing) today that I will likely regret 20 years from now?

It takes courage to even ask these questions, let alone act on them. It’s not easy, but nothing this important ever is.

So, what’s the role of the financial planner?

1. To create space for these conversations.

2. To ground deeply felt ambitions in thoughtful strategic planning.

3. To relentlessly champion our clients’ efforts to live into their values and sense of purpose.

“Nick has fundamentally changed our mindset on personal finance and retirement savings. After a rocky start with some dishonest financial “advisors,” we finally feel that we can rest easy knowing that Nick is looking out for our best interests. His passion and devotion to not only assist his clients in financial matters but educate them as well is what has made the biggest difference for us in our financial journey. He is honest, straightforward, and truly puts himself in his client’s shoes so you can make the most informed decisions possible about your financial future.”

KAP

What are the CFP® and AIF ® designations?

CFP® = Certified Financial Planner™

AIF® = Accredited Investment Fiduciary®

Who is LPL?

LPL is our broker-dealer and reduces the complexity of running a financial services practice so we can focus on what we do best: helping YOU.