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The Hagwood Tomoda Group

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Whether helping you lay a path for success for your family's personal financial objectives, developing a strong benefits package for your company, or helping you create financial security for the organization and the people you serve, we provide a collaborative and personal approach to help you achieve your objectives. 

We start with what’s important to you

We take the time to listen and learn about the needs and goals of your institution and the people it serves – it’s these real-world insights that guide our strategies and personalized service.

About Us

The Hagwood Tomoda Group Approach

Based in Wellesley, Massachusetts, The Hagwood Tomoda Group has distinguished itself by providing customized advice and guidance to a select group of affluent families, corporate executives, business owners, institutions, endowments & foundations, retirement plan sponsor, and religious organizations. 

As part of Global Institutional Consulting, the group is among a select team of highly qualified and credentialed consultants who provide the in-depth knowledge and customized service and assistance institutional investors and families need to navigate today's financial landscape and be responsive to evolving market trends. 

With over 100 years of combined experience, we are relentless in our focus on managing personal financial and investment risks relative to client's long-term goals. We bring warmth, compassion and coordination to clients' most personal and business goals.

Our Relationships

The Hagwood Tomoda Group at Merrill and Bank of America, we are focused on providing you holistic, objective investment advice and delivering the best of two worlds to you: personalized service of a consulting boutique, and the resources of a global financial powerhouse. Whether you are an institution looking to provide best-in-class benefits to employees, an affluent family looking to preserve and grow your wealth, or an endowment or foundation supporting the communities your serve, we have the knowledge and insights to help you achieve your objectives and goals.  

Affluent Families, Corporate Executives and Business Owners

Our team has helped accomplished entrepreneurs, private investors, executives, and multi-generational families simplify the complexities that comes with wealth. By placing our client's goals first, we have grown to be one of the top wealth management teams in the state of Massachusetts. Our clients come from diverse backgrounds and distinct wealth creation stories. They have a lot in common. They share a passion for new ideas and deep confidence in their own abilities. They have a sophisticated understanding of the capital markets but recognize that they need different skills to preserve and grow their wealth.

Nonprofit Organizations, Private Foundations and Cultural Institutions

Our help provides a holistic and tailored approach to help our nonprofit clients continue driving their mission and goals. We create customized and forward-thinking investment programs designed to support their missions, investment policy, spending policy and liquidity needs. Through Bank of America’s Philanthropic Solutions group we provide strategic advice and planning insights to help with fulfill the organization’s mission.
 

Institutions and Corporations

As a Global Institutional Consulting team, our group is among a select group of highly qualified and credentialed consultants who can provide the in-depth knowledge and customized service and assistance institutional investors need to navigate today’s financial landscape and be responsive to evolving market trends.  

By getting an understanding of the unique challenges and goals for the institution we work with we can provide the company’s finance and human resources team access to resources to help drive efficient productivity. Giving these institutions an independent and objective collaborator to help guide the institution through complexity around equity compensation, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, pensions, and nonqualified deferred compensation plans.

Working with The Hagwood Tomoda Group

We operate as a small boutique inside a global bank offering a suite of family and institutional services.

We help our client’s create a better future for their families, organizations, employees and institutions.
 

How we help Affluent Families

Simplify Your Financial Affairs

We leverage Bank of America and Merrill’s vast global resources – from investments to philanthropy and beyond – to make your finances easier.

Reduce Stress of Investing

We have substantial resources to help ensure your financial affairs are always in order.

Focus on What Matters Most

Our global network of economists, securities analysts, market strategists, and tax/public policy experts help us listen for “signal” versus “noise”, enabling us to make well-informed financial decisions.

Avoid Investing Pitfalls

We have 100+ years’ collective experience working with families to identify, assess and hedge risks to your portfolio as we seek to avoid common investing mistakes: your family will have a strategic plan in place to help avoid unnecessary threats to your portfolio.

Prioritize the safety of your Assets and Personal Information

Our cybersecurity experts drawn from government security agencies and the technology industry, have built an expert in-house cyber defense organization.

Access Unique Investment Opportunities

Our global platform and partner network offers you access to a wide variety of differentiated public and private investment vehicles, including those not found elsewhere.

Secure Your Legacy

We have strategically built our team to include partners of various ages, backgrounds and skill-sets to align with your entire family to promote proper wealth transfer and form the foundation for multi-generational impact.
 

How we Help Institutions, Nonprofits, and Endowments

Retirement Benefit Consulting

We help organizations design and deliver competitive retirement benefits that put their employees in a position to successfully transition to retirement when it comes. As a provider of fiduciary services to retirement plan sponsors, we are uniquely positioned to help employers manage their 401(k), 403(b), defined benefit, and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. 

Our deep bench of resources and decades of experience working with retirement plans mean that we have the knowledge and insights to help your plan competitive, engage your employees, benchmark their service providers, and assist them with fiduciary oversight.

Better Approach with a Strong Framework

By collaborating with our team, you’d receive access to market intelligence and aligned interest to help you overcome investment, spending, governance, and fundraising challenges. We’ll assist in committee development & education, ESG investing, investment and spending policy development, asset allocation, manager selection, donor development and more.


*Impact investing and/or Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investing has certain risks based on the fact that ESG criteria excludes securities of certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons and therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller.

Meet the Team

Our team is comprised of talented and experienced individuals committed to building strong client relationships based on trust and personalized service.

Additional Resources

The Hagwood Tomoda Group is supported by talented specialists who have experience working with institutions and share a strong commitment to guiding investment programs and strategic decision making.

Keelan F King

Keelan F King

Wealth Management Lending Officer

Bank of America, N.A.

NMLS #482822

Rick Lavoye

Rick Lavoye

Wealth Management Banking Specialist

Merrill

Recognition

Merrill is proud of our advisors who’ve received recognition from financial industry publications or directly from Bank of America Corporation. We believe they are setting the standard for exemplary client service.

The Hagwood Tomoda Group

Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams” 2024 and 2023
Published annually in January. Rankings based on data as of March 31 of prior year.*

James Scott Tomoda

Forbes "Best-in-State Wealth Advisors" 2021
Published on February 11, 2021. Rankings based on data as of June 30, 2020.

Solutions for Institutions

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Helping institutions meet their investment needs

We put the resources and intellectual capital of Merrill to work for institutional clients like you by delivering thoughtful advice and sophisticated investment strategies through focused client-centric consulting. We help organizations like yours address today’s complex investment challenges through an integrated, goals-based investment process that enables them to redefine success, manage risk and help fulfill their missions.

Investment Solutions

We provide access to a broad suite of potential investment solutions for non-profit organizations, foundations, endowments and corporate retirement and pension plans. Our level of involvement is based on your preference — from traditional consulting, to client-directed implementation, to full discretionary outsourced CIO services. We work with your CFO, board  of directors and investment committee to develop a tailored investment strategy that is consistent with your culture, goals, preferences and risk profile.

Disciplined Investment Process

We follow a disciplined process that helps to address your organization’s changing needs and provides you with a potentially higher probability of achieving your long-term investment goals.

1

Investment Policy Statement Development and Review

Act as liaison between institutional clients and Merrill's Investment Policy Statement (IPS) service, which creates and modifies an IPS, based on the client’s investment goals and objectives.

2

Strategic Allocation Modeling

Customizable asset allocation based on the Chief Investment Office capital market assumptions.

3

Investment Manager Due Diligence

Recommend investment solutions leveraging Merrill's thorough and rigorous due diligence process.

4

Investment Manager Search and Selection

Advanced portfolio construction techniques combined with client specific objectives and Merrill's capital market guidance.

5

Portfolio Strategy

Leverage Merrill's global intellectual capital including tactical tilts to potentially help increase returns.

6

Performance Measurement

Review, quantify and evaluate performance to identify opportunities to refine the portfolio’s overall strategy, based on the Investment Policy Statement.

Endowments, Foundations and Nonprofits

We understand the issues nonprofits, endowments and foundations address in funding their missions in an ever-changing financial climate. Drawing on the global resources of Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates, we offer insight, guidance and personalized service to help institutions develop and execute investment strategies focused on what matters most to them and the people they serve.

Impact investing and/or Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investing has certain risks based on the fact that ESG criteria excludes securities of certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons and therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller.

Defined benefit plans

Whether your defined benefit plan is an active part of your overall benefit offering, is closed to new participants, or fully frozen, Bank of  America's service model allows you to outsource the many administrative tasks associated with the maintenance of a pension plan to fulfill plan obligations and manage risk.

Key services include:
• Investment consulting service
• Open architecture investment management platform
• Liability driven investment implementation
• Actuarial services and discretionary investment management

Supporting a strong retirement plan and helping to keep it on track

The retirement and financial needs of your employees, as well as the responsibility those needs create for you as an employer, are important to you. We offer the solutions your employees may need to help pursue their financial goals and maintain financial wellness. Our array of resources and experience is designed to help meet your employees’ financial needs in ways that make sense for your company — strategically, operationally and financially. You and your employees will have a team of experienced and passionate advocates for financial wellness on your side. Our team will make your priorities their own so you can focus more on your business.

For Employees

All our efforts revolve around helping your employees pursue their goals. With Bank of America Corporation’s long legacy of service excellence, we take a holistic approach to helping your employees connect their life priorities and financial priorities—in and beyond their benefit plans. By broadening our view to include an employee’s entire financial picture, both in and out of plan, we believe we can help your employees better manage and gain control of their finances.

  • Holistic approach to helping improve overall financial wellness
  • Online investment advisory programs that offer participant advice; Personal Retirement Strategy that provides online advice and guidance to help participants pursue their retirement income goals through a recommended asset allocation and, if the participant elects, a discretionary managed account, Merrill Managed, for an additional fee or Advice Access that helps participants by providing asset allocation recommendations and ongoing investment management through its optional PersonalManager® service, for a fee.
  • Comprehensive employee education program

Personal Retirement Strategy is an online investment advisory program sponsored by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (“MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) that uses a probabilistic approach to determine the likelihood that participants in the program will accumulate sufficient total assets to achieve their annual retirement income goal. The recommendations provided by Personal Retirement Strategy may include a higher level of investment risk than a participant may be personally comfortable with. Participants are strongly advised to consider their personal goals, overall risk tolerance and retirement horizon before accepting any recommendations made by Personal Retirement Strategy. Participants should carefully review the explanation of the methodology used, including key assumptions and limitations, as well as a description of services and related fees, which is provided in the Personal Retirement Strategy Brochure (ADV Part 2A). It can be obtained through Benefits OnLine or through the Retirement Benefits Contact Center.

Advice Access is an online investment advisory program sponsored by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (“MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) that uses a probabilistic approach to determine the likelihood that participants in the program may be able to achieve their specified annual retirement income goal and/or to identify a potential wealth outcome that could be realized. The recommendations provided by Advice Access may include a higher level of investment risk than a participant may be personally comfortable with. Participants are strongly advised to consider their personal goals, overall risk tolerance, and retirement horizon before accepting any recommendations made by Advice Access. Participants should carefully review the explanation of the methodology used, including key assumptions and limitations as well as a description of services and related fees, which is provided in the Advice Access disclosure document (ADV Part 2A). It can be obtained through Benefits OnLine or through the Retirement Benefits Contact Center.

Merrill offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory and other services. There are important differences between brokerage and investment advisory services, including the type of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and the rights and obligations of the parties. It is important to understand the differences, particularly when determining which service or services to select.

IMPORTANT: The projections or other information shown in the Advice Access program regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.

For Plan Sponsors

Your role as a plan sponsor is more challenging than ever, and it’s not something to face alone. We bring the resources and thought leadership from Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates to bear in helping you provide a strong, healthy and fully compliant program that runs smoothly, engages your employees and makes your job easier. We can help you focus on the areas that may be helpful to plan success, including Fiduciary Advisory Services 1 and Education and Plan Services 2 appropriate for your plan.

Fiduciary Advisory Services1

Through Fiduciary Advisory Services, we can help you design and maintain an investment menu.
  • Investment Policy Statement (IPS)3
  • Comprehensive due diligence processes to identify appropriate investments 
  • Proactive delivery – online and by your designated advisor – of investment performance reporting every quarter 
  • Report providing fund analysis and market trends.

1 Fiduciary Advisory Services is an investment advisory program sponsored by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”). Merrill offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory and other services. There are important differences between brokerage and investment advisory services, including the type of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and the rights and obligations of the parties. It is important to understand the differences, particularly when determining which service or services to select. Please refer to the Fiduciary Advisory Services Brochure for information on the program including a description of the series and related fees.

2 Education and Plan Services are non-fiduciary services required for Advisor Alliance clients and optional for MLII clients.

3 IPS service is not available for FAS Discretionary. The plan sponsor is responsible for the approval and final adoption of the IPS.

And More

Beyond our experience, we offer access to the deep intellectual capital and broad capabilities of Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates. If we identify a need we can’t service ourselves, we can connect you with the people and resources to help you. Through our network of advisors, we strive to deliver strategies to help you manage the day-to-day and long-term responsibilities required in pursuing your institution’s goals. As we work together to address your evolving needs, we can help make the broad capabilities of Bank of America Corporation feel more accessible.

Workplace benefits website – Our insights

Learn about effective ways to help assess whether you’re getting the most from your benefits plan

Solutions for Individuals

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Investments

We believe that your investments should be a reflection of you — your life, your priorities, your goals. As your dedicated advisor we will get to know what matters most to you and help you define your goals. We use this understanding to help you build a customized financial strategy and offer consistent, personalized advice. Combined with professional management, you can stay on the right path towards pursuing your long-term objectives.

Philosophy

We live in a complex world with constant change, evolving opportunities and risks. In this environment most investors rely on trusted advisors to simplify their finances and positively impact their lives through detailed planning and investment oversight.  Being financially organized and having a wealth strategy that accomplishes your particular goals are paramount to future success.  We believe success is when you can see clearly where you are headed, and you feel confident in the professional guidance that helps you get there. 

Our purpose is simple – to help our clients turn their goals and aspirations into financial realities, always putting the client first, in everything we do. Every relationship starts with a clear understanding of values, needs and goals enabling us to create personalized wealth plans. We then proactively review client plans and investment strategies each year as life progresses and priorities change.

We prioritize prompt service, a deep level of ongoing engagement, and the highest ethical standards as our clients rely on us to oversee the various aspects of their Wealth Planning, Investment Management and Banking needs to help them make the right decisions that lead to the best financial outcomes. 

The satisfaction and positive experience of our clients is our ultimate goal.

Services:

We work collaboratively with our clients to help them plan for the future, assessing where they are today, where they want to be tomorrow and what they want to accomplish along the way.

Our process is designed to help deliver a customized, consistent experience to assist clients not only in wealth accumulation and preservation, but in areas that go beyond investments.  Our ability to provide access to the investment insights of Merrill, trust and fiduciary services from Bank of America Private Bank, and the banking convenience and lending solutions of Bank of America offers a way to help clients manage all of the pieces of their financial lives.  We serve as a financial resource for our clients.


 Sophisticated Wealth Planning:

  • Multi-generational wealth planning
  • Trust, estate & legacy planning strategies
  • Retirement income planning
  • Insurance & long term care planning
  • College Planning
  • Business Succession Planning
  • Stock Option Planning, Concentrated Stock Planning
  • Liquidity Event & Pre-Transaction Planning

 Investment Management:
  • Asset allocation
  • Equities, fixed income, alternative investments, portfolio construction
  • Investment/manager selection
  • Opportunistic/tactical investment
  • Risk management
  • Tax efficient portfolio management

*Some or all alternative investment programs may not be in the best interest of certain investors. No assurance can be given that any alternative investment’s investment objectives will be achieved.

Staying on Track

We understand that both your life and the financial markets can change over time. By checking in to discuss changes in your life and revisiting your financial approach, our goal is to help you stay on track to achieve what’s most important to you.

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Reviews to help you stay on track

We’ll meet with you to review your goals and the progress you’ve made toward reaching them. We’ll also discuss any adjustments needed to your financial approach to help you stay on course.

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Changes in your life and to your goals

Your life and goals change. As these changes occur, we can update your approach to reflect them.

Wealth Management Your Way

MyMerrill is your online destination for access to your financial information, secure communications, and a robust offering of tools and capabilities.

Your advisor is a click away within our site or mobile apps

You can manage account security with our customizable security capabilities such as touch ID, one time passcode, and other security features

Access to your complete financial life is available with My Financial Picture, Merrill’s asset aggregation tool

Your Financial Approach

We offer you access to the investing insights of Merrill, trust and fiduciary services from Bank of America Private Bank, and the banking convenience of Bank of America to help you pursue your goals. We will work to help you stay on track, regardless of what the markets are doing.

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FAMILY
Taking care of your family and other people in your life
  • Trust & Estate Services4
  • Education Funding1
  • Insurance3
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HEALTH
Planning for healthcare expenses now and in the future
  • Long-term Care Insurance3
  • Health Savings Account2
  • Disability Insurance3
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HOME
Upsizing, downsizing, remodeling or buying a vacation home
  • Home Loans2
  • Home Equity Lines of Credit2
  • Securities-Based Lending2
  • Credit Cards2
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WORK
Working in retirement, selling or starting a business
  • Bank of America Business Banking2
  • Exchange Funds1
  • Concentrated Stock Management1
  • Succession Planning1
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LEISURE
Spending your free time in meaningful ways
  • Credit Cards2
  • Securities-Based Lending2
  • Structured Lending2
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GIVING
Volunteering, mentoring others and giving to charities
  • Donor-Advised Funds4
  • Private Foundations4
  • Charitable Trusts4
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FINANCE
Using your finances to bring it all together
  • Merrill Investment Accounts1
  • Investment Advisory Accounts1
  • Alternative Investments1
  • Exchange-Traded Funds1
  • Mutual Funds1
  • Closed-end Funds1
  • Fixed Income Products1
  • Options1
  • Annuities3
  • Impact Portfolios1
  • Market-Linked Investments1
  • Securities-Based Lending2
  • Margin1
  • Home Loans2
  • Bank of America Checking and Savings Accounts2
  • Credit Cards2
  • Online Account Access1,2

¹ Investment products are offered by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated.
² Banking, mortgage and home equity products offered by Bank of America, N.A.
³ Insurance and annuity products offered through Merrill Lynch Life Agency Inc.
4 Trust and fiduciary services are provided by Bank of America Private Bank.

Approach

Every relationship begins with a conversation, helping you identify and prioritize which goals matter most to you. Whether it's transferring wealth to the next generation, customizing your financial approach to help you pursue your passions, or providing advice and guidance to help you stay informed, we start by listening to learn more about you and your family.

Your approach to investing

Drawing upon research in the field of behavioral finance, Merrill developed the Investment Personality Assessment to help us get to know you better as an investor and potentially help you refine your own investing preferences. By gaining a deeper understanding of how you think and feel about investing through this assessment, we can customize the financial approach we develop together to help you pursue what matters most to you. Our Investment Personality Assessment is one of the ways to help us get to know you - to understand your goals and priorities. These questions will help us provide you with additional insights and resources.

Understanding your goals and priorities

Your life and goals change. We have tools to help you keep track of these changes so they can be reflected in your financial approach.

Capabilities

Merrill’s process is designed to help deliver a customized, comprehensive experience to assist you not only in wealth accumulation and preservation, but in areas that go beyond investments. Providing you with access to the investment insights of Merrill, trust and fiduciary services from Bank of America Private Bank, and the banking and lending solutions of Bank of America offers a way to help you manage all of the pieces of your financial life. Working one-on-one with a Merrill advisor means you have a single point of contact to help you with potential strategies for transferring wealth to the younger generation.

Investments

No matter what your priorities are, we offer advice to help you turn your ambition into action. We draw on many experienced investment professionals at Merrill to deliver insights that help you maintain a long-term focus while taking advantage of short-term opportunities. Through the Merrill Investment Advisory Program we offer custom strategies that deliver an appropriate balance of risk and reward, comprised of investment fund and manager offerings that have undergone a thorough evaluation process before they can be included in your portfolios. And all our actions are grounded in a deep understanding of what matters most to you and complemented with regular review. We believe this approach will give you the power to help you meet your goals.

Join us

Let’s Have a Conversation

There is no substitute for a one-on-one relationship with a Merrill financial advisor committed to your needs.