Fee-Based Financial Advisor in Salt Lake City

Ryan Hammett, fee-based fiduciary financial advisor serving Salt Lake City, Utah

Built for How You Actually Get Paid

An Advisor for Equity-Comp Salt Lake

A rising share of Salt Lake wealth doesn't arrive as salary. It arrives as equity — restricted stock units that vest on a schedule, an employee stock purchase plan you may be underusing, options with a clock and a tax trap attached. Most advice in this valley is still built for a paycheck and a 401(k). That's not the whole picture anymore.

I'm Ryan Hammett, an independent fiduciary who built market discipline inside Fidelity and E*TRADE before going out on my own. Fee-based and fee-transparent matters here more than anywhere: when a big slug of your net worth is tied up in one employer's stock, you need an advisor whose only incentive is your plan — not a commission on whatever they sell you next.

Meetings happen over video for most Salt Lake clients, with in-person available along the Wasatch Front. The engagement is the same either way: a written plan first, and no trade without your approval.

Equity Compensation

RSUs, ESPPs, and the Concentration Nobody Warns You About

Equity comp is a wonderful problem, and it is still a problem. RSUs are taxed as ordinary income when they vest, whether or not you sell — and holding them afterward is a decision, not a default, one that quietly bets more of your future on a single stock. An ESPP with a discount and a lookback can be one of the best deals in your entire compensation package, or a source of nasty surprises, depending on how the holding period and taxes are handled.

Then there's concentration. It is genuinely thrilling to watch your company's stock climb and thrilling is not a financial plan. When one employer is your salary, your bonus, and half your portfolio, a diversification and sell-schedule strategy — often a rule-based 10b5-1-style approach for those who qualify — is how you turn paper wealth into a life without betting everything on one ticker staying up.

This is planning work, not a product sale. We map the vesting calendar, the tax picture, and the concentration risk, then write a plan you approve trade by trade. Coordination with your CPA on the tax specifics is part of it. It's a conversation, not a pitch.

Who This Is For

Situations I Work With in Salt Lake

Tech & equity-comp professionals

RSU vesting strategy, ESPP optimization, option-exercise timing, and diversifying out of concentrated employer stock without ignoring the tax bill.

High-income dual-career couples

Two strong incomes, backdoor and mega-backdoor Roth strategy, and coordinating two employers' benefits into one plan instead of two half-plans.

Healthcare & university professionals

Intermountain, the U, and hospital-system retirement plans — 403(b), 457, and the choices that get made once and rarely revisited.

The crypto-curious — done responsibly

Salt Lake asks about crypto more than anywhere. Education-first guidance through regulated exchange-traded products — no private keys, ever — sized to your plan, not the hype.

Business owners & founders

Retirement plans that scale with the company, personal-versus-business balance-sheet separation, and planning toward a future liquidity event.

Anyone tired of being sold to

Fiduciary, fee-based, non-discretionary. A written plan, every conflict disclosed in writing, and no product pushed for a commission. Here's who you'd be working with.

An Honest Checklist

Kimberlite May Fit If — and Probably Doesn't If

This may fit if: a meaningful part of your compensation is equity you're not sure how to handle; you want a fee-based fiduciary with no product to push; you want to approve every trade; and you want honest crypto guidance from someone who'll also tell you when the answer is no.

It probably doesn't fit if: you want aggressive stock-picking or market-timing; you want a discretionary manager who trades without asking — mine is non-discretionary by design; or you want someone to validate going all-in on one coin or one stock. That's not advice, and I won't pretend it is.

Every fee is published to the dollar on the pricing page — asset-based management, hourly consulting at $275, or flat-fee planning — billed only in arrears, never in advance.

Where I Meet Clients

Across the Salt Lake Valley

Video-first for most Salt Lake clients, with in-person available along the Wasatch Front — by appointment, Monday through Saturday.

Salt Lake City Sandy Draper South Jordan Cottonwood Heights Murray Holladay West Jordan

North of the valley? See Davis County, or the virtual advice page for the rest of Utah.

Common Questions

Salt Lake City FAQ

Do you help with RSUs, ESPPs, and stock options?

Yes — it's a core part of the work. We build a vesting and sell-schedule strategy, use the ESPP well, plan option-exercise timing, and reduce concentration in employer stock deliberately, with an eye on the tax consequences and in coordination with your CPA. I advise; you approve every trade.

What does "fee-based" actually mean here?

It means you pay clearly stated fees for advice and management — published on the pricing page — and any potential conflict is disclosed to you in writing before advice is given. Insurance is offered separately through Kimberlite Insurance Services and is never a condition of advisory work.

Can you actually advise on cryptocurrency?

Yes, responsibly. Exposure comes through regulated exchange-traded products — never private keys or self-custody — sized to your plan and risk tolerance. Digital assets suit some clients and not others; part of honest advice is telling you which one you are.

Do you cover the whole Salt Lake Valley?

Yes — from downtown out to the south-valley suburbs, mostly over video, which is the same screen-shared experience for reviews. If you're in Lehi or the Silicon Slopes corridor, that's Utah County — see the Utah County page, built around that tech corridor.

You're based in Layton — how do Salt Lake meetings work?

Most Salt Lake clients meet by video, which is genuinely the same experience for quarterly reviews — screen-shared, walking through the same written report. In-person along the Wasatch Front is available when it's worth the drive.

Put a Plan Around Your Equity

A complimentary 30-minute intro call — your compensation, your goals, and an honest read on whether we fit. No pressure, no product pitch.

Schedule Your Intro Call