Why we exist, and why it matters to you.
Applied Wealth Management was founded on a single conviction: the only person an advisor should be accountable to is the client in front of them.
About Applied Wealth Management
Applied Wealth Management is an independent, fee-based fiduciary Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) headquartered in Bakersfield, California, serving clients nationwide. The firm was founded by Jermaine Carter, CFBS, MSFS, AEP®, who serves as Founder and Managing Principal with over 16 years of experience guiding individuals, families, and business owners through every stage of their financial lives.
The team includes Selena Teasley, CFP®, RICP®, and Dominik Yates, CFP®, both fiduciary financial advisors. Client assets are custodied at Altruist and Charles Schwab.
- Headquarters
- Bakersfield, California
- Offices
- Atlanta · Bakersfield · Las Vegas · Los Angeles · Oakland
- Serves
- Clients nationwide
- Custodians
- Altruist · Charles Schwab
Why do families with good advisors still end up with bad outcomes?
“Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.”
Applied Wealth Management didn’t start with a business plan. It started with that question, the one Jermaine Carter couldn’t stop asking after years in the industry.
The answer was always the same. The advisor’s incentives and the client’s interests weren’t aligned, and they couldn’t be, not in a system built around commissions, proprietary products, and quarterly performance theater.
So Jermaine built something different: an independent fiduciary firm with nothing to sell but its judgment.
Our job is to take you to the vantage point.
The word vantage means an elevated point of view, a place high enough to see what cannot be seen from the ground. That is the entire premise of this firm.
Most people live their financial lives in fragments. The retirement account is in one place, the estate plan in a file cabinet, the insurance policies with three carriers who have never spoken to each other. The tax preparer works in April and disappears until next year. None of those professionals are wrong. None of them can see the whole picture either, because they are standing right where you are, in the middle of it all.
From the vantage point, you can see how every decision affects every other decision. From there, the right path forward becomes obvious.
Four values in one logical chain.
Aligned incentive makes intellectual honesty possible. Honesty is only credible under complete independence. And independence is only useful when paired with integration.
Incentive
When an advisor’s incentive points at a product, you get a product pitch. When it points at the client, you get advice. We structured the firm so the only incentive pointing at us is yours: stay a client because we made your life better.
Intellectual Honesty
We will tell you when a decision is a mistake, even if you have already made it. When we don’t know the answer, we say so. When we think you don’t need our services, we say that too. The truth is more useful than the comfortable version of it, every time.
Complete Independence
No proprietary products. No commissions on investment management. No captive insurance carriers. No broker-dealer affiliations. No quotas. When we tell you what we think you should do, there is no version of the recommendation that pays us better.
Integration
A financial plan only matters if someone applies it to your life as it unfolds. When something happens, there is one number to call, and the person who answers already knows your full picture. Decisions get made in one conversation, with everything in view.
The team behind your plan.
Meet our coordinated team. Each advisor specializes in a different type of client, so whatever your background, you’ll work with someone who knows it well. Open any profile to read the full bio and get in touch.
Questions about the firm
Direct answers about how Applied Wealth Management is structured, what it costs, and where your assets actually live.
- How do I know if my financial advisor is actually a fiduciary?
- Ask three questions. First: are you compensated solely by fees from clients, or do you also receive commissions or third-party payments? Second: will you sign a written fiduciary oath stating you will act in my best interest at all times? Third: do you receive any compensation for recommending specific products, including dinners, retreats, or sponsored trips? A true fiduciary answers all three transparently. If an advisor deflects, equivocates, or refuses to sign, that is your answer.
- What does a financial advisor cost in California?
- Fiduciary advisors in California typically charge between 0.50% and 1.25% of assets under management annually, depending on portfolio size and service complexity. Some also offer flat-fee or hourly arrangements for planning-only work. Be careful with advisors compensated mainly through product commissions, where the true cost is often buried inside the product itself. Applied Wealth Management is fee-based: you pay a transparent, agreed-upon fee for planning and investment management, and every cost is disclosed in writing before any engagement begins.
- Where is Applied Wealth Management located and who do you serve?
- Applied Wealth Management is headquartered in Bakersfield, California, with team presence in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Oakland. We serve clients nationwide through secure video conferencing and in-person meetings. Typical clients include families approaching or in retirement, business owners planning a succession or sale, professionals with significant equity compensation, and athletes and entertainers managing concentrated income windows.
- Where are client assets held?
- Client assets are custodied at Altruist and Charles Schwab, two independent custodians. Your accounts are held in your own name at the custodian, and you can see them directly at any time. Applied Wealth Management never takes possession of your money; our authority is limited to managing the accounts under the agreement you sign.
- What does "Applied" mean in your name?
- Wealth management is a theory: a plan, a portfolio, a set of documents. Applied wealth management is what happens when someone connects all of it to your actual life as it unfolds. When something changes, one call reaches a person who already knows your full picture and coordinates taxes, investments, insurance, and estate into a single recommendation. That is also why our process is called The Vantage Formula: it takes an elevated view that sees everything at once.
The hardest part is starting the conversation. We’ll take it from there.
Tell us where you are and what’s worrying you. We’ll ask questions, listen, and tell you honestly whether we can help.
- A fiduciary, legally bound to act in your interest
- Fee-based planning with transparent, plain-English costs
- Investments, tax, retirement, and estate coordinated under one roof
- A 45-minute first conversation, with no obligation
Prefer to speak directly? Skip the form and call us. No gatekeepers.
Call (661) 487-1020