Independent, Locally Owned, and Named for Fort Smith Itself
Old Fort Wealth Management is a woman-owned firm in downtown Fort Smith, led by Melanie Radcliff, CPA/PFS, who spent 25 years in public accounting before building a wealth practice around what those years taught her.
Where the Name Came From, and Why It Stuck
A local firm, not a branch of one
The questions people ask about Old Fort Wealth Management are usually the practical ones: who owns it, who they will actually sit down with, and what the Kovack name on the paperwork means. We are an independent, woman-owned firm here in Fort Smith, led by Melanie Radcliff, CPA/PFS, with a small team who all work directly with clients. Advisory services are offered through Kovack Advisors, Inc., an SEC-registered investment advisory firm, and securities through Kovack Securities, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. That affiliation gives a local practice the compliance oversight, custody structure and research resources of a national firm, and it does not change who owns the business or who answers your call. Decisions about your plan are made in this office.
Fort Smith grew up around the fort that gave the city its name, and a firm built here took the older name on purpose. Longevity means something in this market, and so does knowing the place well enough to understand what a client's life actually looks like. Being a locally owned financial advisor in Arkansas means our office sits on North Greenwood Avenue in the middle of downtown, our second office is opening in Rogers to serve Northwest Arkansas, and the people managing your money live in the same communities you do. We run into clients at the grocery store and at the same charity events, which tends to keep everyone honest in the best way. It also means we can meet you in person, in a real office, whenever you would rather do this face to face.
A Small Team, and No Handoff After the First Meeting
The people you meet are the people who stay with you
Our team is deliberately small, so the person who reads your tax return is the person who builds your plan and the person who picks up when you call with a question two years later. Melanie leads the introductory tax analysis and portfolio review, and our team handles the planning, service and follow-through alongside her.
"Our purpose is to help clients understand their own money well enough to make informed decisions with it, which is why we walk through returns and statements together instead of mailing out a report.
Outside the office, that same commitment shows up in local civic and charitable work supporting women's education, employment and life skills."
What Working With a Tax-Focused Firm Looks Like
Four steps, starting with a document you already have
We often begin by reviewing tax returns and other financial documents to better understand a client's circumstances and planning needs. Here's what the process may look like from the first conversation through ongoing planning.
The free tax analysis
You bring your most recent return and account statements, and we read them together and tell you what we see.
Your TAXNAV roadmap
We map your retirement income accounts and withdrawal order year by year, so the tax strategy is visible on paper before anything is implemented.
Implementation
We help implement planning reccomendations across your investment accounts, coordinating with your attorney or accountant when appropriate.
Ongoing review
We meet regularly to review your financial plan and discuss any changes in your circumstances, market conditions, or tax environment that may affect your planning considerations.