Professional Wealth Management. Independent thought, tailored advice.
Wellsage Wealth is a fee‑only Registered Investment Advisor providing investment management, financial planning, and financial education services. Drawing on experience gained advising large institutions, we bring the same thoughtful guidance and disciplined approach to the individuals and families we serve.
We offer holistic investment management and financial planning services, with an emphasis on transparency and a tailored client experience. We seek to be your partner on your financial journey. While we don’t claim to have all the right answers, we seek to ask the right questions and identify risks, and opportunities, critical for our clients’ ability to navigate an increasingly complex world.
We pride ourselves on being an independent advisor. We don’t sell insurance, we don’t outsource investment management, we don’t use robo-advisors or WRAP fee structures. We believe our approach is both cost-effective & may reduce conflicts of interest. We are focused on one thing: delivering objective advice as your trusted advisor and partner.
Meet Dave, your Advisor
David Adamse, Juris Doctor & MBA, Columbia University
Wellsage Wealth Management LLC, President and Principal Investment Advisor
David Adamse founded Wellsage Wealth Management after noticing a gap in the market for institutional-quality, fee-only, independent investment management services. He holds both a law degree and MBA from Columbia University, where he was recognized as a Kent Scholar, inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, and awarded the Sonkin Family Prize for Value Investing. When not spending time analyzing markets and working on portfolio strategy, he enjoys spending time with his wife, two young children and dog. He is an avid guitarist and drummer, enjoys cooking and is both a car and watch enthusiast as well as an admirer of other things that blend engineering and art (“archaic stuff”).
David’s career reflects both breadth and depth across markets, risk management and advisory services. He has worked in such diverse roles as a Fixed Income Strategist and Economist at a major Canadian bank, an Equity Macro Strategist at a major U.S. bank, an Investment Banker at both Lazard and J.P. Morgan, and as an Executive at a global corporation. He has extensive experience in markets, finance, industry and economics, and leverages this broad perspective in how he approaches investment management on behalf of his clients.
-
David started his life journey in finance and economics as a Fixed Income Strategist and Macroeconomist on RBC Capital Market’s global headquarters bond desk. In this role, he advised both external institutional clients and the internal proprietary bond trading desk, structuring trade ideas, providing macroeconomic insights and conducting other economic data and statistical analyses.
David then moved to Merrill Lynch with his RBC Director, David Wolf (former Senior Advisor to the Bank of Canada), working for David Wolf (Head of Canadian Macroeconomic Strategy) and David Rosenberg (Merrill Lynch Chief North American Economist) on macroeconomic, equity and fixed income strategy analysis. Included in his analysis during this time was a client research note flagging a preference to own Canadian Bank equities over U.S. Bank equities due to emerging risks to the latter from mortgage exposure, a risk that David recognized as emergent and potentially severe, more than a year prior to the 2008 financial crisis.
The next phase in David’s career took him back to graduate school; deciding that obtaining a Juris Doctor and MBA from Columbia University would significantly broaden his perspective. This path had David intern at several storied firms, including Arkin Kaplan Rice, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Lazard Freres. He ultimately chose to join Lazard in its M&A and Restructuring practice. His Lazard experience included major restructuring and M&A engagements, cumulatively totaling more than $5 billion in completed transactions. Seeking broader industry exposure, David then moved to J.P. Morgan’s Diversified Industries group, where he further expanded his experience to include multiple major financings and M&A transactions, including General Motors’ landmark $12.5 billion revolving debt facility, Landis+Gyr’s $2.1 billion sale to Toshiba and Harman’s $780 million acquisition of Symphony Teleca, among other major transactions. In total, David has advised on more than $25 billion of global transactions during his time at both Lazard and J.P. Morgan.
Following his time at J.P. Morgan, David moved to a senior leadership role at one of his clients, Harman International. Eventually his role broadened to include global leadership across Treasury, Risk Management and Strategic Finance. Additionally, David was part of a three person Investment Committee overseeing Harman’s 401k plan, acting as a fiduciary on behalf of plan participants.
-
JD / MBA Columbia University, James Kent Scholar, Gamma Beta Sigma Honors
Prior Experience:
Global Head of Strategic Finance, HARMAN International (a Samsung Company)
Vice President, Investment Banking, JP Morgan, New York, New York
Associate, Investment Banking, Lazard Freres, New York, New York
Equity and Fixed Income Strategist, Merrill Lynch, Toronto, Canada
Fixed Income Strategist and Economist, RBC Capital Markets, Toronto, Canada
-
Juris Doctorate (JD)
Master’s in Business Administration (MBA)
Series 65 Exam Completed
Private Wealth Services
Wellsage Wealth offers portfolio management services where we manage our clients’ investments, tailored to their goals and objectives and individual or family risk profile.
-
Our philosophy is to utilize low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs) where possible and only introduce additional complexity, such as options overlays, individual securities, or diversifying asset classes, when appropriate. We look to understand and address complexities specific to our clients; whether it be liquidity event planning, concentrated stock risk management, tax-aware portfolio construction or post-business-sale wealth transition. In doing so we seek to provide high levels of client service and transparency.
Please review our Form ADV Brochure here for further information on our Portfolio Management Services, along with additional important disclosures.
Wellsage Wealth offers financial planning services as part of our fiduciary commitment to clients. We offer both broad-based and modular planning, enabling clients to engage us on the full spectrum of their financial lives or focus more narrowly on issues of specific concern.
-
Clients retain control over whether and how to implement our recommendations, and Wellsage receives no commissions or product-based compensation. Our sole source of compensation is the fee arrangement disclosed in our advisory agreements.
In cases where we manage a client’s portfolio but additional financial planning is requested, we work to integrate all activities - as we look to provide a holistic view. Similarly, we are happy to engage clients in Financial Planning activities if they have their portfolios managed elsewhere.
Please review our Form ADV Brochure here for further information on our Financial Planning Services, along with additional important disclosures.
Wellsage Wealth believes strong financial literacy is core to building and maintaining intergenerational wealth. In addition to portfolio management and financial planning, Wellsage Wealth Management provides financial education services.
-
Wellsage views financial education services as part of our fiduciary commitment and holistic wealth management approach to clients. These services are designed to equip clients and their families with the knowledge needed to make informed financial decisions that help provide a basis for growing wealth for both current and future generations. Education is offered without commissions or product sales and is delivered either as part of an ongoing advisory relationship or on an hourly basis.
Why Wellsage?
Independent, Client-First Approach, with Advice as our Sole Product
We take pride in serving as your trusted independent, fee-only Advisor. We are not owned by private equity or an arm of a national or regional platform. We do not sell third party products or services. Our focus is singular: delivering objective, client‑centered guidance. What we offer is our advice—grounded in experience, expertise, independent judgment, and unwavering support.
We Seek Long-Term, Direct Partnership with our Clients
We’re committed to growing with you. The deeper our understanding of your goals, challenges, and the changes that shape your life, the more effectively we can tailor our advice. Strong, enduring relationships allow us to deliver guidance that stays aligned with what matters most to you. The person who constructs the portfolio is the one who advises you and provides guidance.
Sophisticated Expertise, Transparent Implementation
We bring both depth and breadth of expertise to every engagement. We recognize that complexity is sometimes necessary to achieve your goals, but we never introduce it without purpose. Our advisory philosophy reflects this balance, with a fee-only business model and maximum transparency. We don’t have all the answers - no one does - but we aim to help ask the right questions. We see this as core to our value proposition to you.
Our Structure
Fee-Only
Portfolio clients charged a fixed percentage at quarter-end on assets managed. For Financial Planning and Education clients, an hourly rate is charged (discounted if also a Portfolio client).
No commissions.
No WRAP fees.
No insurance commissions.
No third-party portfolio management platforms.
No advance billing.
Independent
Independently owned and managed. Portfolios constructed in-house and allocated based on a tailored assessment of each client.
Not owned by private equity.
Not a local branch of a regional or national brand.
Not a distributor of other managed products.
The Importance of Performing Diligence on your Financial Advisor
Selecting a financial advisor is an important decision, and we believe informed clients make better long‑term partners. At Wellsage, we view transparency as foundational; as an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser we do not receive commissions or compensation from third parties for recommending specific products or services. We encourage every prospective client to review firm disclosures carefully and to ask questions—of us or of any advisor you are considering engaging.
One of the most important documents to review is an advisor’s Form ADV Part 2 (Disclosure Brochure). This document provides detailed information about the advisor’s services, fee structure, investment philosophy, and potential conflicts of interest, along with other material information relevant to the advisor-client relationship. For retail clients, we also strongly recommend reviewing the Client Relationship Summary (Form CRS), which is a shorter, plain‑English summary designed to help investors more easily compare advisory firms. We provide this document before you engage us for services, and it is also available on our website and through regulatory sources.
We also recommend that you review the Form ADV Part 2 disclosures of any other registered investment adviser you may be considering.
When reviewing an advisor’s disclosures (which can be found here), consider asking questions such as:
How are you compensated, and how are fees calculated?
Are any third parties compensated—directly or indirectly—for services related to my relationship?
Can you provide examples of total anticipated fees and expenses?
Do you bill fees in advance of services rendered? If so, why?
Do you or your firm receive commissions related to investment, insurance, or product recommendations? If so, how are potential conflicts managed?
Reviewing and comparing these documents across advisors can help highlight important differences in services, compensation models, fiduciary obligations, and overall business practices—enabling you to make a well‑informed decision.
You can access our Form ADV Part 2 through the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website or by contacting us directly. We are always happy to answer any questions you may have about our firm, our approach, or how we compare to other advisory options.