Fort Worth adviser builds $500M RIA targeting oil-and-gas staff

Justin Brownlee, owner and lead adviser at Brownlee Wealth Management in Fort Worth and Houston, built a fee-only registered investment advisory to about $500 million in assets under management and 70 clients in six years by publishing narrowly focused tax and estate-planning content for oil-and-gas employees.

Brownlee spent much of his career at Fidelity Investments in the Houston area, where many clients worked for energy companies. He described finding himself advising mainly oil-and-gas employees and leaving Fidelity to start his own firm and publish material aimed at the specific planning issues those clients face. While bound by a nonsolicit agreement, he did not recruit former employer clients until the restriction ended.

He launched a website, posted on LinkedIn and later added a podcast and a YouTube channel. Early content mixed general financial advice with highly targeted pieces. One narrow article aimed at “nine or 10 people in the entire world” led directly to three or four new clients, Brownlee recalled. Some posts were printed and circulated inside companies, helping the firm gain traction. The firm now produces the “Financial Planning for Oil and Gas Professionals” podcast, with more than 100 episodes.

Brownlee described the niche as having recurring planning issues. Many large oil-and-gas employers still hold net unrealized appreciation, or NUA, inside 401(k) plans and provide large employer contributions through matching, profit sharing and pension credits. Those features can create high concentrations of pretax assets and complex tax outcomes over a client’s lifetime. Brownlee estimated an incorrect NUA election could produce lifetime tax consequences that reach seven figures when combined with other cash-flow and tax events. He also noted that NUA shares do not receive a step-up in basis at death, which affects estate decisions.

The firm charges fixed fees rather than a percentage of assets. Brownlee said fixed fees better align with clients who bring $5 million to $20 million in assets, where a standard 1% AUM fee would be comparatively expensive. The RIA includes tax preparation and limited estate-document drafting in its services. For median clients, about $6 million to $7 million, the firm offers revocable living trust drafting; cases involving estates in the hundreds of millions are referred for more specialized planning.

Clients are often technically minded, including many engineers who follow detailed tax and planning arguments. Brownlee said some clients could handle their tax planning on their own, but seek a partner who understands their specific employer benefits.

Brownlee advised advisers who want a niche to pick one with specific planning intricacies and to make their content discoverable. He attributed the firm’s growth over six years to consistent, narrowly targeted content and a fee structure matched to higher-balance clients.