Financial Planning Built Around the Decisions You Face
Different financial situations require different planning strategies. Explore how Marks Wealth Management works with pre-retirees, business owners, families, and employees of institutions like Johns Hopkins and BGE.
Wealth Management Clients We Serve Across Maryland
Marks Wealth Management is a fee-only fiduciary firm based in Ellicott City, serving individuals, families, business owners, and professionals.
Led by a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and supported by a Chartered Market Technician (CMT), our team helps clients coordinate investment strategy, retirement planning, taxes, and long-term financial decisions within one comprehensive plan.
Wealth Management Clients We Serve Across Maryland
Marks Wealth Management is a fee-only fiduciary firm based in Ellicott City, serving individuals, families, business owners, and professionals.
Led by a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and supported by a Chartered Market Technician (CMT), our team helps clients coordinate investment strategy, retirement planning, taxes, and long-term financial decisions within one comprehensive plan.
Pre-Retirees and Recent Retirees
The years leading into retirement often come with some difficult questions and can carry the greatest financial consequences. Decisions around retirement income, Social Security, taxes, and portfolio risk become increasingly interconnected as retirement approaches.
Our team is here to help you navigate these questions and help you coordinate these decisions through active retirement planning and long-term investment strategy.
Business Owners & Executives
Business ownership, equity compensation, concentrated wealth, and succession planning create financial complexity that often requires more coordinated guidance than traditional advisory models provide.
We help business owners and executives align investment strategy, taxes, retirement planning, and long-term financial decisions within one comprehensive plan.
Johns Hopkins Personnel
Johns Hopkins employees often navigate layered retirement benefits, including 403(b) plans, TIAA investment options, and employer contribution structures such as the 4/8 and 6/12 plans.
We help employees evaluate those decisions within the context of retirement planning, taxes, and long-term investment strategy.
Baltimore Gas and Electric Employees
BGE employees have access to pension benefits, employer 401(k) matching, and profit-sharing contributions that can become a powerful retirement foundation when coordinated carefully.
Marks Wealth Management has worked with more than 125 BGE families, helping employees evaluate pension decisions, retirement income planning, and long-term investment strategy.
Pre-Retirees and Recent Retirees
Families with growing wealth often find themselves managing investments, taxes, retirement planning, insurance, and estate considerations across multiple institutions and advisors.
We help individuals and families coordinate those decisions within one long-term financial strategy designed around their broader goals.
Your Financial Plan Starts with a Conversation
Every plan we build begins with your goals, your financial picture, and the decisions ahead.
Why Marks Wealth Management?
Financial planning requires more than projections alone. It requires coordinated guidance, informed decision-making, and a long-term strategy built around your goals.
Planning Led by a Certified Financial Planner
Your financial plan is guided by a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) who evaluates retirement, income, taxes, investments, and long-term goals as part of one coordinated strategy.
Portfolio Management Built Around Your Goals
Your portfolio is managed with attention to retirement income, long-term financial stability, and changing market conditions. Our investment process incorporates technical analysis through a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) alongside ongoing risk evaluation designed to support the realities of retirement planning.
A Long-Term Partner for the Years Ahead
Your financial life does not follow a straight line, and neither should your advisory relationship. As your goals, responsibilities, and opportunities evolve over time, your financial plan should evolve with them.
Our team is structured to support long-term client relationships through coordinated guidance designed to adapt alongside every stage of life.
Serving Maryland and beyond
Marks Wealth Management is headquartered in Ellicott City, Maryland, serving clients throughout Howard County, Baltimore, Annapolis, and the greater Washington metropolitan region.
We are also registered to provide investment advisory services in multiple states, allowing us to continue serving clients who relocate, maintain residences in more than one state, or spend part of the year outside Maryland.
Our Process
The best financial decisions start with a clear understanding of your goals, your current position, and the path ahead.
Our process is built to bring clarity, transparency, and ongoing guidance to every stage of your financial life.
Goal Orientation
We start by getting to know your goals, priorities, and ambitions so every recommendation begins with what matters most to you.
Financial Review
We assess your current financial picture, including existing accounts, investments, contributions, and opportunities for improvement, to understand exactly where you stand today.
Planning & Forecasting
We build a forward-looking plan around your retirement timeline, cash flow needs, and future income sources to map the financial path ahead.
Strategic Guidance
We present clear recommendations and give you full visibility into your plan so you can understand each decision and move forward with confidence.
Implementation
We put your plan into action with careful coordination and clear communication, so each step is carried out smoothly and transparently.
Active Monitoring & Review
We continue to review your holdings, contributions, and overall strategy over time, making thoughtful adjustments as your life and financial needs evolve.
What Our Clients Say
Have been with MWM since retiring in 2022 and it’s one of the best financial decisions I’ve ever made. They have solid investment strategies with expert analysis that adapts to the ever changing markets in order to grow your portfolio. This coupled with regular communications and support have made the financial side of retirement a piece of cake. So, check out MWM and make your life easy.
Cary Allen
The entire Marks Wealth Management team is great to work with. Since investing with them, my portfolio has steadily increased and reaffirms what a great decision it was to trust them with my portfolio.
Donnie Halloway
As an older retiree, I have depended on Charles and his team to help keep me as independent as possible. I am one of the few among my friends who doesn’t seem to have money worries. Special thanks to Catherine and Taylor for all your care.
Jan Dove
I’ve been with Charlie MWM for 11 years now and could not be more pleased. His staff is very attentive, knowledgeable and professional. In a word …outstanding!
Joe Karl
Meet The Team
Charles N. Marks
Founder and CEO
Recognized by Forbes as a Best-In-State Wealth Advisor for 2025/2026, Charles Marks founded Marks Wealth Management in 2020 on a principle he carried from his first role as an intern at Merrill Lynch at age 20: his clients' best interests come first. He leads the firm's strategy today with the same conviction, building long-term relationships with clients who become friends and family.
Catherine C. Jackson
Principal Financial Planner
Catherine leads the firm's financial planning work, building and guiding plans for clients across retirement, Social Security optimization, and long-term wealth strategy. She earned her CFP® designation in 2019 and has been with the firm since 2016, making her one of the longest-tenured members of the team.
Taylor A. Marks
Managing Director
Taylor oversees client relationships, compliance, and the firm's operational direction. Every piece of content and every client-facing detail passes through her review before it reaches the outside world. She sets the standard for how the firm presents itself and how clients experience the relationship.
Finnian P. Devine
Associate Portfolio Manager
Finnian is one of the youngest Chartered Market Technicians in the country. He works alongside Charles Marks conducting daily portfolio monitoring and market analysis, bringing technical analysis skills to the firm's active management approach.
Richard T. Gloekler
Associate Advisor
Richard guides prospective clients through the firm's planning process, ensuring every new relationship starts with personal attention from the very first conversation. He joined Marks Wealth Management as an intern before moving into a full-time advisory role.
Let’s Talk About Your Financial Future
Key Takeaway:
Marks Wealth Management provides fee-only fiduciary financial planning for individuals, families, business owners, pre-retirees, and professionals across Maryland with complex financial lives and long-term planning needs. Our team helps clients coordinate investment strategy, retirement planning, taxes, employer benefits, and estate considerations within one comprehensive financial plan.
Marks Wealth Management generally works with individuals and families who have at least $1 million in investable assets. As financial lives become more complex across retirement planning, taxes, investments, and estate considerations, coordinated financial guidance often becomes more valuable.
Yes. We are registered to provide investment advisory services in multiple states and regularly work with clients who relocate, maintain residences in more than one state, or spend part of the year outside Maryland.
Fee-only wealth management firms often charge a percentage of assets under management, though fee structures vary based on the scope and complexity of the relationship. Marks Wealth Management operates as a fee-only fiduciary firm, meaning our compensation comes directly from the clients we serve rather than commissions or product sales.
Many people look for three things when evaluating a financial advisor: fiduciary responsibility, transparent compensation, and planning credentials relevant to long-term financial decision-making. Credentials such as the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation can indicate broader financial planning expertise, while a fee-only structure helps reduce conflicts of interest.
Key Takeaway:
Marks Wealth Management provides fee-only fiduciary financial planning for individuals, families, business owners, pre-retirees, and professionals across Maryland with complex financial lives and long-term planning needs. Our team helps clients coordinate investment strategy, retirement planning, taxes, employer benefits, and estate considerations within one comprehensive financial plan.