OUR STORY
When we started R.M. Davis in 1978, our overarching goal was to offer straightforward answers and uncomplicated solutions to individuals with a connection to Maine needing independent investment counsel and financial planning services—what each of us would want to receive if we had a reasonable amount of wealth and the normal challenges that entails.
We wanted our clients to be able to deal directly with practitioners in the firm who would respond to questions with professional advice and appropriate guidance. Clients would never have to deal with salespeople, nor would they ever be sold a product or service by us that involved a commission. All advice would be unbiased and timely. Further, the firm would be staffed by highly educated people who shared our vision and passion for helping clients of means optimize and leverage opportunities to manage their wealth. In other words, the firm would aim to assist these clients in being good stewards of their financial resources.
An important goal of the firm was to work with different generations of clients within family units, assisting with intergenerational wealth transfer decisions including estate planning, gifting, education funding and trustee responsibilities. In this regard, our objective was to become a trusted confidant who would collaborate with families and their other advisors to implement solutions to important financial challenges.
Ultimately, the keys to success or failure would be integrity and trust. These values could only be earned over time, but they could be lost in a moment’s notice. Therefore, it has always been critical that the representatives of R.M. Davis have a sound code of ethics and a fundamental belief that their own personal interests are subservient to those of the firm’s clients. After all was said and done, it was the firm’s reputation that would differentiate it from all other providers of financial services and become the hallmark of its success.
Today, we can look back and say, ‘Yes, we have been, and continue to be, true to our goals and principles.’
Robert “Mal” Davis founded the company in 1978 because he believed the growing Portland market deserved an advisory firm able to provide a higher level of service than was available at that time.
Today, R.M. Davis is led by (from L): Scot Draeger, President & General Counsel; Brian Noyes, Chairman of the Board of Directors; and Geoff Alexander, Chief Executive Officer.
Our headquarters building is a fascinating part of Portland’s history. Originally only three stories, it was home to the H. H. Hay Apothecary from 1859 until 1964.