The culture and business practices created at Hayden-based Alpha III Wealth Management LLC are meant to reflect its managing partners’ military backgrounds.

“The character of which we operate stems from the disciplines we have,” says Todd Halterman, co-founder and managing partner of Alpha III. “Everything from how we run our schedule to how we follow up with our clients is a component of the discipline and training we had in the military.”

Halterman founded the veteran-owned business in 2019 with John Adams, Alpha III's other managing partner, and Jerry Hunsanger, who is no longer active with the company on a day-to-day basis but still is considered a “legacy adviser.”

“One of our big mantras is to lead from the front,” says Adams. “Anything that we invest our clients in is something that we believe in, and we either invest in it ourselves or we would invest in it.”

Prior to his career in the financial services industry, Adams served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a sergeant and infantry squad leader. He served four years of active duty and two years of reserve.

Halterman served in the U.S. Navy for 5 1/2 years during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Strike.

“The main thing that drew us together is we’re both veterans, so our company is a veteran-owned business, which is a key component to our vision,” Adams says.

Alpha III’s primary focuses are on business planning, high-income tax planning, and advanced estate planning, Halterman says.

Adams adds that Alpha III also handles a lot of advanced charitable giving strategies, lifetime income planning, and defensive and principal-protected investments.

“We are truly a financial planning firm. Some companies say they’re financial planning, but they actually just do investment planning,” Halterman says. “We bill by the hour or by retainer to solve problems for people even when it doesn’t involve investments.”

Adams is also an approved Dave Ramsey SmartVestor Pro financial adviser, so Alpha III takes on clients who are in need of debt mitigation services, Adams says.

Alpha III has over 400 clients from around the U.S., many of whom reside in the Pacific Northwest. The average age of the firm’s clientele is between 50 and 65, Adams says, although he notes that they work with people at any phase of their lives.

The company has assets of about $390 million under management.

While some wealth management providers have investment minimums that potential clients must meet—some require a minimum of $500,000, for example—Alpha III has no such requirement.

“We don’t believe in that at all, because we think that’s an injustice for financial planning,” Adams says. “Most of the people who need financial planning and need guidance don’t have that much money.”

Prior to forming Alpha III, Halterman was managing partner and CEO of Kennewick, Washington-based Pacific Crest Planning Inc. He sold his book of business to his two junior advisers, who still run Pacific Crest. Halterman brought with him to Alpha III about 100 of his personal clients who weren't part of the business sale.

Adams previously was chief advisory officer and chief operations officer of Anaheim, California-based Centaurus Financial Inc. He also ran his own financial planning firm, Adams Wealth Group, which was separate from his role at Centaurus Financial.

Shorty after Alpha III was formed, the company acquired Coeur d’Alene-based Marcheso & Associates Wealth Management and Spokane-based Hunsanger Financial Services LLC.

Halterman’s entrance into the financial services industry came as a result of his personal experience with financial planning.

Just under 30 years ago, both of Halterman’s grandfathers passed away within a year of each other. Halterman, who was a firefighter on Spokane’s South Hill at the time, traveled to Lewiston, Idaho, every other week to help his grandmothers with their estates.

While helping his grandmothers with their financial affairs, Halterman says he found out how apathetic many financial professionals were to their situation.

“Twenty-eight years later, I’m advocating for families and their needs to make sure they get represented properly with holistic financial planning,” he says.

Adams got his start in financial services shortly after he finished his active duty in 2000, he says.

Adams’ roommate at the time, a friend from the Marine Corps, was a driving instructor, and during one of his lessons, a student ran over a mailbox. That mailbox happened to belong to the chairman and CEO of Centaurus Financial, who ended up offering Adams and his friend jobs when he learned they were Marines. Adams also was attending school for business and finance at the time.

“It was just by happenstance that we started working there, and I’ve been in the business 23 years, ever since that day some young girl ran over a mailbox,” Adams says.

Being located in a smaller city like Hayden allows for the staff at Alpha III to really get to know clients, Halterman says.

“We’re entrenched in the community,” Halterman says. “We have real relationships with real people, so we can give real answers.”

Adams says that services in larger cities often can be more transaction based, and relationships may be more digital or virtual. He says he hopes to continue growing Alpha III, but not at the expense of quality service for clients.

“We want to grow, but we want to have managed growth, because the main thing for us is our customer relationships and our service,” Adams says. “We never want to dilute our service model for a capital gain.”

Alpha III’s main office is located in Hayden at 162 E. Hayden. The company also has associated offices in Anaheim, California; Queenstown, Maryland; Kennewick, Washington; and the Idaho towns of Boise, Eagle, and Clark Fork.

In total, Alpha III has nine advisers, five of whom are based at the Hayden office. The company has 14 employees altogether.

“The majority of investors is still underserved, so we want to make ourselves available for everyone in the community, big or small, and help them retire successfully,” Adams says.

Alpha III’s securities and advisory services are offered through its broker-dealer Centaurus Financial. Alpha III and Centaurus Financial aren't affiliated companies.