A quieter way to plan a deliberate life.
For over twenty years, Dennis M Gurtz has helped families, professionals, and business owners across the Bethesda and D.C. metro region turn scattered financial decisions into a single, coherent plan — one built to hold up across decades, not quarters.
Planning, the way it ought to feel.
Most people don't need another glossy projection or a forty-page deck they'll never open. They need a clear-eyed second opinion from someone who has actually sat with these questions before — through bull markets, recessions, college tuitions, aging parents, and the quiet, complicated work of passing things on.
That is the practice Dennis has built in Bethesda. Slow, specific, and unhurried. A first conversation that runs a full hour. A written plan you can actually read. Recommendations that hold up whether the year is 2008 or 2024 — and that you'll still understand a decade from now.
Affiliated with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, the work draws on the resources of a national firm while keeping the relationship where it belongs: local, personal, and accountable to a name you know.
What we actually do together.
Six core engagements, each scoped to a specific question. Indicative pricing below — final fees are confirmed in writing after a complimentary first conversation. Most clients begin with a Comprehensive Financial Plan and continue into ongoing advisory.
All fees are disclosed in writing before any engagement begins. Investment advisory services are offered through Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Request a QuoteThree conversations, no pressure.
A first meeting, on the house.
A full hour, in person at the Bethesda office or by video. We talk through what's on your mind, what's keeping you up, and what you're hoping the next ten years look like. No deck, no pitch — just questions and listening.
A written plan you can read.
Within two weeks you receive a plain-language plan: where you stand today, what's working, what's leaking, and the specific moves that matter most. We walk through it together, line by line, until it's clear.
An ongoing relationship, if you want one.
Most clients continue into ongoing advisory — quarterly reviews, an annual plan refresh, and a real person to call when life shifts. No call centers, no handoffs. The same name on the door picks up the phone.
Local. Independent in spirit.
Dennis built this practice one household at a time — mostly through referrals from neighbors, colleagues, and longtime clients in the Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Northwest D.C. communities. There is no quota, no call center, no rotating cast of associates.
The affiliation with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC brings institutional research, custody, and compliance behind every recommendation — without the feel of a national chain.
- Two-decade track recordPlanning through the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 shock, and every rate cycle since.
- Fiduciary standardActing in your best interest, with fees disclosed in writing before any engagement.
- One advisor, one relationshipNo handoffs to junior staff. The person who builds your plan is the person who answers the phone.
- Rooted in BethesdaWalking distance from Bethesda Row, serving clients across Montgomery County and the D.C. metro.
Est. 2003
Let's talk.
The first meeting is always complimentary, and there's no obligation to continue. Tell us a little about what's on your mind, and we'll find a time that works — most initial conversations are scheduled within five business days.