The family office for families
Fountainhead is an independent fiduciary practice in Solomons, Maryland, built by a husband and wife who wanted to run the kind of firm they'd want to be a client of.
About the name
Foun·tain·head, noun
A principle source. An origin.
The name is intentional. Our founders envisioned a planning process that exists at the intersection of finance, tax, and estate — not as three separate conversations, but as one coordinated source of direction.
Original thinking is inherent in who we are. Rather than make referrals and hope the pieces align, we bring the right experts into the conversation at the beginning of every engagement. The goal is to organize, simplify, and optimize the crucial pieces of your financial life — investments, taxes, business, real estate, insurance, retirement, estate planning, and philanthropy — so the plan works as a whole.
What makes it structural
Four things most firms can't do together
Independent by structure, not by slogan
Securities, advisory, and insurance are held in three separately regulated entities. No proprietary products of our own.
We manage the portfolio ourselves
We build and manage portfolios at the position level. You can see what you own, and the person explaining it is the person who chose it.
Access to the private side
Private real estate, 1031 exchanges, opportunity zones, energy, land, and agriculture — the ideas that surface in a tax conversation but die because nobody in the room is licensed to execute them.
Comprehensive Tax-Forward Planning
We plan around your tax return and estate documents, not within them. Dedicated platforms for planning, retirement income modeling, tax analysis, and risk profiling — layered into one curated process.
Where your money lives
Public. Private. Protected.
Most families arrive with only the first, and no idea the other two are available at their level. The structure maps one-to-one onto our three regulated entities, which means the licensing story and the portfolio story are the same story.
Public.
Managed portfolios, equities, and fixed income. Liquid markets, built and monitored in-house.
Learn morePrivate.
Real estate, replacement property, land, energy, and other alternatives, for investors who qualify.
Learn moreProtected.
Annuities and insured income strategies. Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing carrier.
Learn moreStart where you are
Concerns that bring people to us
Most conversations start with one specific situation. Nobody has to be prepared for a first conversation to be useful.
“I'm retiring — or changing jobs — and I want to know what to do with the decisions in front of me.”
“I'm at a large national firm and the ideas all come from the same model.”
“I have a 1031 deadline and my advisor can't help me.”
“My CPA has an idea nobody can execute.”
“I want a second opinion on a portfolio someone else manages.”
“I need access to private investments my firm doesn't offer.”
“I'm selling a business in eighteen months.”
Who we are
Ben & Kristen Barbour
Fountainhead was built virtually, largely with retirees in Northern Virginia, before there was an office on the water in Solomons. Ben and Kristen wanted to run the kind of firm they'd want to be a client of. Ben leads the advisory work. Kristen, formerly of Accenture, runs the operation. The practice is deliberately small enough that the people doing the work are the people you talk to — on your screen or across the table.
Meet the teamWhere we're from
A practice with a place
Most of our work happens over video, but the practice is anchored by a real office on the water in Solomons, Maryland, and a real family behind it.
Come sit on the porch if you're nearby — and if you're not, nothing about the work changes.
View office
Start with a conversation
Most first meetings happen on Zoom. If you'd rather sit down in person, our office is on the water in Solomons, Maryland.
Schedule a conversationVirtual anywhere · In office in Solomons, MD