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Richard (Rick) Childress, CRPC, CIMA
First Vice President
PIM Portfolio Manager
Rick is the founder of Agape Wealth Partners of Edwards Asset Management and a First Vice President and PIM® Portfolio Manager in our Naples office. Rick brings 25+ years of experience in providing personalized financial advice, focusing on the unique needs of affluent families.
Rick collaborates closely with our planners and PIM® Portfolio Managers to offer a full range of investment choices and solutions. He also desires collaboration with clients outside advisors, namely Estate Planning Attorneys and Accountants, helping to quarterback a client’s team of Advisors to help ensure that all financial goals are met with precision and care. Rick was one of the first Advisors in Southwest Florida to utilize Structured Products to reduce systemic market risk and has designed various market-linked investments through some of the top global investment banks on behalf of his clients. An early embracer of Alternative Investments, Rick attended the Wharton School in 2004, completing the IMCA Investment Strategist Program at a time when few retail clients were embracing alternatives to help reduce risk and enhance growth and preservation.
Rick and Agape’s approach is centered on understanding individual goals, crafting strategies that balance growth with preservation, and helping clients navigate both expected and unexpected financial milestones. His expertise encompasses every facet of retirement planning, wealth preservation, tax strategies, and estate planning, ensuring a comprehensive and personalized approach to financial wellness and confidence.
When working with Rick, clients benefit from 1:1 advice, customized portfolio recommendations, and regular progress reviews. He provides convenient access to investments and digital tools, enabling a proactive approach to client service. His real-world experience in capital markets, financial and estate planning, private banking, real estate development, business ownership, private equity, and various entrepreneurial endeavors all serve as attributes that enable him to provide wisdom and expertise to every relationship. Rick and Agape’s Wealth Partners limit themselves to serving 100 households that desire high-touch service and holistic advice based on Judeo-Christian values. Clients desire 24/7 concierge services, as well as a relationship founded on objective, selfless advice.
Rick attended The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2003, completing the IMCA Certified Investment Management Analyst Program, and is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™ (CRPC™) from the College of Financial Planning in Denver, Colorado. Rick holds a BA in Political Science and History from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MA in Counseling Psychology from the University of Akron. Rick has held various leadership positions at Merrill Lynch, UBS, and Ameriprise and has several supervisory FINRA registrations. Rick is married to Raimonda Childress, the owner of The BU Club, an online high-fashion women’s boutique with a location in Naples Venetian Village. Rick and Raimonda are the proud parents of five, ranging in age from 27 to 23, the last three being triplets. An active member of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Rick enjoys traveling, skiing, soccer, classic rock, history, and politics.
Alternative investments, such as hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, managed futures, private capital, real assets and real estate funds, are not appropriate for all investors. They are speculative, highly illiquid, and are designed for long-term investment, and not as trading vehicle. These funds carry specific investor qualifications which can include high income and net-worth requirements as well as relatively high investment minimums. The high expenses associated with alternative investments must be offset by trading profits and other income which may not be realized. Unlike mutual funds, alternative investments are not subject to some of the regulations designed to protect investors and are not required to provide the same level of disclosure as would be received from a mutual fund. They trade in diverse complex strategies that are affected in different ways and at different times by changing market conditions. Strategies may, at times, be out of market favor for considerable periods with adverse consequences for the fund and the investor. An investment in these funds involve the risks inherent in an investment in securities and can include losses associated with speculative investment practices, including hedging and leveraging through derivatives, such as futures, options, swaps, short selling, investments in non-U.S. securities, “junk” bonds and illiquid investments. The use of leverage in a portfolio varies by strategy. Leverage can significantly increase return potential but create greater risk of loss. At times, a fund may be unable to sell certain of its illiquid investments without a substantial drop in price, if at all. Other risks can include those associated with potential lack of diversification, restrictions on transferring interests, no available secondary market, complex tax structures, delays in tax reporting, valuation of securities and pricing. An investment in a fund of funds carries additional risks including asset-based fees and expenses at the fund level and indirect fees, expenses and asset-based compensation of investment funds in which these funds invest. An investor should review the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement and other related offering materials for complete information regarding terms, including all applicable fees, as well as the specific risks associated with a fund before investing.
Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network does not provide legal or tax advice. However, [I/its Financial Advisors] will be glad to work with you, your accountant, tax advisor and or lawyer to help you meet your financial goals.
AGAPE WEALTH PARTNERS OF EDWARDS ASSET MANAGEMENT is not an FDIC-insured depository institution; FDIC deposit insurance only protects against the failure of an insured depository institution. Banking products and services provided by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network does not provide legal or tax advice. However, [I/its Financial Advisors] will be glad to work with you, your accountant, tax advisor and or lawyer to help you meet your financial goals.
AGAPE WEALTH PARTNERS OF EDWARDS ASSET MANAGEMENT is not an FDIC-insured depository institution; FDIC deposit insurance only protects against the failure of an insured depository institution. Banking products and services provided by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
Certificates
CRPC, CIMA
Charles Sauer, CFA, CFP
Charles is the in-house wealth planner for Agape Wealth Partners. He works closely with Rick in providing holistic planning advice. Charles plays an integral role in Agape’s planning-based approach and can bring high-net-worth planning to life for a clientele that values having a dedicated planner with deep technical knowledge across all facets of wealth management.
Education has played a central role in Charles’s professional foundation. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Financial Counseling and Planning from Purdue University, where he participated in one of the pilot CFP® Board–registered university programs, completing early certification‑aligned coursework that emphasized real‑world planning, ethics, and client advocacy. He holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification, reflecting his commitment lifelong learning. We believe having a highly credentialed, dedicated planner as part of the Agape team is a major distinguishing characteristic that sets Agape Wealth Partners apart in providing holistic wealth planning for a select group of clients that desire high-touch, sophisticated advice with the ability to quantitatively showcase various planning strategies to a client's outside advisors, such as CPA’s and Estate Planning Attorneys.
Charles and his spouse, Kristine, are the proud parents of three children, ages 16, 15, and 13. As parents, they are actively involved in their children’s various youth sports and family activities. Charles is also a member of St. Agnes Catholic Church, where faith and service help guide his worldview and values. When not helping clients, he enjoys chopping wood, watching sports, and playing football and basketball with his kids.
Certificates
CFA, CFP
Brian brings a diverse professional background to his role at Agape Wealth Partners. A graduate of Glades Day School in Belle Glade, Florida (Class of 2003), he spent six years playing football before pursuing higher education at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), where he studied Resort and Hospitality Business Management. He went on to spend eight years in the hospitality industry, working at resorts including Outrigger Beach Resort and Lover’s Key Resort on Fort Myers Beach.
From 2015 to 2023, Brian worked in the corporate accounting department at Everglades Equipment Group, a John Deere dealer, with locations in West Palm Beach and later Fort Myers. After relocating back to Southwest Florida in 2017, Brian met Richard Childress, who became both his landlord and, over time, a trusted mentor and friend. Through their growing professional relationship, Richard came to know Brian’s character, work ethic, and integrity. In 2023, Richard offered Brian the opportunity to support several of his entrepreneurial ventures, where Brian successfully took on a wide range of responsibilities, including assisting with lumber sales on Richard’s farms and helping manage his rental property portfolio. These experiences ultimately led to Brian’s opportunity to support the launch of Richard’s new firm.
Now at Agape Wealth Partners, Brian brings broad business experience to his role as a Client Relationship Manager. He is dedicated to building strong, caring relationships with clients and providing white-glove service and support. Outside of work, Brian enjoys camping with his dogs, astronomy, beach outings, playing music, reading science fiction, and gaming.
Client Loyalty and Compliance
- Ricks Clients have been extremely loyal. His clients have followed him over the course of his career. He has ranked in the top 1% of client retention during his moves to UBS and then Ameriprise.
- Rick is extremely proud that over his 25 years in the industry he has never received a client complaint. Rick attributes this to the practice of risk management. He has managed hundreds of millions of dollars in client assets over the course of his career in addition to incurring supervisory risk over billion of assets under management. (See: the FINRA Broker Check website)
Outside the Industry Business Experience
- Rick is a majority owner and silent partner of King Construction, Renovation, and Building, a Florida licensed general contractor specializing in the building of restaurants and commercial buildings. He is also the majority owner of King Residential and Commercial Real Estate. (See: kingsswfl.com)
- In 2018, Rick Helped his wife Raimonda, a fashion connoisseur and prior division 1 manager for Sacks Fifth Avenue, start an international online luxury woman’s boutique business. Raimonda attends the Paris, London, Milan, Venice, Vilnius, and New York fashion shows for her buying and is fluent in five languages. (See: thebuclub.com)
Non-Industry Achievements
- Rick is a 1985 graduate of Firestone High School in Akron, Ohio where he was the soccer captain, and most valuable player. In addition, he was named as All-State in his senior year while being a member of the state select team.
- He later played collegiate soccer at Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU), one of the winningest collegiate soccer programs in the 80’s and 90’s. OWU has won the Division III national championship twice and has consistently ranked as one of the top teams in the country. He is also a licensed FIFA referee and retired head high school soccer coach. In addition, to soccer, Rick was the kicker and punter at OWU, while serving as the President of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) where he was awarded their highest national leadership award; “The Order of The Phoenix.”