GDS history

Where It Started

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Here at GDS Wealth Management, our firm history begins in 2003, when Glen Smith, who was then working at Lehman Brothers in California, embarked on a transformative personal and professional journey. At this point in his life, a new college graduate from Sonoma State and recently married to his high school sweetheart, he decided to pursue a career as a financial planner.

Glen’s career began at AG Edwards in Santa Rosa, California. His potential was quickly recognized, and he was relocated to Flower Mound, Texas, to help expand AG Edwards’ operations.

Establishing a Vision for a Financial Service

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After three years at AG Edwards, the firm was acquired by Wells Fargo. It was during this time that Glen realized banks do not always have their clients’ best interests in mind. Unwilling to compromise on his integrity, he decided to resign and found a new home at Merrill Lynch.

Forming GDS Wealth Management

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At Merrill Lynch, Glen joined forces with Erica Doré and Robert Casey, forming Glen D. Smith & Associates. This dynamic team experienced exponential growth and delved deeply into the intricacies of financial planning, setting themselves apart from others in the industry. From the very beginning of our team’s formation, our emphasis on understanding each individual client was a welcome change to the traditional world of financial planning.

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While Merrill Lynch played a pivotal role in bringing our founding members together and refining their expertise, it, too, underwent transformation and was acquired by Bank of America. Once again, Glen and his team found themselves at odds with the firm’s direction. They sought a workplace that didn't promote proprietary products or commissions, where they could operate as a Fee-Only, rather than a Fee-Based, model. Instead of aiming to meet monthly quotas to sell often unnecessary proprietary products, our team’s primary focus was—and is—our clients’ best interests.

Putting Clients First in Texas

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In 2017, the Glen D. Smith & Associates team made the bold decision to part ways with Merrill Lynch and establish GDS Wealth Management, utilizing Raymond James as our custodian. Our vision was clear: to become the preeminent wealth management firm in Texas, where our clients are not merely treated as numbers or opportunities for sales but as the central focus of every decision and action.

The rest, as they say, is history—a history marked by ethical practices, client-centric dedication, and the relentless pursuit of providing the best possible financial planning services to their valued clients. Since its inception, GDS Wealth Management