Joshua Galyon
Fred Arbusto is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor based in Narragansett, Rhode Island, with more than two decades of experience in financial services. Fred Arbusto began his career after completing a formal training program at Morgan Stanley and has since worked with several national firms, including Quick & Reilly, Bank of America Investment Services, Merrill Lynch, and LPL Financial. In 2025, he joined Raymond James as a Financial Advisor and serves as branch manager of South County Financial in Wakefield, Rhode Island.
Through his independent practice, South County Financial, Fred Arbusto provides comprehensive financial and retirement planning services, along with investment management and life and health insurance solutions. His work focuses on helping individuals, families, and business owners understand their financial position and plan for long-term goals. The South County Financial Group operates as an independent wealth management practice under Raymond James, delivering client-centered planning and investment strategies tailored to different life stages and financial needs.
An Overview of the South County Financial Group
South County Financial Group, an independent wealth management practice in Rhode Island operating under Raymond James, helps clients build, protect, and transition wealth through thoughtful financial planning. The group focuses on finding overlooked gaps in clients’ financial situations and develops complete strategies to address them.
Professionals with expertise across different financial disciplines work at South County Financial Group. They hold decades of experience in wealth management, retirement planning, and investment strategy. Their backgrounds include work at large financial institutions, which exposed them to diverse clients and changing market conditions. This experience helps these advisors build lasting relationships with clients.
Advisors at the firm employ an investment philosophy that is client-centric, disciplined, and focused on long-term strategy. They begin by learning а client’s goals, risk comfort, liquidity needs, and time horizon. This information helps them understand the client’s complete financial picture and create fitting plans. The group also builds portfolios using quality securities spread across multiple asset classes to lower risk.
When building portfolios, advisors evaluate securities using core criteria. They examine earnings growth, credit quality, and valuation to assess fundamental strength. Management quality, industry trends, and ESG factors also shape their decisions. Risk management anchors the group’s investment process. Stress testing shows how portfolios might perform under adverse conditions, while correlation analysis prevents overexposure to similar risks. Advisors weigh fees, expenses, and tax consequences before buying or selling а security. The team reviews portfolios each quarter, rebalances them at least once а year, and adjusts holdings when markets shift or performance requires changes.
South County Financial Group serves different groups, with business owners leading their client base. The group designs financial plans that address business and personal priorities, since the two often intersect. Investment management services focus on creating strategies that align with each owner’s goals and timeline. Meanwhile, risk management finds weak points and builds protections around what owners have built. The group also offers banking and lending solutions that support cash flow, credit needs, and financing requirements to maintain smooth operations. Additionally, advisors give guidance that matches the business stage – whether to owners running startups, managing growing or mature companies, or preparing for exit and succession.
Pre-retirees and retirees represent another segment the group works with. Pre-retirees need to confirm that their savings, investments, and plans support transition from work. Advisors help evaluate these clients’ financial standing, match savings against expected needs, and shift investment choices toward stability. Services cover tax planning to lower liabilities, healthcare/long-term care planning for future coverage needs, and insurance planning to handle unexpected events. The group also delivers income planning, longevity planning, and estate planning services.
For retirees, focus shifts from wealth accumulation toward preservation and distribution. The group creates withdrawal strategies that allow savings to fund a satisfying lifestyle without quick depletion. Beyond the services pre-retirees get, retirees receive Social Security guidance, wealth preservation services, and distribution strategies that help determine how and when to withdraw income from various accounts.
South County Financial Group also serves women investors. The group recognizes the distinct financial challenges women face, including managing roles as business leaders, caregivers, and community figures. Events like marriage, divorce, or workforce re-entry also create financial transitions that demand careful planning. The group supports these women by providing wealth and investment management services, risk management and wealth transfer guidance, and banking and lending solutions. It aims to give women investors greater control, expanded options, and stronger confidence in their financial lives.
The group’s website includes a resource section where visitors and clients can search financial topics, get market updates, and explore everyday money matters. Educational articles and guides cover retirement and longevity, family and lifestyle topics, and fraud prevention. There is also regular commentary on interest rates, bond markets, the US dollar, and broader economic conditions.
About Fred Arbusto
Fred Arbusto is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor and Financial Advisor based in Rhode Island. He serves as branch manager of South County Financial under Raymond James, where he provides financial planning, investment management, and insurance services. With professional experience dating back to 2001, Fred Arbusto has worked with several national firms and holds Series 7, 63, and 65 licenses. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and enjoys spending time with family and staying active outdoors.
