team
Our approach is a team approach. When you work with us, you have a dedicated financial planner and investment analyst working together on your behalf. This allows us to provide objective advice that goes well beyond your portfolio as we work to simplify and optimize each aspect of your financial life. That’s what “comprehensive wealth management” means to us.
Your dedicated advisory team
Sarah Fitzgerald, CFP®
Partner and Advisor
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As a Certified Financial Planner with over a decade in community and impact investing, Sarah provides strategic guidance with a thoughtful approach. She excels at making complex financial data and strategies both accessible and relevant, focusing on creating socially responsible investment solutions that contribute to systemic change.
As a Financial Planner, Sarah works closely with families to craft a plan that reflects their personal values and commitments. By helping clients establish goals and educating them about the tools available, she ensures that financial planning is not just about managing assets but about telling a story of who people are and what they care about.
Before joining NorthFork, Sarah spearheaded a $15 million impact investment fund to address critical issues like food security, affordable housing, and support for Indigenous and BIPOC communities. She also managed the New Markets Tax Credits team at MoFi, overseeing regional projects worth over $400 million and expanding MoFi's small business loan portfolio to over $40 million.
With a degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development from Prescott College, and an MBA from the University of Montana, Sarah brings a nuanced perspective to the intersection of business, finance, and sustainability. Sarah's experience as a wilderness guide, leading backpacking and rafting expeditions, has honed her practical approach to risk management, which she applies to her financial strategies. Sarah sees independence and community as two sides of the same coin, and she values grit, self-reliance, and courageous vulnerability.
Sarah serves on the boards of the Red Ants Pants Foundation and Neighborworks Montana. She is also a mindfulness and emotional intelligence instructor. Whether exploring remote landscapes or traveling the world with her husband, Peter, Sarah brings the same passion and curiosity to her personal life that she brings to her work, driven and inspired by the interplay of adventure and sustainability.
Wes Shifrin, CFA
Partner and Advisor
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Wes manages the firm’s investment strategies, oversees trading, and conducts in-depth investment analysis to make sure each client's portfolio is designed to support their financial objectives and personal values. Calm and approachable, Wes distills complex concepts and strategies into advice his clients can both understand and rely on. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, a globally recognized designation emphasizing his dedication to professional excellence and knowledge on a broad range of financial disciplines, including asset valuation, portfolio management, and wealth planning.
Prior to joining NorthFork fulltime, Wes helped grow a company called HomeStake Venture Partners. HomeStake was built to develop investment opportunities for startups and established businesses across the region using innovative financing strategies to foster sustainable growth. During his time with HomeStake, Wes evaluated companies for investment, structured deals, and lead asset management and investor relations. Wes still holds a minority interest in HomeStake Venture Partners, but today, his focus is on NorthFork clients.
Wes earned a bachelor's degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Colorado. In college, Wes's adventurous spirit and ability to stay calm under pressure served him well in his role as a "Ralphie Handler," running with a live buffalo during CU football games. Rather than following a traditional corporate finance route after college, he was drawn toward opportunities that aligned with his values and supported an outdoor-focused lifestyle, working as a ski patroller, backpacking guide, and river raft outfitter. These experiences honed critical skills in risk management and developed his strong commitment to the environment, bringing his beliefs into focus and ultimately guiding him toward a career in sustainable finance. NorthFork provides the opportunity to combine his background in finance with his love for the natural world.
Wes serves on the Board of Haven. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Brooke, their daughter, Nora, twin sons Jesse and Aldo, and their dogs, Lola and Moon. An avid outdoorsman, Wes loves time in the mountains, skiing, hiking, backpacking, fly fishing and hunting. He takes pride in living a life he loves while helping clients do the same for themselves, all while contributing to a better world.
Values that guide our work
Stewardship
As fiduciaries, we are responsible for our clients' best interests – and those of the world they inhabit. We embrace our role as stewards of both personal and shared resources, conscientious of how financial decisions impact individual and collective wellbeing.
Empowerment
From the beginning, education has been core to our approach. Through objective advice and continuous support, we equip clients with the knowledge and tools key to making informed and values-aligned financial decisions. We cultivate a culture of learning that empowers individuals and families to define their vision for the future and then invest in that vision.
Innovation
We aren’t afraid to take the road less traveled. We are committed to doing what we believe is right even when it is not the easiest path forward. As independent advisors mindful of the interconnectedness of our actions, we question the status quo to redefine paradigms and facilitate positive transformation. Combining strategy with tenacity, we seek sustainable solutions for a better future.
founder’s Story
How can we
do finance better?
NorthFork Advisors was founded by Bill Stoddart in 2011. Bill founded NorthFork with three key pillars: fiduciary investment advice, integrated planning, and socially responsible investing for a fair and reasonable fee.
After a few years at a regional advisory firm, Bill wanted to explore how finance could be done better. For him, “better” meant doing finance in a way that was more connected to human realities, community needs, and the simple concept that neighbors should look out for their neighbors. This worldview was in contrast to the idea that finance exists to help people generate the largest possible return in the shortest possible time frame.
Before entering the investment space, Bill taught History and Government at Bozeman High School where he took a special interest in the philosophical origins of the United States and the social contract that exists among individuals and institutions in society.
His background as an educator, combined with his commitment to social justice and environmental sustainability, have helped him build a deep network of coalition builders within the sustainable investment community.
Bill now centers his energy with his consulting firm, 45North Partners, where he continues to work on reforging the tools of capitalism to be more collaborative, and with HomeStake, a private investment fund that connects community-minded investors and regional enterprises. Although no longer active in NorthFork, Bill remains an internal resource and thought partner for Wes and Sarah.
Sound like the right fit?
Tell us what you’re aiming for, and we’ll help you get there. Our fiduciary approach combines financial insight with purposeful investing, helping you to grow your wealth while making a meaningful difference.