Your Future,
Strategically Managed

Comprehensive wealth management tailored to your goals, so you can focus on what matters most.

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Your Goals. Your Future. Our Personal Commitment.

Located in the heart of downtown Dodgeville, 1st Rate Wealth Management is a boutique financial planning firm built on meaningful, face-to-face relationships. We do not believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we take the time to truly understand your unique needs, partnering with you at every step to ensure your lifelong financial success.

Sound Strategies for Your Future

Hi, I’m Michael Peat.

With 26 years of experience in financial services, I have dedicated my career to helping clients navigate complex financial landscapes with absolute confidence. I believe that true financial security isn’t built on guesswork—it is built on clear, intentional, and sound strategies for your future.

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Strategic Alliances

Michael Binger, CFA®

President,
Gradient Investments, LLC

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Keith Gangl, CFA®

Senior Portfolio Manager,
Gradient Investments, LLC

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Tyler Ellegard, CFA®

Senior Portfolio Manager,
Gradient Investments, LLC

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Our Services

Asset Allocation & Risk

We pride ourselves on providing retirement strategies to Wisconsin. We take a look at your unique mix of assets and integrate those aspects into a coordinated retirement income plan.

Asset Maximization

Our main objective is to assist you in navigating today’s complex marketplace to accomplish your investment aspirations and goals. The recommendations you receive are tailored to you, factoring in your risk tolerance, time frame, and income specifications.

Enhanced Planning

Enhanced planning is one key element of any retirement strategy and helps ensure that you leave a legacy of family harmony, regardless of the size of your estate. Whether your priorities are preserving assets for future use or transferring your wealth to beneficiaries, we can help you build a plan that fits your needs and seeks to help maintain family harmony after you’re gone.*

New Generation Retirement

The New Generation Retirement® system is a holistic approach to retirement planning. It consists of five steps that incorporate three hallmarks of our company: fiduciary, transparency and technology.

Tax Strategies

One part of building your retirement is determining your tax liability and developing a strategy to help minimize how much you pay. We recommend customizing your retirement to utilize any possible tax credits and deductions.

Disclosure: Our firm does not provide legal advice, and you should consult an attorney for such advice.

Color of Money Risk Analysis

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Securities and Advisory services offered through Harbour Investments Inc.
Securities licensed in WI, IA, CA, AZ, FL, MN, KY, TX, IL

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Michael Peat

With 26 years of experience in financial services, I have dedicated my career to helping clients navigate complex financial landscapes with absolute confidence. I believe that true financial security isn’t built on guesswork—it is built on clear, intentional, and sound strategies for your future.

I intentionally build close, direct relationships with the people I serve. When you work with me, you get the peace of mind that comes from knowing you are partnering with a dedicated local advisor, not calling a generic 1-800 number. You will always have direct access to me and my experience when life changes and big financial decisions need to be made.

Over nearly three decades, I have seen almost every market cycle imaginable. This deep experience allows me to cut through the daily market noise and focus entirely on what matters most to you: protecting your wealth, maximizing your opportunities, and aligning your money with your personal goals. Whether you are preparing for retirement, optimizing your investments, or building a lasting legacy, my mission is to deliver the structural clarity and steady guidance you need to move forward with peace of mind.

Outside the Office

When I’m not analyzing portfolios or meeting with clients, my life revolves around my family and the great outdoors. I am a proud husband and a father to three grown children, and we love spending as much time outside as possible.

As a dedicated Wisconsinite, my fall weekends are firmly reserved for football—you can always find me cheering loudly for the Badgers on Saturdays and the Packers on Sundays.

Michael Binger, CFA®

President of Gradient Investments, LLC

As President, Michael is the leader of Gradient Investments and has been with the firm since 2012. He brings more than 30 years of industry experience including prior roles managing multi-billion dollar portfolios for an institutional asset manager. Michael is a CFA® charterholder and is a frequent contributor on CNBC, Fox Business, Barron’s, and the Wall Street Journal.

Keith Gangl, CFA®

Senior Portfolio Manager of Gradient Investments, LLC

Keith joined Gradient Investments in 2018 and has more than 30 years of industry experience. Prior roles include senior portfolio manager for a large institutional asset management firm, managing a multi-billion-dollar portfolio. Keith is a CFA® charter holder, and has been featured in media outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg, Investor’s Business Daily, Nasdaq and Reuters.

Tyler Ellegard, CFA®

Senior Portfolio Manager of Gradient Investments, LLC

Tyler is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Gradient Investments, where he focuses on portfolio management, asset allocation, and investment research across multiple asset classes. He provides market insight and portfolio strategy to support client investment decisions. Tyler is a CFA® charterholder and has been featured in media outlets including Schwab Network, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal.

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Copyright © 2025 Luson Media, LLC | All Right Reserved. All written content on this site is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of 1st Rate Wealth Management and our editorial staff. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representations as to its accuracy or completeness. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual adviser prior to implementation. Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. Check the background of this firm on FINRA’s BrokerCheck. Securities and Advisory Services offered through Harbour Investments, Inc. Harbour Investments Inc. does not offer tax advice. Member FINRA/SIPC Securities Licensed in WI, IA, CA, FL, AZ, MN, KY, and TX. 1st Rate Wealth Management is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any government agency. The content on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be used to make any financial decisions. The presence of this web site shall in no way be construed or interpreted as a solicitation to sell or offer to sell investment advisory services to any residents of any State other than the State of WI or where otherwise legally permitted. Content should not be viewed as an offer to buy or sell any of the securities mentioned or as legal or tax advice. You should always consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation. 1st Rate Wealth Management is not engaged in the practice of law. Hyperlinks on this website are provided as a convenience. We cannot be held responsible for information, services or products found on websites linked to ours. Exclusive rights to this material belongs to Luson Media. Unauthorized use of the material is prohibited. CRS Link

Privacy Policy
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This Privacy Policy details how 1st Rate Wealth Management (the “Company”) utilizes and protects information and data that you share with Company when accessing this website. Company commits to ensure that your privacy is protected. All information that is asked to be provided when using this website will assuredly only be used in accordance with this privacy statement. Company may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are aware of any changes that may have occurred. This policy is effective 7/21/2026.

The following information may be collected:

  • Name and Job
  • Contact information, including email
  • Demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests.
  • Other information relevant to customer surveys and offers.

This information is required to better understand your needs and provide you with appropriate service. The information is used for the following purposes:

  • Internal recording
  • Information may be used to improve products and services.
  • May send periodic email regarding new products, special offers, or other information that we find relevant to you. Those emails will be sent to the email address you have provided.
  • Market research.
  • Tailor website your particular interests.
  • Provide information to third party partners for marketing or promotional purposes.
  • We will never sell your information.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures have been implemented to safeguard and secure the information collected online.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyze web traffic and informs you when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes, and dislikes, by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyze data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. This information is used solely for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Cookies help provide the user with a better website experience, by allowing us to monitor which pages are most useful and which ones are not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to enable you to visit other websites on the internet. If you choose to access one of these other websites via a link, we do not have any control over the other website or how they use your information. Therefore, we are not responsible for the protection and privacy of any information you provide while visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

Controlling Your Personal Information

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

  1. When you are asked to fill in a form on the website, check the box that indicates that you do not consent to your information to be used for direct marketing purposes.
  2. Or, if you have already consented to the use of your information, but would like to revoke or change that consent, you may contact us via email at the email address listed below or by mail at the address listed below.

We will not sell, distribute, or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which may be deemed relevant to you if you indicate your consent to this sort of communication.

You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act. A small fee will be charged. If you would like a copy of the information, please email us or send us a letter indicating your desire to obtain a copy of your information.

If you believe that any information that is being stored by us is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the address below. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.

Contact us at:

mike@1stratewealth.com

608.935.0055

100 E. Chapel St, Dodgeville, WI 53533