Want to jump straight to the best advisor? Most people definitely prefer working with Facet Wealth for their investing needs.
Discount brokers have their place and many present a great value, but for investors who want professional wealth management, a full-service investment firm could be the answer.
Find your match today with our review of the best investment firms.
The Best Investment Firms:
Why Choose a Wealth Management Firm?
Whether it’s time to rollover a 401k into an IRA, start an IRA or college fund or build an investment account simply to invest for your future, investors have a growing number of options. Online brokers have taken the market by storm, offering low cost trades, technical charts, webinars and online education centers to help investors learn the ropes, research and trade.
Robo-advisors promise to bridge the gap between DIY discount brokers and full-service firms by providing guidance or automated portfolio management based on predetermined criteria. Even with all the online options available, some investors prefer a more personal touch and the knowledge that someone they can trust will handle their portfolio and help guide decisions. Because there’s often some crossover in services, investment firms might offer a robust online platform for self-directed investing but also offer full-service advisors or account management.
How to Understand Your Investment Goals
Every investor has his or her own goals, balancing risk against safety or the chance to earn outpaced gains against dividend income and steady appreciation. A full-service investment firm can point the way to the best solution or basket of options that can help you realize your investment goals.
A good investment firm’s advisors can help you to invest in a way that matches your long-term goals for safety and earnings — AND point out potentially problematic investments or likely underperformers. Utilizing a full-service investment firm doesn’t guarantee you’ll never have losses, but many losses can be avoided or minimized.
Who Needs an Investment Firm?
It’s a good idea to find the right financial advisor in an investment firm if you’re:
- Dealing with complicated investments like inherited money and margin trading.
- Undergoing a complicated life situation, like a remarriage or divorce.
- Dealing with a large portfolio and multiple assets.
- Looking for comprehensive wealth planning.
- Unsure about your own ability to manage your money.
You may be able to think of other situations that warrant the need for a financial advisor at an investment firm. Make sure you do your homework before you act!
What to Look for in an Investment or Wealth Management Firm
You don’t want to choose the wrong firm for your needs — and there’s a possibility that could happen. Follow these guidelines to make sure you’re with a financial advisor that feels comfortable for you.
Overall Customer Satisfaction
No investment firm can be a perfect fit for every investor, but the best investment firms focus their efforts on the areas most important to their clients, providing top-notch service at the acceptable expense of higher commissions or fees than discount brokers.
Dedicated Financial Advisors or Teams
Much of the attraction for a full-service investment firm is the availability of dedicated financial advisors or teams, people who understand your investment goals, listen to your concerns and who often know you by name.
Customer Service and Support Options
The availability of multiple support options for account questions anytime of day or night has become a must-have feature, with the understanding that advisors are only available during business hours.
Reasonable Commissions and Fees
Expect to pay more when investing with a full service investment firm as opposed to a discount broker. However, if fees or commissions are too high, investment returns can be adversely affected by the headwind created in trading or management costs.
Information Resources and Investor Research Tools
Investors with a healthy curiosity will want to do their own research or learn more about investments they’ve either made or are considering.
Variety of Products and Investment Vehicles
The number of investment vehicles has increased dramatically in recent years, and the best full-service brokers will provide options to round out your portfolio with investment options for nearly any type of asset class.
Investment Performance
For fully-managed accounts, investment performance becomes a big part of an investment firm’s report card for investors.
Additional Wealth Management or Estate Planning Solutions
Sometimes investments are only part of the picture. The availability of trusts, life insurance and estate planning options can help turn gains into a legacy of lasting wealth.
Drawbacks of Using an Investment or Wealth Management Firm
When choosing a full-service investment firm, you’re often trading autonomy for management. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is different than what you’ll get with most discount brokers. In exchange for the management or guidance provided by a full-service investment firm, fees or commissions will also be higher than with some lower-cost options.
You’ll have a new silent partner in your investment account, quietly taking a percentage — in good times and in bad. Warren Buffett is famous for his quote, “Price is what you pay, value is what you get.” This investment maxim can be applied to the notion of investment management cost as well. What’s often overlooked is the ability of a managed investment strategy to keep you out of trouble.
Many individual investors using DIY brokerages lose money. A management team’s or advisor’s ability to keep your account in the black — at least most of the time — is part of the value you get for the price you pay in higher commissions or fees. Be aware that some investment firms charge a transfer fee if transferring your account to another broker. You can probably expect transfer fees to be waived if transferring to another location within the same firm.
Account Funding for Investment Firms
A variety of methods to fund accounts is another must-have feature for investment firms. A particular interest is the ability to automatically invest on a weekly or monthly basis, taking advantage of dollar-cost averaging to build your account.
For most households, it’s easy to establish an amount that can be safely invested on a scheduled basis and that won’t be missed from the budget.
Additional amounts can be invested at your discretion or when you come into extra cash, such as selling an asset, earning a bonus or getting a large refund. Many investment firms require a minimum investment amount or offer lower management fees for larger investment accounts.
Investment Firm Trading Costs
With full-service investment firms, trading costs are often more accurately described as management fees. Certain types of trades or investments may have a set commission, typically ranging higher than the per-trade commission costs available from discount brokers.
Additionally, investors can expect a management fee ranging from below 1% up to over 3%. Management fees apply in good years and in bad, which means that in an investment year in which your account is essentially flat, you could show negative growth due to management costs.
Accounts with a higher dollar value are often rewarded with lower management fees and smaller accounts may have a minimum fixed annual fee as well.
Best Wealth Management and Investment Firms
The miscellaneous fees and commissions as well as account restrictions such as minimum required balances are a trade-off for service that can’t be found with the lowest cost providers.
From personalized account management to goal-driven investment strategies, the best full-service investment firms treat investors like more than just an account number. You might even get a signed birthday card from your advisor or management team.
Commissions
0.30% annual fee
Vanguard Personal Advisor Services
With Vanguard Personal Advisor Services (VPAS), Vanguard once again changed the investment industry. VPAS came about a few years ago, offering a product that is almost a happy marriage between a robo-advisor and a traditional financial advisor.
A Vanguard Personal Advisor works directly with you to understand your goals and financial needs. From there they implement a financial plan to help you achieve whatever your goals are.
Vanguard brings the low investment fees they are known for with their index funds to VPAS. A human advisor will help manager your investment portfolio for as low as 0.3% of all your assets under management. Most other wealth management firms will have fees above 1% anytime a human advisor is being used.
The account minimum needed for a VPAS account is about the same compared to other investment management firms. You will need $50,000 in investable assets to be able to open a VPAS account.
Charles Schwab Asset Management
With 5 stars in nearly every category in a recent JD Power’s customer satisfaction survey which rated full-service brokerages, Schwab proves its value to investors seeking full-service investment management by winning the survey’s top rating based on its average scores in all categories.
With a minimum investment amount of $1,000 for standard accounts and $5,000 minimum investment for managed accounts, Charles Schwab aims to be the investment firm that’s accessible to investors at nearly any level.
Investors with at least $25,000 in their account qualify for a one-on-one portfolio consultation. Most account interaction can be handled online or by phone, but for investors who prefer to meet in person, Charles Schwab offers more than 300 local branch offices throughout the U.S. Schwab boasts over 9 million customers, providing both no-fee professional portfolio management or self-directed investing.
Additional service-level tiers are available, including Schwab Managed Portfolios or Diversified Managed Accounts, bringing more personalized service for larger investment accounts.
Minimum Investment
$1,000
Fees
1.5%/year plus 20% at sale
Masterworks
Ever dreamed of owning one of Warhol’s masterpieces or other incredible art? Masterworks makes it possible, even if you don’t have $1 million or more in your portfolio.
Through Masterworks, you can own shares of famous works of art. When a piece is sold, you receive a share of the profits proportional to your initial investment, which can be $1,000 to $10,000, depending on the art piece you choose.
Once Masterworks offers you a choice of famous art investments, you pay a 1.5% annual management fee for each year for art insurance, storage and transportation.
Masterworks actively tries to sell the art piece. Once it sells, the platform takes a flat 20% commission if the painting has increased in value.
It’s a great option beyond traditional investments. If you’re an art connoisseur, don’t miss out!
Commissions
$6.95 Customers who maintain combined balances of $25,000 or more in Bank of America deposit accounts or combined balances of $25,000 or more in Merrill Edge self-directed accounts can qualify for up to 30 commission-free trades per month.
Merrill Edge
Merrill Edge, now owned by Bank of America, brings the resources of both financial giants.
Merrill Edge’s nationwide network of financial advisors boasts the largest number of Certified Investment Management Analysts (CIMA) among leading investment firms. As an essential part of a successful investing strategy, Merrill Edge advisors build dedicated one-on-one relationships with clients.
This places a high priority on transparency so you’ll understand how investment choices align with your goals, how well your investments are tracking those goals, and have a clear understanding of what you’re paying.
Full-service investment firms aren’t low-cost brokers, and Merrill Edge is no exception, with advisory fees often averaging 1% or higher in addition to management fees for mutual funds held within your portfolio as well as other associated trading costs. Investors who value a tight integration with Bank of America accounts and a world-class research firm to vet investment choices will find value with Merrill Edge.
Account Minimum
$0 for IRAs. Some accounts may require a minimum opening balance of $2,500
Fidelity Investments
Servicing a broad spectrum of investor profiles, Fidelity Investments offers low-cost trades for self-directed accounts as well as portfolio management and more complex wealth management services.
For investment accounts starting with $50,000, Fidelity can design a strategy to help you invest for retirement or other financial goals. Additional account tiers for accounts with a minimum $200,000 investment offer either tax-sensitive investment management or separately managed portfolios investing in specific equities or fixed income markets.
Fees for managed accounts vary widely with Fidelity, ranging from 0.20% up to 1.7% with the lowest fees available to Fidelity’s larger accounts. The ability for investors to maintain a separate trading account as well as a long-term managed account allows additional flexibility and a way to channel gains from individual investments to longer-term strategies or provide easy liquidity not often associated with managed accounts.
Pricing
$1,200 to $6,000/year, depending on acct type
Facet Wealth
Facet Wealth offers low-cost, custom-fit financial and investment advising. Its streamlined client dashboard makes it simple to outline your financial goals and interact directly with a dedicated Certified Financial Planner™ Professional. And its flat-rate, subscription-based fees mean you can afford expert investing advising that might otherwise be beyond your reach.
All advisory services are virtual, and you can handle your investments digitally too. And Facet doesn’t just want to manage your money, it wants to help you understand how it can work for you. As a client, you’ll have invite-only access to webinars and other Grade A financial education content.
Facet can help with any of the following:
- Cash flow analysis and management
- Retirement planning
- College planning
- Debt management and reduction
- Legacy and estate planning
- Hands-on advisory investment management
- Tax planning
- Insurance planning
- Advisory workplace retirement plan management
- Stock option plans
Get the Best Financial Firm on Your Side
Over the past several decades, the broad market and wide indexes such as the S&P 500 have outperformed most managed funds and the same may apply to managed portfolios.
Avoiding costly investment mistakes is crucial to overall portfolio growth and capital preservation, providing an often-overlooked advantage to using a full-service investment firm as opposed to self-directed investing.
A dedicated financial advisor or team can focus your portfolio on growth goals while also defending against losses, helping you to keep more of what you’ve earned.
Before choosing an investment firm that’s best for you, you should research heavily. Discuss various investment strategies and inquire more about how your wealth will be managed.
Frequently Asked Question
What is the role of an investment firm?
1
What is the role of an investment firm?
asked 2021-04-21
Eric Huffman
1
An investment firm offers professional advice in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement planning, insurance and wealth management.
Answer Link
answered 2021-04-21
Benzinga
What are the types of investments?
1
What are the types of investments?
asked 2021-04-21
Eric Huffman
1
Several areas include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, commodities, annuities, real estate, insurance and bank products.
Answer Link
answered 2021-04-21
Benzinga
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Take a look at Facet Wealth if you’re looking for something new. Facet Wealth, an SEC-Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with technology-enabled financial planning services, is operational worldwide. In contrast to many other advisor firms, Facet Wealth provides comprehensive financial planning rather than solely managing money by picking stocks. The company puts a premium on minimizing fees, maximizing diversification and streamlining wealth management costs. Schedule your 30-minute introductory call now.
