Cerity Partners Review

Pros and Cons of Cerity Partners

Types of Clients

Cerity Partners advises individuals of average and high net worth and institutional clients, such as pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, corporations, and government entities. However, it primarily serves wealthy individuals, making up 58.9% of its client base.

Because the largest chunk of its clients are high-net-worth people or families, the company has high account requirements you must meet if you would like to work with one of its advisors. According to Cerity Partners’ Form CRS, you must have at least $2 million in investable assets in most cases. The company notes, though, that it may waive the minimum threshold at its discretion.

Financial Advisor Services

As noted, Cerity Partners offers solutions geared toward both individuals and institutional clients. In this review, however, we’re focusing on the advisory services it provides to wealthy and non-wealthy individuals, of which it has several.

Below are each of the firm’s services to retail clients:

Investment Advisory

Cerity Partners offers investment advisory, or portfolio management, as one of its primary services. It typically extends this on a discretionary basis, which gives an advisor the ability to make trades on your behalf.

According to the firm’s Form ADV Part 2A, you can expect to meet with a professional who will evaluate the present condition of your portfolio, as well as your short- and long-term goals. Then, using the information and preferences you’ve discussed, they’ll craft an investment policy statement (IPS). This is a contract that will explicitly state your targets and risk tolerance, and set limits for how your manager may invest within your account. Finally, once the IPS is in place, your professional will get to work on constructing your portfolio and selecting investments.

Over time, per the company’s website, you can expect your investment manager to enact steps to rebalance your portfolio and keep it in line with your objectives. In a typical portfolio management arrangement, you’ll meet frequently with your advisor, allowing you to learn how your portfolio is doing and let them know if anything has changed on your end.

Wealth Planning

Your financial picture likely has several moving parts, especially if you’re wealthy. This can become difficult to tackle right now and plan out for the future. For these circumstances, Cerity offers wealth planning. Under this arrangement, you’ll work alongside an advisor to plan various aspects of your life.

Here are specific areas the company specifies it can help clients with:

• Cash flow and budgeting
• Retirement
• Taxes
• Compensation and benefits
• Philanthropy
• Investment management
• Risk management and insurance
• Estate planning

Family Office

For ultra-high-net-worth families, the company also offers a family office service. This takes the above a step further and, as Cerity Partners emphasizes on its page for the product, involves helping you run your finances “like a business.” In short, this is a complex and highly tailored service that encompasses planning and managing many facets of your finances or life. The company mentions that it centers around elements such as your estate, taxes, investments, and risk exposure, but depending on the situation, it could likely include much more.

Fee Structure

Cerity Partners mainly uses a fee structure that charges a percentage of your assets under management (AUM); however, it may also use an hourly or flat-fee schedule. While it notes that rates are almost always negotiable based on the circumstance, service, or complexity thereof, the firm says that fees begin at 1.50% AUM annually for investment advisory and wealth planning.

Investment Management Philosophy

Cerity Partners makes its investment management strategies and philosophies available within its client-facing brochure (Form ADV Part 2A). Particularly, it tailors portfolios according to the information you’ve provided about your goals and risk tolerance. It may do this using an allocation of a variety of asset classes, including:

• Fixed-income securities
• Equities
• Real assets
• Alternatives

The company also notes that it may use sub-classes of the above when adopting a strategy for your portfolio. For example, if your portfolio comprises alternatives, it may include hedge funds and private equity. Similarly, under the equity class, you may have a combination of large-cap, small-cap, and global securities. By doing this, you gain exposure to more sectors and levels of performance, acting as an effective method of diversification.

Cerity Partners specifies that it actively monitors your investments and applies rebalancing procedures if needed. Specifically, it says that it will do this to ensure your portfolio aligns with your IPS. However, the firm highlights that it will also strive to discuss any changes to your situation or ambitions, allowing for dynamic shifts to your strategy and asset allocation.

Overall, Cerity maintains a very clear investment philosophy that focuses solely on your needs as a client, even as they transform over time. It also includes multiple possibilities for investments, allowing you to mitigate risk and get exposure to different types of assets with varying performances.

Disclosures

Cerity Partners LLC is an RIA with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which requires it to list all official discipline or regulatory actions it has received on its Form ADV. This includes events such as arbitrations, criminal proceedings, and conflicts of interest. According to its most recent filing (Item 11), the firm has no disclosures to note.

Customer Service and Becoming a Client

The best way to contact or inquire about opening an account with Cerity Partners is by visiting its website and navigating to the “Contact” page, which includes a form you can fill out to reach the company directly. You can also call the company at (212) 202-1810.

Methodology

This review is based on publicly available information directly from Cerity Partners’ website and the SEC. Neither the firm nor its representatives have any say on what we’ve included on this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cerity Partners a fiduciary?

Cerity Partners and its advisory representatives must uphold a fiduciary standard because of its registration as an investment advisor with the SEC. In other words, it must prioritize your best interest and avoid conflicts of interest.

Is Cerity Partners a good financial advisor?

Cerity Partners is a top-ranked financial advisor firm by reputable outlets such as Barron’s and the Financial Advisor Magazine. It serves several thousand households and provides many services one should expect a firm of this caliber to offer, including discretionary investment management, financial planning, and estate planning.

However, the company isn’t for everyone. Marketing itself as a wealth management firm, it primarily serves high- and ultra-net-worth clients, requiring at least $2 million before portfolio management is an option. This could make it inaccessible to beginners or middle-class families looking to manage their finances or plan retirement.

Are Cerity’s fees negotiable?

On its Form ADV, Cerity Partners points out that while its fees begin at a certain amount (see “Fee Structure” section above), the final amount is often up for negotiation. This is because each client will have different needs, require more or less complex services and expertise, and may have more or less assets to manage.

Does Cerity Partners offer a free initial consultation?

Cerity offers a free initial meeting over the phone. According to its website, this is a “discovery call” that lasts 30 minutes and allows a representative from the company to learn more about you, including your goals and needs.