Wealthspire Advisors Review
Wealthspire is an RIA firm with nearly $30 billion AUM. We review its minimums, services, and fees in detail.
Wealthspire Advisors is a registered investment advisor (RIA) firm based in New York City with over $29 billion in client assets under management. It offers a range of services, including comprehensive investment management and financial planning services primarily directed toward individuals of standard and high net worth. In 2024, Barron’s ranked the firm 12th on its prestigious Top 100 RIA Firms list.
In this review, we’ll outline what to expect from Wealthspire as a financial advisor firm. Specifically, we’ll highlight its typical clientele, services, fees, and disclosure history, as listed in its Form ADV documents. Additionally, we’ll outline what to know if you’re considering becoming a client with the company.
Assets Under Management
$29.4 billion
Date Founded
1995
CEO
Mike LaMena
Fee Structure
Fee-only
Headquarters Address
521 Fifth Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10175
Phone Number
Pros and Cons of Wealthspire Advisors
Pros
- Range of available services, including comprehensive financial planning and investment management
- No minimum asset requirements, making the firm appear more accessible
- Fees are negotiable and drop as AUM grows
- A clear and disciplined investment philosophy
- Clean regulatory record
Cons
- Though negotiable, starting fees of 1.20% for the first $2 million are higher than industry averages
- No minimums are a positive, but the company focuses its efforts primarily on HNW clients
- Flat fees are negotiable but aren’t clearly defined in publicly available documents
Types of Clients
Wealthspire extends its services to an array of clientele, including individuals and institutional clients. Here is a more specific breakdown:
- Individuals (high-net-worth (HNW) and standard)
- Pension and profit-sharing plans
- Trusts and estates
- Charitable organizations and foundations
- Corporations
The majority of the firm’s clients, however, are individuals. According to its Form ADV, approximately 50.5% are high-net-worth (≥$1 million in investable assets). Meanwhile, 47.5% are clients with <$1 million AUM.
Unlike many other financial advisor firms, Wealthspire doesn’t set a minimum account requirement before you can become a client. Instead, it suggests certain AUM levels for its strategies and plans. A lack of minimums makes the firm more accessible, even though it primarily serves HNW clients and families.
Financial Advisor Services
Wealthspire offers a curated collection of advisory services, most of which you would expect and hope to see at a firm of its size. This includes comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and tax services. Additionally, it offers advisory for participants of ERISA plans and institutions.
Here is a closer look at the firm’s services for individual clients:
Financial Planning and Consulting
Financial planning is a central service you can receive as a client at Wealthspire. Specifically, the firm offers planning around one or more of the following areas, per its Form ADV Part 2A:
- Investing
- Cash flow and budgeting
- Managing debt
- Home purchases
- Risk management and insurance
- Taxes
- Retirement
- Building and managing an estate
According to the firm’s website, its financial planning service involves working closely with a professional who will take you through a multi-stage process tailored around your goals and financial situation. A common practice in the industry, this includes discovery meetings centered around goals and circumstances and sharing information. Then, subsequent periods of execution and monitoring progress.
Investment Management
Wealthspire also offers investment management services on both a discretionary and non-discretionary basis. With the former, the firm and its advisors will be able to execute trades on your behalf and implement the plan without your specific approval. The latter requires you to agree on all decisions made within your account.
Wealthspire’s investment advisory begins by connecting with an advisor and discussing details such as your risk tolerance, time horizon, and goals. They’ll then design a personalized investment strategy based on them.
Per the firm’s Form CRS, it generally constructs portfolios with mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It may also use securities such as stocks, bonds, and variable annuities, housed in a separately managed account (SMA). These are not uncommon structures at RIA firms, especially when implementing a strategy that includes individual assets with a specific focus.
Family Office Services
In addition to its standard financial planning and portfolio management, Wealthspire offers a family office arrangement. For highly wealthy clients and their families, this is a highly personalized offering that provides structure and management for multiple aspects of your life. The company’s page for the product highlights that this includes your holistic portfolio and wealth, taxes, investing, charitable giving, trustee services, family governance, and more.
Fee Structure
Wealthspire’s fees depend on the service. For investment management, you’ll see a negotiable fee based on a percentage of the assets under management (AUM) of your account. This operates on a tiered arrangement and scales down as your portfolio’s value grows, creating an incentive to stay with the firm. Here is a chart that illustrates fees for the company’s wealth management services:
AUM | Annual Fee Percentage |
---|---|
First $2 million | 1.20% |
$2 million to $5 million | 0.87% |
$5 million to $10 million | 0.75% |
$10 million to $25 million | 0.50% |
$25 million and beyond | 0.40% |
Conversely, financial planning at Wealthspire takes on a flat-fee structure. It doesn’t mention a specific rate, just that it’s negotiable and payable in advance. It’s important to note that this is typical, especially for planning. Firms often set fees relative to the scope of services and the complexity of your situation.
Investment Philosophy
While deciding whether a firm is right for you as an investment advisor, it’s crucial to research and understand its investment philosophy. This often influences the guidance and the portfolio structure suggestions you receive as a client.
Wealthspire clearly outlines its investment philosophies on the “Investing” page of its website. While best to read the full version, it notes that when constructing portfolios, the firm utilizes strategies such as diversification and asset allocation, long holding periods with little turnover, and selecting investments that align with the overarching strategy. The company also underscores its emphasis on discipline and following best practices as a core aspect of its approach.
The types of securities the firm uses reflect the philosophy on its website. This includes using mutual funds and ETFs, as noted, and other individual assets that it deems fit your goals. Therefore, it only appears to tailor investments according to client needs and targets.
Disclosure History
Wealthspire Advisors maintains a registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment advisor. Therefore, this mandates it to make its disciplinary, arbitration, and regulatory history transparent to the public in its annual Form ADV documentation. These are known in the financial advice industry as disclosures.
As of 2025, Wealthspire has no disclosures listed on its Form ADV. However, it’s prudent to research individual advisors using the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website. This allows you to look up professionals by name and vet their credentials and disciplinary past, if applicable.
Customer Service and Becoming a Client
To get in contact with Wealthspire, whether you’d like to ask a general research question or become a client, you can use a few different methods:
- Navigating to the firm’s Contact page and filling out its form.
- Calling the firm at (800) 994-3766 or emailing clientrelations@wealthspire.com
- Using the list of its city branches on its Contact page (below the form) to locate a phone number for one of its financial advisors near you.
The firm operates locations in 14 states across the country, including:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Methodology
This review is based on publicly available information directly from Wealthspire Advisors’ 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 Wealthspire a fiduciary?
Wealthspire Advisors must uphold a fiduciary standard when delivering advice and implementing portfolio recommendations. That is, it must put your best interest first and avoid and disclose conflicts of interest wherever possible. Primarily, this is because of its registration with the SEC as an RIA. Beyond the firm, this also extends to its investment advisor representatives (IARs).
Is Wealthspire Advisors good?
Wealthspire is a longstanding financial advisor firm with a well-earned reputation. While it officially rebranded under its current name in 2019, the company has been around for a long time—originally as Sontag Advisors.
Ultimately, deciding whether it’s the firm for you demands considering whether it fits your goals, situation, and the characteristics you want out of an advisor. Overall, Wealthspire offers a suite of services, including financial planning, investment management, a family office, and others. Its fees are negotiable and sit slightly above industry standards of around 1% for entry portfolios but with incentives to reduce as you grow. It also has a decent national presence, with offices in many major cities and states around the country.
Does Wealthspire offer a free initial consultation?
Wealthspire lets you to schedule a no-cost initial consultation through its contact form or likely by calling its support number. This is commonplace in the industry for both small and large advisory firms. It can be helpful during the selection process, as it allows you to learn more about a professional and their attributes before committing to something long-term.