Aspiriant Review

Pros and Cons of Aspiriant

Types of Clients

Aspiriant serves both individuals and institutional clientele, including:

• Individuals (high-net-worth (HNW) and standard)
• Pension and profit-sharing plans
• Trusts and estates
• Charitable organizations and foundations
• Corporations

While Aspiriant works with diverse clients, most are individuals. Specifically, most fall under the HNW category, making up approximately 70% of the client categories listed on its most recent Form ADV.

The firm doesn’t have a specific minimum account requirement, making it technically open-ended to a wide variety of clients. However, it generally offers its services to clients with “substantial wealth” and often works with those who have portfolios valued at $1.5 million or more for investment management.

Financial Advisor Services

Aspiriant offers a range of financial advisory services tailored to high-net-worth individuals and families. Specifically, this includes the following categories:

Financial and Wealth Planning

A featured service with the firm, Aspiriant offers comprehensive, tailored wealth planning. The company points out that it adopts a “systematic and thorough approach” with an emphasis on making the process as easy and effective as possible for you.

Generally, the firm’s process involves three steps, including discovery meetings where you and your advisor define your goals and life circumstances. Subsequently, you’ll work together to structure and implement the plan. Finally, per the company’s website, you’ll monitor progress and make changes over time as needed. These steps align closely with common industry standards for what you can reasonably expect during your first year with a financial advisor.

On its Form ADV Part 2A brochure, Aspiriant highlights some of the following as areas it can help with:

• Budgeting and cash flow
• Education saving
• Retirement
• Managing debt
• Risk management and insurance
• Charitable giving and philanthropy
• Concentrated stock planning
• Asset transfer
• Estate planning
• Tax compliance

Investment Management

Aspiriant also offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, either allowing it to make trades on your behalf in the former arrangement or only after your approval for the latter. As noted, it primarily targets this service for clients with $1.5 million in assets under management (AUM).

Under its portfolio management option, you can expect to begin by discussing your risk tolerance, time horizon, and goals with an Aspiriant advisor. Then, they’ll work with you to recommend a plan, including types of investments, holistic asset allocation, and more, and execute it.

Family Office Services

Additionally, Aspiriant offers a family office directed toward ultra-high-net-worth clients (often referring to those with ≥$30 million AUM) and their families. This includes access to a team of experts with both legal and financial backgrounds, with reputable credentials such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), JD, and others.

According to the firm’s website, Aspiriant’s family office solution combines your financial and personal life with various services. This includes wealth planning, investment management, tax planning, philanthropy, wealth transfer, risk management strategies, accounting and banking, and more.

Fee Structure

Aspiriant uses a fee structure based on a percentage of AUM of your account. The exact fees vary depending on your stage of wealth and the service you’re receiving.

According to its Form ADV Part 2A, fees for investment management can range from 0.85% to 0.2% AUM annually for HNW clients, with minimum fees set at $14,000 per year. Conversely, rates for “emerging wealth” clients (or those with currently low portfolios and potential to grow) are at 0.70% AUM annually, along with a retainer fee of $2,500 for financial planning.

Aspiriant’s wealth planning and family office services come with a retainer fee model. Like investment advisory, this can vary depending on the scope of your needs; however, the firm notes that they can range from $5,000 to $50,000 or more, especially for complex multi-dimensional family office needs.

Investment Philosophy

It’s critical to understand the investment philosophy of a financial advisory company before becoming a client. By doing so, you’ll be able to know what type of guidance and recommendations to expect and, consequently, identify if it’s the right firm for you. Aspiriant makes its investment philosophy transparent on its website and Form ADV documentation.

On its website, Aspiriant notes that it prioritizes well-researched, long-term investing strategies. Additionally, the firm underlines its use of techniques such as global diversification, tax-aware allocations, and managing risk where possible. Finally, the company clarifies that it specifically designs portfolios around your goals and needs as a client, aligning with your risk tolerance and investor profile.

According to Aspiriant’s Form ADV Part 2A, it uses a variety of asset classes while developing portfolios. Depending on your needs and situation, this might include equities, fixed-income assets, real estate, and more.

Disclosures

Aspiriant, LLC is registered with the SEC as an investment advisor. To maintain this status, it must file an annual Form ADV and report any conflicts of interest or disciplinary action as disclosures. This information is made public via the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) database.

As of 2025, Aspiriant has no disclosures on its Form ADV. This is an impressive sign that the firm and its advisors maintain a high ethical standard with clients.

Customer Service and Becoming a Client

The easiest way to contact Aspiriant is by visiting its contact page on its website. There, you can send an email directly to the firm via its contact form, which allows you to identify which service(s) you need help with. You may also call the firm by phone at (858) 519-1892.

If you’re a current client or interested in becoming a client of Aspiriant, you can visit one of its locations near you. Currently, the firm has ten locations across the United States:

• Los Angeles, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Austin, TX
• Cincinnati, OH
• Milwaukee, WI
• Minneapolis, MN
• New York, NY
• Orange County, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Silicon Valley, CA

As a new potential client, you’ll talk with a financial advisor at Aspiriant in an initial consultation or discovery meeting. Here, they’ll ask you preliminary questions about your financial situation and goals. This will help them determine what services you need. It’s also an opportunity for you to decide if the firm and that particular advisor are the right fit for you.

Methodology

This review is based on publicly available information directly from Aspiriant’s 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 Aspiriant a fiduciary?

Aspiriant must uphold a fiduciary standard when working with clients, either while delivering advice or managing investment portfolios. This is a direct result of its registration with the SEC as an investment advisor, which binds it by law to put clients first and avoid and disclose conflicts of interest.

Is Aspiriant a good advisor firm?

Aspiriant is a well-regarded financial advisor company, holding an impressive recent spot in the top 50 of Barron’s annual ranking. It offers various wealth-oriented services, including comprehensive planning, investment management, and even a dedicated family office featuring experts with high-quality professional designations and experience.

However, its strength as a full-service wealth management RIA can also be a potential drawback. Though it has no minimums, the firm makes it very clear that it normally works with wealthy individuals and imposes a higher flat cost with a combined AUM/flat fee on “emerging wealth” clients. Therefore, unless you fit the profile the firm is looking for, it might be daunting to jump in as a client.

Does Aspiriant offer a free initial consultation?

Aspiriant offers an initial meeting or phone call with an advisor at no cost. As mentioned, this delivers a strong opportunity to get to know the firm and its professionals at a deeper level than doing online research. You’ll get to see how they operate, respond to your concerns, and, though early, how they might implement recommendations.