Focus Partners Wealth Review

Pros and Cons of Focus Partners Wealth

Types of Clients

Focus Partners Wealth serves a diverse client base, including individuals of varying net worth, pension and profit-sharing plans, businesses, charitable organizations, government entities, pooled investment vehicles, trusts, and family offices.

Focus Partners does not have a set minimum to start working with it. However, its Form ADV Part 2A notes that some investment strategies, advisors, or programs may have recommended minimum portfolio sizes. This policy makes the firm accessible to most clients, though many of its services are best suited to those with larger assets.

Financial Advisor Services

Focus Partners Wealth extends many services to its clients. Primarily, this includes financial/wealth planning and investment management. However, the firm also offers family office services and solutions such as business management and ownership advisory, tax services, divorce consulting, and budgeting guidance.

Here is an overview of Focus Partners’ two central service areas, which may coincide depending on how you work with the firm:

Financial/Wealth Planning

Focus Partners offers a wealth management solution that includes financial planning for core aspects of your life and situation. As is common in the industry, this involves sitting down with an advisor and discussing your goals, time horizon, and circumstances such as your income, net worth, and expenses. Then, your expert will deliver a plan centered around one or more areas.

According to the firm’s website, it can provide counsel on the following aspects:

• Net worth growth
• Cash flow management
• Investing
• Your estate and legacy plan
• Philanthropy and charitable giving
• Taxes
• Education
• Retirement
• Health and insurance

Investment Management

Focus Partners Wealth also provides investment management on both a discretionary and non-discretionary basis. The former involves the firm taking control of your portfolio and executing trades on your behalf, whereas the latter requires you to sign off on all decisions before your advisor implements them.

Per its Form ADV Part 2A, the firm designs portfolios based on the individual needs of each client. Specifically, when you meet with an advisor, you’ll discuss key factors such as your risk tolerance, time horizon, and investing goals. Then, they’ll help you construct an allocation using a variety of securities that fit your situation, potentially including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), alternatives, and more.

Investment advisory at Focus Partners may take place fully with a manager at the company, but the firm notes in its Form ADV that it may also use a separately managed account (SMA) structure where a third-party provider manages some of your portfolio. However, this will depend on your portfolio size and needs, among other factors.

Fee Structure

The fees at Focus Partners Wealth depend on the service you receive and the nature of your arrangement with the firm. For investment management, for example, the company uses a structure that’s based on the dollar amount of assets under management (AUM) you have. According to the firm, these are negotiable and can be as high as 1.25% annually with a minimum fee of $5,000. The company points out that the percentage varies, however, and may not be the same for each client.

On the other hand, for wealth and financial planning, Focus Partners generally uses a fixed-fee structure. It notes that the rate you pay varies by the complexity of your situation, needs, and that it’s an annual fee paid quarterly.

Investment Philosophy

According to its Form ADV Part 2A, Focus Partners Wealth uses a long-term, tax-aware investing strategy when constructing client portfolios. The firm also highlights that it primarily centers asset allocations around its clients’ needs. As mentioned, its advisors work to understand your risk tolerance, time horizon, goals, and other aspects before recommending a set of securities to invest in.

The firm also explains that its approach to investing is flexible, including one or both of active and passive portfolio management techniques. Even so, it maintains its overarching goal of long-term investing. Ultimately, your needs as a client will determine the strategy you receive.

Disclosures

Focus Partners Wealth, LLC is a registered investment advisor (RIA) firm with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a result, it must file annual Form ADV documents, which detail its business activities, fees, and disclosures of disciplinary action. This is a useful way to learn more about any firm’s reputation, ethics, and status with oversight agencies.

As of its most recent filing, Focus Partners doesn’t have any disclosures to note, which is an indicator of its standing in the industry. Even so, it’s wise to research any individual professional you’re considering working with at the firm using the SEC’s IAPD database or FINRA’s BrokerCheck.

Customer Service and Becoming a Client

Whether you want to inquire about becoming a client or get support, you have a couple options to contact Focus Partners Wealth, you have a couple options:

• Visit the firm’s “Contact Us” page and fill out the form to send an email or schedule an appointment.
• Call (314) 725-0455.
• Call or email your current financial advisor (if you’re already a client).

If you’re interested in working with the firm, you can try booking an appointment using the contact page or searching for an advisor with Focus Partners’ “Find an Advisor” page. This allows you to search experts by name or find a listing of ones in your ZIP code.

Methodology

This review is based on publicly available information directly from Focus Partners Wealth’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 Focus Partners a fiduciary?

Focus Partners Wealth is a fiduciary because of its ongoing registration with the SEC. Specifically, this requires the firm and its representatives to uphold a duty of care and integrity when working with clients, avoiding conflicts of interest and providing objective advice.

Is Focus Partners Wealth good?

With accolades from publications such as Barron’s, Focus Partners is a highly rated firm with a strong reputation. It also offers a sweeping set of services, including financial planning, investment management, and a family office. Its fees are around the industry standard of 1% (topping out at just a bit higher) and are negotiable. Finally, it doesn’t have any strict minimums, which means that the company is technically more accessible to a wider range of clients.

But despite its positive qualities, is the firm the best fit for you? To answer this, you’ll need to decide if it has the services you want at the right price. It’s also never a bad idea to schedule a consultation with the firm to get a firsthand experience of whether you see yourself working with them going forward.

Does Focus Partners only serve high-net-worth individuals?

Because Focus Partners Wealth doesn’t have any minimums listed and lists both HNW and standard net worth clients on its Form ADV, it technically could serve clients of various net worth. However, it’s worth noting that the RIA gears many of its services toward wealthier clients, including a wealth management option, comprehensive investment management, and even a family office.