Altium Wealth Management is a large financial advisory firm based in Purchase, New York. It also makes our list of the top financial advisory firms in Purchase. Among other awards and accolades, Altium was recently named by the Financial Times as one of the country's 300 top registered investment advisors of 2020.
The firm has about $1.2 billion in assets under management (AUM). With a sizeable team of financial advisors on staff, the firm serves a variety of clients, including individuals, pension plans, charitable corporations and business entities. The typical minimum for clients to invest is $1 million.
The firm offers multiple advisory services, though it mainly helps clients with financial planning and investment management. As a fee-based advisor, Altium charges a fee on based on clients’ AUM and individual advisors may also earn a commission for selling insurance products.
Altium Wealth Management Background
Altium Wealth Management dates back to 2010, when the firm’s founders decided that they should strike out on their own and create an advisory firm. Their goal was to create a firm that focused on the customer and his or her particular goals and needs. This customer-centric vision manifests itself through the individualized plans that advisors create for each client.
Altium also tries to stay connected with its community through the Altium Foundation. The foundation makes charitable contributions, promotes community service and takes part in other philanthropic endeavors.
Altium Wealth Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Altium offers advisory services to a wide range of customers. It serves both high-net-worth and non-high-net-worth individuals. The majority of clients are non-high-net-worth individuals. The firm also works with pension plans, profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations and corporations.
Altium generally requires a minimum of $1 million for portfolios. However, the firm will accept clients with smaller portfolios in some cases. According to the firm, it only accepts a client with less than the minimum if it determines that the smaller portfolio size won’t cause a significant increase of risk in the client’s portfolio (beyond the risk level that the client is comfortable with).
Services Offered by Altium Wealth Management
It’s possible to get a number of financial planning and investment management services from Altium Wealth Management. Some services that an advisor can help you with include:
- Business planning
- Cash flow forecasting
- Trust and estate planning
- Financial reporting
- Retirement planning
- Risk management
- Charitable giving
- Insurance planning
All of the services listed above are available on a stand-alone basis, but clients typically pair these services with investment management.
Altium also offers what it calls Vantage Point™. This is a program by which a team of advisors works to approach a client’s finances with a holistic perspective. The team can advise clients on all aspects of their financial health and help to coordinate what is usually a jumble of advice from disparate sources.
Altium Wealth Management Investment Philosophy
When deciding on investments, Altium will first work with a client to understand his or her individual objectives. Advisors will consider things like the client’s time horizon, tolerance for risk, tax management, liquidity and any other specific constraints.
Once a client’s objectives are clear, advisors work to build a diversified, risk-managed portfolio. Altium uses what it calls a scorecard to analyze and rate the securities it uses in client portfolios. Individual portfolios will vary in composition but the firm may use mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), fixed-income securities and cash accounts such as money market accounts (MMAs).
Fees Under Altium Wealth Management
The fees you pay with Altium will depend on the services and products you use. Consultation fees, while negotiable, generally range from $5,000 to $25,000 for a one-time project. If you’re paying hourly, you can expect Altium to charge a rate between $150 and $750 per hour. The firm also offers ongoing consulting services for a fee of between $2,000 and $25,000 per year. The exact fee will depend on how complex your individual situation and portfolio are.
If you invest through Altium, you will also pay a management fee. The fee is a percentage of your AUM and depends on how much you invest. Investing larger amounts will give you access to lower fees. For example, the first $1 million you invest is subject to a fee of 1.25% but then the next $4 million faces a fee of 0.75%. You can see the fee schedule in the following table. Altium prorates the annual management fee and will typically charge you quarterly.
| Altium Wealth Management Fee Schedule | |
| Assets Under Management | Fee Rate |
| First $1MM | 1.25% |
| Next $4MM | 0.75% |
| Next $5MM | 0.50% |
| Above $10MM | 0.25% |
In addition to management fees, you may need to pay additional fees from third parties, such as brokers and banks. As an example, trading certain mutual funds may result in brokerage commissions or transaction fees with the broker through which you buy the fund.
| Estimated Fee Comparison* | ||
| Your Assets | Altium Wealth Management | National Median Advisory Fees** |
| $500K | $6,250 | $5,000 |
| $1MM | $12,500 | $8,500 - $10,000 |
| $5MM | $42,500 | $25,000 - $32,500 |
| $10MM | $67,500 | $50,000 |
| *Fee estimates only consider the maximum base fees for the services each firm provides. You may also pay manager fees and other fees, which can vary in amount. **All figures are based on median fee levels according to Bob Veres' 2017 Planning Profession Fee Survey. The above estimates solely take into account AUM-only fees. Total costs will likely be higher due to additional expenses. | ||
Altium Wealth Management Awards and Recognition
Altium Wealth Management has a number of awards to its name, such as:
- Named to the 2020 edition of the Financial Times 300 top registered investment advisors, also named in 2019
- Named in the 2019 RIA Channel as one of the "Top 100 Wealth Managers"
- Recognized in CityWire's "Future 50 RIAs" publication in 2019
- Selected by 914INC. as a recipient of their first annual Best of Business awards
- Recognized as one of Financial Advisor Magazine’s “Top 50 Fastest-Growing Firms” in the magazine’s annual RIA survey and rankings in 2019
What to Watch out For
Altium Wealth Management has not been subject to any disciplinary actions from regulators over the past decade.
Financial advisors at Altium may earn commissions from the sale of certain insurance products. At the same time, keep in mind that Altium advisors have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of their clients.
Opening an Account With Altium Wealth Management
To learn more about working with Altium, visit the firm’s website and click the “Contact” button in the menu. You will see phone numbers, a map to help you find the office and an email address that you can use to contact the firm.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
Tips for Finding a Financial Advisor
- Finding the right financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in just five minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors, get started now.
- Many people look for advisors to help them plan for retirement. However, advisors can also help with much more, such as general financial planning, wealth management, tax planning and estate planning.
