Equitable Advisors is a large financial advisor firm headquartered in New York City, managing billions in client assets. The firm works with individuals both above and below the high-net-worth line, as well as charitable organizations, pension plans and corporations.
This is a fee-based firm that specializes in financial planning and investment management, with programs being available through a number of outside advisory firms.
Prior to June 2020, Equitable Advisors, LLC operated under the name AXA Advisors, LLC. Aside from this name change, the firm remains the same as it was before.
Equitable Advisors Background
Equitable Advisors opened for business in 1999. However, the firm can trace its history back all the way to 1859, when Henry Hyde founded its distant predecessor, the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. As stated above, this firm changed its name from AXA Advisors to Equitable Advisors on June 15, 2020.
Equitable Advisors is a wholly owned subsidiary of Equitable Holdings, Inc., a holding company. Equitable Holdings is, in turn, controlled by an independent board of directors. Equitable Holdings also owns Equitable Life Insurance Company, a life insurance business, and AllianceBernstein, another registered investment advisor (RIA) firm.
Equitable Advisors employs nearly 4,000 advisors, some of whom have earned professional certifications like the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), chartered financial consultant (ChFC) and chartered life underwriter (CLU) designations.
Equitable Advisors Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
The vast majority of Equitable Advisors’ client base is made up of both non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as pension profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and corporations.
Clients of Equitable Advisors can choose from a wide range of investment management and wrap fee programs, many of which have minimum account sizes. These minimums start at $10,000 and can reach as high as $2 million.
Services Offered by Equitable Advisors
Financial planning services at Equitable Advisors can cover the following topics:
- Financial goal-setting
- Financial positioning
- Insurance needs analysis
- Asset allocation and investment planning
- Retirement and distribution planning
- Education cost planning
- Estate planning
- Stock options
- Income tax planning
- Major purchase planning
- Divorce planning
Equitable Advisors generally offers investment management through programs sponsored by separate advisory firms. These offerings, which are known as turnkey asset management programs (TAMPs), fall into five broad categories:
- Mutual Fund Advisory Programs: Allocates client assets across a portfolio of mutual funds
- Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Advisory Programs: Programs in which clients invest in a variety of ETFs
- Financial Professional as Advisor Programs: Non-discretionary or discretionary programs in which clients invest in multiple types of investments (mutual funds, ETFs, equities, bonds, etc.)
- Separately Managed Account (SMA) Advisory Programs: Programs in which client assets are managed by a third-party money manager
- Unified Managed Account (UMA) Programs: Programs that may combine aspects of any of the above programs
Equitable Advisors Investment Philosophy
Generally speaking, the task of constructing investment portfolios for clients falls to the investment program sponsors and not Equitable Advisors itself. So in the case of each program, the truly pertinent investment philosophy is that of the sponsor of whichever program you choose to invest your money in. These strategies are typically available for beforehand review through Equitable Advisors.
However, this firm and its advisory professionals conduct investment research by reviewing various kinds of research materials made available through LPL Financial. In addition, it may review fund prospectuses or other market publications.
Fees Under Equitable Advisors
Financial planning services at Equitable Advisors may come with a fixed, hourly or income/asset-based fee. For new plans, fixed fees usually range from $250 to $25,000. In special circumstances, the fee may be higher, though. Periodic reviews of financial plans can result in a fixed fee of between $250 to $12,500. Hourly fees are negotiable and can vary from $100 to $400 per hour. Income- and asset- based financial planning fees typically range up to 0.5% of net worth plus 1% of adjusted gross income.
Fees for the various asset management programs have different maximums, which range from 1% of asset under management (AUM) to as much as 2.37%. For reference, an AdvisoryHQ analysis found that the average AUM fee in 2023 ranged from 0.59% to 1.18%.
What to Watch Out For
According to its Form ADV, Equitable Advisors has multiple regulatory disclosures. However, its last disclosure came in 2021.
Also, certain members of Equitable Advisors' staff are licensed to sell insurance products, such as variable annuities. The sale of these insurance products may generate commissions for the advisors who sell them, and these commissions can cause a potential conflict of interest.
Equitable Advisors acts as a registered securities broker-dealer in addition to being an investment advisory firm. This means that many of the firm’s advisors are authorized to conduct securities transactions that could result in the earning of commissions. Similarly, these commissions can cause a potential conflict of interest, as they can incentivize advisors to recommend transactions that will result in commissions.
Despite each of the aforementioned potential conflicts of interest, fee-based Equitable Advisors is a fiduciary, which means it’s required to act in your best interest at all times.
Opening an Account With Equitable Advisors
You can get in touch with Equitable Advisors through a number of different routes. To contact a specific office, you can visit the firm’s website to find the phone number or address of the branch closest to you.
Equitable Advisors is headquartered on the Avenue of the Americas in the New York City. The firm employs more than 3,900 advisors in offices across the country, though.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
Tips for Beginning Your Retirement Plans
- Finding a financial advisor doesn't have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- It can be tough to know how much to save for retirement without knowing what your future expenses might be. Our retirement calculator can help you determine how much you’ll need to save depending on where you want to retire when you want to retire and other important factors.
