One thing that sets Buckingham Strategic Wealth apart is its big advisor team. This fee-only financial advisor firm employs hundreds of financial advisors. These advisors work out of the firm’s offices located across the U.S. Headquartered in St. Louis, the firm is on SmartAsset's top financial advisor lists for St. Louis, Missouri and the United States.
Buckingham serves mostly individual investors. Buckingham’s premier service, Practice Integrated Wealth Management, provides holistic financial planning services alongside the firm’s other advisory services.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth Background
Buckingham Strategic Wealth was established in 1994. The firm is solely owned by financial services holding company, Focus Financial Partners, LLC. Focus Financial is a massive, publicly traded company that owns many advisory firms like Buckingham throughout the country.
Buckingham’s staff of financial advisors has a number of different certifications. The firm’s team includes certified financial planners (CFPs), certified public accountants (CPAs), chartered financial analysts (CFAs) and chartered alternative investment analysts (CAIAs).
Buckingham Strategic Wealth Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Buckingham Strategic Wealth works with thousands of individual investors, both with and without a high net worth. The rest of the firm’s client base consists of businesses, pension plans, profit-sharing plans and charitable organizations.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth does not have a minimum account size requirement, though there is a $3,000 minimum annual fee for wealth management services. Clients with less and $300,000 in asset face a minimum monthly fee of $250.
Services Offered by Buckingham Strategic Wealth
Buckingham Strategic Wealth offers a complete set of advisory services, including:
- Net worth development
- Retirement planning
- Estate and trust planning
- Investment planning
- Businness owner planning
- Tax planning
- Education planning
- Chartiable giving
- Health and insurance planning
Buckingham Strategic Wealth Investment Philosophy
Buckingham Strategic Wealth utilizes a long-term, evidence-based investment approach that is founded on past and current market research. It firmly believes that attempting to beat the market is difficult and costly. Therefore, Buckingham largely avoids short-term investing, which tries to take advantage of quick shifts in the market.
Buckingham primarily uses mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and bonds in client portfolios. While bonds are individual investments, mutual funds and ETFs combine multiple investments into a single, inherently diversified fund. Buckingham typically selects mutual funds and ETFs that include fixed income securities, commodity futures, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and alternative investments.
Fees Under Buckingham Strategic Wealth
Unlike some financial advisor firms, Buckingham Strategic Wealth has multiple fee schedules, depending on which service you use. The firm charges fees in three distinct ways: annually, monthly and hourly. Annual fees, which are based on a percentage of assets under management, are charged in advance and are divided into four equal fees charged each quarter. Monthly fixed fees and hourly fees are charged in advance every month.
| Fees at Buckingham Strategic Wealth | |
| Service Type | Fee Rates |
| General advisory services | 0.35% - 1.25% annual fee |
| Practice Integrated Wealth Management/Financial planning | $150 - $825 monthly fee |
| Employee benefit retirement plan services | 0.20% - 1.00% annual fee |
| Tax planning and related services | $200 - $350 hourly fee |
You can pay the above fees either through a direct withdrawal from your account, or you can choose to receive monthly fee statements. If you want to take the direct withdrawal route, you must provide written authorization.
What to Watch Out For
Buckingham Strategic Wealth reported no disclosures of legal or regulatory action in its latest Form ADV.
Opening an Account With Buckingham Strategic Wealth
On Buckingham Strategic Wealth’s website, you’ll find an interactive map that allows you to virtually visit each branch of the firm. There you’ll get an overview of the branch’s specialties and team members, as well as the office’s contact information. If you aren’t sure where to start, though, feel free to email or call the firm at (314) 725-0455.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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