Compass Wealth Management, LLC is a small, fee-only financial advisor firm nestled in Concord, Massachusetts. Compass has no secondary branches, and it employs just one financial advisor to manage its client accounts. The firm serves institutional and individual investors, and most of its services are centered around financial planning and investment management.
Since this is a fee-only firm, all of its compensation comes from client-paid fees. On the flip side, fee-based firms earn compensation from both client-paid fees and third-party sales commissions.
Compass Wealth Management Background
Firm president Louis E. Conrad opened Compass Wealth Management in 2000. The firm was originally called Compass Investment Advisors, LLC until it changed its name in 2007.
Conrad remains the firm’s principal owner. He has been a chartered financial analyst (CFA) for over 25 years. Throughout his career, Boston Magazine has given him the Five Star Wealth Manager award multiple times.
Compass Wealth Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
The vast majority of Compass Wealth Management’s assets under management belong to individual investors without a high net worth. Although this type of client is the firm’s most common customer, it also offers investment and wealth management services to families, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, businesses, non-profits, pension plans and profit-sharing plans.
Rather than impose a minimum investment requirement, Compass Wealth Management has minimum annual fee requirements for each of its services. The firm’s minimum annual fees range from $3,000 to $10,000, depending on the nature of your needs.
Services Offered By Compass Wealth Management
Compass Wealth Management provides a number of advisory, management and consulting services. Below you’ll find a complete list of the firm’s offerings:
- Services for individuals and families
- Investment management
- Creation of customized investment strategies
- Asset allocation and diversification
- Tax considerations
- General financial planning
- Tax planning
- Retirement planning
- Estate planning
- Charitable gift planning
- Education fund planning
- Insurance strategies and risk management
- Stock option planning
- Business succession planning
- Consulting
- Investment management
- Services for businesses and other organizations
- Investment management
- Investment consulting
- Retirement plans
- Plan sponsor services
- Fiduciary support
- Investment evaluation and planning
- Regular investment committee meetings
- Plan participant services
- Education programs and seminars
- Enrollment campaigning
- One-on-one participant advice
- Plan sponsor services
Compass Wealth Management Investment Philosophy
Compass Wealth Management’s first step in any advisory relationship is to create an investment policy statement for the client. This will help to finalize the client’s risk tolerance, time horizon, tax situation, liquidity needs and financial goals so that a personalized strategic asset allocation and investment portfolio can be built.
Compass has a rigid set of investments that it uses to flesh out its clients’ portfolios. It invests client assets in open-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and occasionally individual securities. Rebalancing is also a integral to portfolio performance at Compass. Your advisor will generally rebalance your portfolio at least annually, although this can vary. If you feel as though you’d rather have your portfolio adjusted more often, the firm will typically oblige.
Fees Under Compass Wealth Management
As a fee-only firm, all of Compass Wealth Management’s revenue comes from the fees it charges its clients. Most of its fees are based on a percentage of assets under management.
Compass has separate fee schedules for its individual and family services and its institutional client services. Regardless of the type of client you are, your annual fee will be split into four equal quarterly payments. Your fee will be calculated based on the value of your portfolio on the last day of the previous quarter.
| Fees for Individual/Family Wealth Management Solutions | |
| Portfolio Value | Annual Fee |
| First $1,000,000 | 1.00% |
| Next $2,000,000 | 0.75% |
| Next $2,000,000 | 0.50% |
| Over $5,000,000 | 0.30% |
| Institutional Investment Management Fees | |
| Portfolio Value | Annual Fee |
| First $1,000,000 | 1.00% |
| Next $2,000,000 | 0.75% |
| Next $2,000,000 | 0.50% |
| Over $5,000,000 | 0.30% |
| Institutional Investment Consulting Fees | |
| Portfolio Value | Annual Fee |
| First $20,000,000 | 0.25% |
| Over $20,000,000 | Negotiable |
| Retirement Plan Fiduciary Advisory Service Fees | |
| Portfolio Value | Annual Fee |
| First $20,000,000 | 0.25% |
| Over $20,000,000 | Negotiable |
For individual clients, the following table shows how much you can expect to pay in fees if you chose to work with Compass Wealth Management:
| *Estimated investment management fees do not include brokerage, custodial, third-party manager or other fees, which can vary in amount. | |
| Estimated Investment Management Fees at Compass Wealth Management* | |
| Your Assets | Compass Wealth Management Fee Amounts |
| $500K | $5,000 |
| $1MM | $10,000 |
| $5MM | $35,000 |
| $10MM | $50,000 |
What to Watch Out For
Compass Wealth Management has a clean legal and regulatory record, as its SEC-filed Form ADV has no disclosures on it.
Opening an Account With Compass Wealth Management
The best way to get in contact with Compass Wealth Management is by phone at (978) 254-7040. You can also visit the firm's offices in Concord.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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