Cornerstone Wealth Management is a fee-based investment advisory firm focused on serving individuals and families. Though the firm is headquartered in suburban St. Louis, it has additional offices located across the U.S.
Cornerstone is one of dozens of firms on the LPL Financial platform, which provides firms across the nation with resources and technology to better serve clients. Cornerstone also offers securities through LPL Financial.
Cornerstone Wealth Management Background
Cornerstone Wealth Management was founded in 2005 by Joe Keifer, Cornerstone's managing partner, and Greg Shoemaker, the firm's principal. Shoemaker and Keifer both hold an ownership interest in the firm, and the remaining percentage is held by various employees of Cornerstone.
Cornerstone is one of numerous names that the firm does business as. As mentioned above, Cornerstone is on the LPL Financial platform. It's considered a "large enterprise group" on the platform.
The firm has three certified financial planners (CFPs) on staff, as well as one chartered retirement planning counselor (CRPC).
Cornerstone Wealth Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Most of Cornerstone's clients are individual investors, with the majority of that group being high-net-worth individuals. Additionally, Cornerstone is capable of working with trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, limited liability companies and other types of businesses, as well as other investment advisors.
Cornerstone generally does not have a set account minimum for its asset management services. The only exception is four available programs overseen by third-party money managers.
The Manager Access Network, which gives high-net-worth investors access to institutional portfolio managers, requires a minimum account value of $100,000. A minimum account value of $10,000 is required for the Optimum Market Portfolios Program, which allows clients to invest in Optimum Funds Class I shares. The Personal Wealth Portfolios Program and the Model Wealth Portfolios Program, which offer access to model portfolios designed by LPL Financial, require minimum account values of $250,000 and $25,000, respectively.
Services Offered by Cornerstone Wealth Management
Cornerstone Wealth Management offers the following services to its clients:
- Asset management
- Retirement consulting and management
- Financial planning and consulting
- Investment planning
- Retirement planning
- Estate planning
- Charitable planning
- Education planning
- Cost segregation study
- Corporate structure
- Mortgage/debt analysis
- Insurance analysis
- Lines of credit evaluation
- Business and personal financial planning
- Investment management and research subscription licensing
- Selection of third-party advisors
Cornerstone Wealth Management Investment Philosophy
Cornerstone Wealth Management designs clients' portfolios based on a particular investment goal and it tailors clients' investment strategies according to their needs. Strategies the firm may use include long-term and short-term purchases, trading, short sales and option writing.
Typically, Cornerstone uses individual stocks or bonds, exchange-traded funds, exchange-traded notes, options, mutual funds and other private and public securities of investments in client portfolios. Clients can place restrictions on which securities are used in their portfolios. Once a portfolio has been created, the firm will review it at least once a year and rebalance the portfolio as necessary.
Fees Under Cornerstone Wealth Management
Cornerstone Wealth Management's fees vary by service type. For its investment advisory services, Cornerstone typically charges clients a percentage of assets under management. Rates range up to a maximum of 2.40%. In addition to these fees, clients will be responsible for brokerage, custody, fees and fund expenses, which Cornerstone says it’s required to explain to clients. Clients who are not in a wrap fee program will be subject to transaction fees.
| Assets Under Management | Asset-based fee |
| Up to $499,999 | Up to 2.4% |
| $500,000 - $999,999 | Up to 1.9% |
| $1MM and up | Up to 1.4% |
The fee for LPL accounts will be detailed in the client’s signed advisory agreement, LPL Account Application or LPL Tiered Fee Authorization form.
For retirement consulting and management services, the firm charges an hourly, flat or asset-based fee. Its hourly rate is $250 and flat fees range from $750 to $10,000. For ongoing services, clients may be charged an asset-based fee of up to 2.50%, depending on the level of assets under management.
For financial planning and consulting services, clients are charged an hourly fee of $300 or a flat fee ranging from $500 to $5,000.
What to Watch out For
Neither Cornerstone Wealth Management nor its advisory affiliates have been subject to disciplinary actions by regulators in the last decade.
Prospective and current clients of Cornerstone Wealth Management should be aware that employees of the firm are also representatives of LPL Financial, a registered broker-dealer.
Cornerstone generally recommends its clients to use LPL as their custodian/broker. LPL compensates the firm and its dually registered representatives, which may incentivize them to make this recommendation. However, LPL does not influence the firm’s investment advice.
Additionally, employees of Cornerstone may also be insurance agents/brokers, which may present a conflict of interest as they earn money from the sale of insurance products, which may incentivize them to recommend these products.
Despite the conflicts of interest that these additional roles can create, Cornerstone and its advisors are fiduciaries and must always act in the client's best interest.
Opening an Account With Cornerstone Wealth Management
To find a Cornerstone financial advisor to work with, simply go to the firm's website, hover over “Who We Are” on the menu bar and click “Find an Advisor.” You'll then be directed to a full list of the firm's office locations, sorted by state. Once you've selected a location, you'll be provided the firm location's address, office phone number and links to the bios of each team member at that particular office location. If you pull up an individual advisor's bio, you'll be provided with his or her phone number and email address.
You can also ask Cornerstone a question through the messaging functionality on its website. Simply fill in your name, email address and question and the firm will get back to you with more information.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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