Cumberland Advisors Review
Cumberland Advisors in Sarasota, Florida is a financial advisor firm with a client base comprised of individuals, retirement plans, government entities, businesses and more. The firm manages billions of dollars.
Cumberland Advisors is a fee-only firm, meaning that it only receives advisory fees directly from clients. While fee-based firms also accept advisory fees, they also receive commissions from the sale of financial products to clients. By eschewing such arrangements, a fee-only firm like Cumberland avoids many conflicts of interest.
Cumberland Advisors Background
Cumberland Advisors has been in business since 1973. The firm is principally owned by David Kotok, who also serves as chairman and chief investment officer (CIO). The firm is also owned by other members of its senior management staff. While the firm is headquartered in Sarasota, it has a secondary office in Vineland, New Jersey.
This firm employs three chartered financial analysts (CFAs).
Cumberland Advisors Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Most of Comberland's clients are individuals (both with and without a high net worth). In addition to these individual clients, Cumberland works with a handful of retirement plans, charities, government entities, businesses, banking institutions, investment companies, investment funds and insurance companies.
In most cases, prospective clients are required to have at least $1 million in "household" investable assets to open an account with Cumberland Advisors. That said, certain investment strategies carry different requirements.
- Fixed-income investment styles: $500,000
- Market volatility/leveraged market volatility styles: $100,000
- Equity and balanced investment styles: $250,000
This firm may waive these minimums under certain circumstances.
Services Offered by Cumberland Advisors
Cumberland Advisors offers investment management services through a number of strategies that are designed to meet each client's investor profile. Strategies range from fixed-income-centric to equity-based.
For the services above, this firm utilizes both wrap fee and traditional programs. A wrap fee program uses a fee schedule that's all inclusive, meaning advisory, transactional and custodial fees are integrated into a single rate. (Under the terms of a traditional fee schedule, the latter two fee types are paid by the client separately.)
Cumberland Advisors Investment Philosophy
Cumberland Advisors is interested in facilitating long-term relationships between its advisors and clients. Therefore, the firm is committed to continually accounting for each client's time horizon, risk tolerance and liquidity needs, as well as their overarching goals. Clients typically work with a single investment advisor at Cumberland, though the firm is known to work together with any of your respective consultants, tax advisors or other related professionals.
This firm focuses on both the preservation of wealth and prudent growth. All assets are held in individual separately managed accounts (SMAs). Each of the firm's strategies involves a slightly different investment philosophy, varying depending on the type of investments used and the time horizon of the strategy. That being said, these philosophies also vary significantly depending on the specific client's needs and goals.
Fees Under Cumberland Advisors
Advisory fees for investment management services at Cumberland Advisors vary depending on the strategy used. These fees are customarily charged on a quarterly basis, in advance.
| Cumberland Advisors Fees | |
| Strategy | Maximum Annual Fee |
| ETF Portfolios | 1.00% |
| Balanced Portfolios | 0.75% |
| Fixed-Income, Master Limited Partnership (MLP) and Active/Passive Portfolios | 0.525% |
What to Watch Out For
Cumberland Advisors' SEC-filed Form ADV has no disclosures, meaning the firm has no record of legal or disciplinary issues with the SEC.
Opening an Account With Cumberland Advisors
If you're interested in opening an account with Cumberland Advisors, there are lots of ways to get in touch. You can go online to its website and submit a contact form or call at (800) 257-7013. The firm also encourages potential clients to reach out on its various social media platforms, like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
Retirement Planning Tips
- Putting together a retirement income plan on your own can get complicated, which is why many people choose to work with a financial advisor. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- Don’t forget to take Social Security payments into account as you consider what kind of income you’ll need in retirement. If you don’t know what you’re in line to receive, check out SmartAsset’s Social Security calculator.
