Foundations Investment Advisors is a financial advisor firm with its headquarters located in Phoenix, Arizona. The firm has a large group of on-staff financial advisors. Some of these advisors are employed directly by the firm, while others are independent advisors who use Foundations' services.
In total, the firm has billions of dollars in client assets under management (AUM). The client base at the firm mainly comprises high-net-worth and non-high-net-worth individuals, though there are a handful of institutional clients that include pension plans and businesses.
Foundations provides general asset management services, which may relate to topics such as investment management and financial goal-setting and planning.
Foundations is a fee-based firm. This is because some of the firm's advisors can receive third-party compensation from the sale of certain financial products. A fee-only firm, on the other hand, avoids this extra compensation entirely.
Foundations Investment Advisors Background
Foundations Investment Advisors was founded in 2015 by Bryon Rice, whose trust-controlled ownership is the firm's majority owner. The firm offers its services through both in-house advisors and a network of affiliated independent advisors. Kyle Mann is the firm's chief financial officer and CEO.
Advisors affiliated with the firm are located throughout the country, with many having various financial certifications to their names. These include the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) and chartered financial analyst (CFA) designations.
Foundations Investment Advisors Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Foundations Investment Advisors works primarily with individual clients, and the vast majority of them have less than a high net worth. The rest of the firm's client base is made up of high-net-worth individuals, investment companies, corporations and other businesses.
This firm has a modest $5,000 minimum account size, making it accessible for a wide range of clients.
Services Offered by Foundations Investment Advisors
Foundations Investment Advisors offers a spectrum of asset management services. These encompass investment management, financial planning, development of investment goals and more. Since a sizable portion of Foundations' team of advisors is a network of independent professionals, specific services may vary. These services can be conducted on either a discretionary or non-discretionary basis.
The firm may also provide sub-advisory services to unaffiliated registered investment advisors, use outside investment advisory firms as sub-advisors and assist clients with certain employer-sponsored retirement plan solutions offered and managed by unaffiliated financial institutions.
Foundations also provides occasional educational seminars and workshops on financial planning, retirement planning, estate planning, college planning, charitable planning and other financial topics. The brochure says no fees are charged for seminars.
Foundations Investment Advisors Investment Philosophy
The goal of Foundations' investment strategy is to provide tailored portfolios and advice to clients. As a result, all advisors collect information from their clients about their risk tolerance, time horizon, desired investment strategies, financial history, net worth, liquidity needs and other related factors. Using these insights, advisors will craft investment philosophies and strategies for clients on an individual basis, with all relevant information being updated annually.
While advisors may invest client assets in a wide range of securities, they tend to focus on cash, stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, bonds and other liquid securities.
The firm also reserves the right to offer advice on other investment products, including interval funds, tender offer funds, closed-end funds, interests in real estate funds, oil and gas funds, private equity funds, hedge funds, venture funds, OTC securities and other securities or investment products that may be suitable for a client's circumstances.
While they don't typically perform market-timing services, advisors may increase cash holdings based on a client's risk tolerance and the firm's expectations of market behavior when deciding how to structure or rebuild a portfolio. Advisors typically use fundamental analysis, technical analysis and cyclical analysis when evaluating securities and other investment opportunities.
Fees Under Foundations Investment Advisors
Investment management fees at Foundations Investment Advisors are charged based on a percentage of each client's total AUM. The maximum annual advisory fee is 2.00% for all AUM levels. Sub-advisor fees are included in this schedule. All fees are calculated and charged on a quarterly or monthly basis.
Financial planning arrangements work much differently, as they are usually based on either an hourly or fixed fee schedule. Rates can be anywhere from $100 to $500 per hour or $100 to $5,000 as a flat fee.
Additional financial planning services may result in higher fixed fees that generally will not exceed $7,500. Clients may also elect additional planning services, such as periodic plan reviews or ongoing financial planning support, which may involve additional fees.
What to Watch Out For
Foundations Investment Advisors has nine regulatory disclosures to its name. Each of these are attributed to advisory affiliates of the firm.
Some of the advisors who are affiliated with Foundations can sell certain insurance products on a commission basis. While this presents a potential conflict of interest, the firm must act in clients' best interests as a fiduciary.
Opening an Account With Foundations Investment Advisors
If you're interested in opening an account with this firm, submit a contact form through its website so an advisor can reach out. You may also contact Foundations by phone at 480-626-2979 or by email at cco@fiwealth.com
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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