Investacorp Review
Investacorp Advisory Services is a financial advisor firm right outside of Miami, Florida that boasts around $2.4 billion in assets under management (AUM). Through a network of affiliated investment advisor representatives (IARs), the firm works with individuals (both with and without a high net worth), along with a handful of pension plans and corporations. The firm provides both portfolio management and financial planning services, as well as consulting for retirement plans and the selection of other advisors.
Investacorp is a fee-based firm; this means that, in addition to earning fees directly from clients, some of its advisors can sell insurance products and securities on a commission basis. This is different from a fee-only firm, which avoids some conflicts of interest by only receiving client-paid fees.
Investacorp Advisory Services Background
Investacorp Advisory Services was founded in 1984. Today, it's fully owned by Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services, Inc., a publicly-traded financial services company. The firm has a total of 270 IARs, some of whom have earned professional certifications. These include certified financial planner (CFP) and chartered financial analyst (CFA).
Investacorp Advisory Services Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Through its network of IARs, Investacopr Advisory Services' client base is heavily comprised of individuals below the high-net-worth threshold. The firm also works with roughly 75 institutional clients, like retirement plans and businesses, and the rest are high-net-worth individuals.
As the firm offers a wide range of different investment management services, the minimum account requirements for each can vary. Here's a breakdown:
- STRUCTURE PLUS program: $5,000
- ARCHITECT program: $50,000
- PARALLEL program: $5,000
Services Offered by Investacorp Advisory Services
Investacorp's services fall into two broad category: asset management and financial planning/consulting services. The former includes offerings like automated investing and sub-advisor wrap fee programs. Financial planning encompasses tax planning, estate planning and insurance analysis.
Investacorp Advisory Services Investment Philosophy
Investacorp typically seeks to build portfolios with a long-term perspective (greater than 10 years) for its clients. When determining an asset allocation, the firm relies on five existing asset allocation frameworks that it has developed. Each one of these consists of varying weights within global equities, global and municipal fixed-income, diversified alternative strategies and cash.
Clients can choose which framework they believe is the best starting point for their personal risk tolerance, time horizon and investment objectives. The firm's owners meet periodically to discuss how the asset allocation is performing, along with general economic activity and security analysis. Depending on how things progress, the firm and its team will update the asset allocation frameworks.
Fees Under Investacorp Advisory Services
For asset management services, Investacorp Advisory Services charges a percentage of each client’s AUM as a fee. These fees will be paid quarterly, in arrears. The exact percentage will follow this schedule:
| Investacorp Asset Management Fees | |
| Assets under Management | Fee Rate |
| Up to $250K | 0.20% |
| $250K - $500K | 0.18% |
| $500K - $1MM | 0.15% |
| $1MM - $5MM | 0.10% |
| $5MM and above | Negotiable |
Financial planning services come in three variations: hourly, fixed and asset-based. Hourly fees max out at $300 per hour, fixed fees can reach as high as $10,000 and asset-based fees typically won't exceed 1.50% of the client's overall AUM.
What to Watch Out For
Investacorp Advisory Services has a number of IARs within its network that can earn commissions through certain securities transactions and insurance product sales. This creates a potential conflict of interest, as these advisors may be more likely to recommend certain products and securities over others. Despite this situation, the firm and its IARs are required to abide by fiduciary duty, legally binding them to act in clients' best interests.
Disclosures
Investacorp Advisory Services lists three disclosures on its SEC-filed Form ADV. Two of these apply to some of the firm's affiliates, but one is attributed to Investacorp directly. This is in reference to a violation where the SEC says some of Investacorp's advisors received 12b-1 fees in relation to mutual fund classes, even those these fees were not disclosed in the firm's Form ADV. As a result, Investacorp submitted to censure and disgorgement.
Opening an Account With Investacorp Advisory Services
If you want to find out more about Investacorp Advisory Services, you can call the firm at (305) 557-3000. You can also fill out the contact form on the firm’s website.
Tips for Building an Investment Portfolio
- If you want some help managing your investments, a financial advisor can be a great partner. Finding the right financial advisor that fits your needs doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- Don’t forget to take taxes into account when you plan out what your investment portfolio will look like. To get an idea of how much the capital gains tax could affect your money, stop by SmartAsset’s capital gains tax calculator.
