Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Concourse Financial Group, also known as ProEquities, Inc., is an independent investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a broker-dealer registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Its advisors may be investment advisors registered with the SEC themselves, investment advisor representatives (IARs) and/or registered representatives of the broker-dealer arm of the business. They are all independent contractors and business owners.
Concourse provides these advisors with the tools, technology and investment offerings they need to serve their clients. Counting the assets under their management, Concourse has billions in client assets, with most of it being managed on a discretionary basis.
Concourse Financial Group Background
Concourse also goes by the names Investment Advisors and Protective Securities. It was founded in 1985, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation, which in turn is a part of The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited.
Concourse is affiliated with ProEquities Distributors, Investment Distributors, Inc. and Protective Investment Advisors, Inc. Part of its business is providing investment solutions to its advisors, so to that end, it has a number of marketing partners. They include: Athene, Blackrock, Bluerock, Brighthouse (MetLife), Brinker, CLS, City National Rochdale, Envestnet, FS Investments, Hines, Jackson, Lincoln, Martin, Mutual of Omaha, Owl Rock, Pacific Life, Protective, Prudential, Sammons, Loring Ward, SmartStop, Voya and WE Donoghue.
Concourse Financial Group Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Advisors with Concourse work with individuals, corporate pension and profit-sharing plans, fiduciaries to employer-sponsored retirement plans, Taft-Hartley plans, charitable institutions, foundations, endowments and corporations. Of its individual clients, the vast majority do not have a high net worth.
Minimum account sizes for Concourse wrap fee programs range from $5,000 to $100,000, depending on the program. Minimum requirements for accounts managed by third-party money managers depend on the managers themselves.
Services Offered by Concourse Financial Group
Through its affiliated advisors, Concourse offers investment advisory services through wrap fee programs (advisor-managed and third-party-managed) and a non-wrap third-party management direct program (TAMP) platform.
Advisors also offer financial planning and retirement consulting services. Financial plans can cover estate planning, insurance planning, education fund planning, retirement planning and more.
Concourse Financial Group Investing Philosophy
Investing approaches depend on Concourse advisors and third-party investment advisors. Generally, they may use fundamental and technical methods of analysis to evaluate securities. They may also use tactical asset allocations or strategic asset allocations. Some advisors may customize client portfolios while others may use model portfolios. Additionally, some may invest in a full range of securities while others in mutual funds only.
Fees Under Concourse Financial Group
With non-wrap accounts managed by third parties, the advisory fee is shared by the manager and the Concourse advisor. Fees vary, but generally, they will be from 0.75% to 2.00% of client assets under management (AUM). These fees do not cover other costs such as brokerage transaction fees, custodial fees and mutual fund fees.
Accounts in Concourse's wrap fee programs will be charged an advisor fee and a platform fee, both of which follow a tiered schedule. The advisor fee is negotiable, but generally ranges from 0.85% to 2.00%. Platform fees range from 0.04% to 0.31%. Fee-based annuity accounts carry a maximum 0.85% advisor fee and a platform fee that ranges from 0.06% to 0.19%.
What to Watch Out For
In its most recent SEC filings, Concourse reported many regulatory disclosures. Many of these apply to the firm directly, while others apply to a combination of the firm and one of its advisory affiliates or an advisory affiliate on their own.
Advisors may have additional roles as securities brokers and licensed insurance agents. These other capacities may present potential conflicts of interest due to commissions that can be earned. But if they're registered with the SEC, these advisors have a fiduciary duty to act in clients' best interests.
Opening an Account With Concourse Financial Group
Concourse's website includes a contact form where you can fill out your information so someone can reach out to you. You can also call the firm at (800) 288-3035.
All information was accurate as of the writing of this article.
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