Savant Wealth Management is a large fee-based financial advisor firm headquartered in Rockford, Illinois, with billions in assets under management (AUM). Its advisors have a range of certifications and work personally with both individual and institutional clients. The firm’s services include retirement planning, investment management, estate planning and more. It offers financial consulting services to both asset management clients and those who don’t have accounts at Savant.
As a fee-based firm, Savant Wealth Management may earn additional compensation beyond the fees that advisory clients pay. This creates a conflict of interest, because the firm has a financial incentive to make certain recommendations that may not be in the client's best interest. This compensation model is distinct from a fee-only firm, whose compensation comes solely from client-paid fees, and not from third-party payments.
Savant Wealth Management Background
Savant Wealth Management’s history stretches back to 1986, though it wasn't until 1993 that the firm began offering investment services. It’s owned by SCMI, Inc., a financial services holding company that used to be known as Savant Capital Management, Inc. Brent R. Brodeski currently leads the firm as CEO. He has over 20 years of industry experience. The firm has 12 other offices located around Illinois, two more in Wisconsin and one each in New Mexico, Virginia, Michigan and Arizona.
Members of the advisory team at Savant Wealth Management holds a number of advisory certifications, including the Certified Financial Planner™, chartered financial analyst (CFA), accredited investment fiduciary analyst (AIFA), certified public accountant (CPA) and chartered retirement planning counselor (CRPC) designations, among others.
Savant Wealth Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Savant Wealth Management takes on many different client accounts, though most belong to individuals with and without a high net worth. More specifically, it manages nearly three times as many accounts for individuals below the high-net-worth threshold as those above it. The firm also manages money and investments for pension plans, charitable organizations, businesses and other investment advisors.
Typically, anyone looking to open a Savant Wealth Management Services account here will need to have at least $300,000 in investable assets. While Savant Wealth Management may occasionally accept clients with less than that, they will be subject to a minimum annual fee of $2,500 for investment management services. This may be cost-prohibitive for clients with lower account sizes.
Services Offered by Savant Wealth Management
For those looking to invest their money with Savant Wealth Management, there are three basic services you can use: comprehensive wealth management, standalone financial planning and standalone investment management. As you might expect, comprehensive wealth management includes offerings from both investing and financial planning.
If you’re looking for financial advice, but aren’t planning on maintaining an account at Savant, there are several financial consulting services that the company offers on a one-off basis. Most of these services are available to asset management clients at no extra cost.
- Retirement planning
- Risk management and asset protection
- Debt management
- Education planning
- Health and wellness
- Income tax planning
- Investment planning
- Estate planning
- Business succession planning
- Charitable gift planning
Savant Wealth Management Investment Philosophy
Savant Wealth Management takes a comprehensive view of its clients' finances. The firm's financial advisors aim to refine, streamline and integrate your financial planning, investment and tax needs into one holistic portfolio. Your team will propose the best structures and strategies to help you meet your financial goals. It also places a significant emphasis on low trading costs, tax efficiency and independence from outside influences.
Financial planning with Savant includes crafting investment plans. It uses a system of evidence-based investing to avoid unnecessary risk and to help you generate positive returns by keeping an objective outlook on investment opportunities. Its goal is to help you craft the most effective portfolio and to check back over time to ensure that you’re continuing to meet your goals. You can also elect to have your investment portfolio managed with a social value or sustainability objective in mind, at no extra cost.
Fees Under Savant Wealth Management
Savant Wealth Management is a fee-only advisory firm. Its comprehensive wealth management and standalone investment management clients are charged an annual fee between 0.50% and 1.50% of their AUM. However, investment management clients are subject to the minimum annual fee of $2,500.
Fees for standalone financial planning work entirely differently, as they're instead based on either a fixed or hourly rate. Fixed fees can be anywhere from $250 to $10,000, whereas hourly fees are from $100 to $500 per hour.
What to Watch Out For
Savant Wealth Management does not have any disclosures on its Form ADV. However, the firm does receive additional compensation when it opens high-yield cash depository accounts for clients. This compensation can incentivize the firm to enroll its clients in these types of accounts and/or maintain higher depository account balances. Despite this potential conflict of interest, the firm has a legal responsibility to always act in the client's best interest as a fiduciary.
Opening an Account With Savant Wealth Management
If you’d like to open an account with Savant Wealth Management, you can go to the firm’s website and submit a contact form. For a more direct approach, call Savant at (815) 227-0300 or visit any of its office locations.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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