Silvercrest Asset Management Group is a fee-only financial advisor firm headquartered in New York. In turn, Silvercrest is on SmartAsset’s lists of the top financial advisors in New York and top financial advisors in New York State. The independently run firm also has branches in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia and San Diego.
Silvercrest is a sizable financial advisory firm with a large team of advisors on staff. The firm primarily serves high-net-worth individuals and families, but also works with institutional clients like retirement plans and charities.
Silvercrest Asset Management Group Background
Silvercrest has been in business since 2001. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Silvercrest L.P., a financial services company. The firm’s managing directors have spent an average of about 30 years in wealth and investment management.
Additionally, much of the staff at Silvercrest holds advisory certifications. The firm’s team includes chartered financial analysts (CFAs), certified public accountants (CPA) and certified financial planners (CFP).
Silvercrest Asset Management Group Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Most of Silvercrest client base consists of high-net-worth individuals and families. Though the firm specializes in serving affluent investors, it also works with estates, trusts, charitable organizations, businesses, not-for-profit entities, Taft-Hartley plans, government plans, pension plans, municipalities, registered investment companies and private investment funds.
To work with Silvercrest, you'll typically need to have millions to invest, but the firm doesn't state a specific investment minimum on its Form ADV.
Services Offered by Silvercrest Asset Management Group
Silvercrest primarily offers portfolio and investment management services that encompass a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income and alternative investments. Silvercrest employs both traditional and alternative strategies, such as private equity and hedge funds, to help clients achieve their financial goals.
Additionally, Silvercrest offers financial planning services, including estate planning, family office services, tax planning and philanthropy advice, ensuring that all aspects of a client’s financial picture are addressed. Additional service offerings include bill paying, personal accounting and consolidated reporting.
Silvercrest Asset Management Group Investment Philosophy
Equity management and fixed income strategies dominate Silvercrest's investment approach. The firm offers a comprehensive suite of 25 equity investment strategies designed to meet diverse client needs across various market segments. These strategies include value-oriented investments, targeting undervalued companies with strong fundamentals, and growth-focused strategies that seek innovative companies with high earnings potential.
Silvercrest also provides specialized strategies for higher-yield investments, real estate income and energy-related opportunities, along with options for international and emerging market exposure. Additionally, the firm caters to environmentally conscious investors with strategies focusing on sustainable investments. Meanwhile, Silvercrest’s Fund Advisory Services manages private funds and funds of funds, which may be made available to qualified clients.
On the other hand, fixed-income management has five separate strategies to choose from. Although fixed income investments tend to be long-term, Silvercrest sometimes chooses to diversify these portfolios with a short to intermediate duration in mind. These strategies include investments like:
Municipal Value Strategy: The Municipal Value strategy focuses on municipal bonds that offer high levels of tax-exempt income, capital preservation, and short to intermediate duration characteristics, with an emphasis on credit-quality in essential sectors like healthcare and education, avoiding high-risk credits and derivatives.
Intermediate Municipal Strategy: The Intermediate Municipal strategy actively manages high-grade securities across all maturities, aiming to exceed benchmark index returns through a combination of top-down and bottom-up analysis, focusing on long-term trends and maintaining a well-diversified portfolio.
Core Intermediate Strategy: The Core Intermediate strategy invests in high-grade securities with less than ten years to maturity, aiming to generate total returns above the Bloomberg Intermediate Government/Credit index by actively managing duration, yield curve positions, and credit quality through a consistent, value-focused methodology.
Core Government/Credit Strategy: The Core Government/Credit strategy targets high-grade securities across all maturities, seeking to outperform the Bloomberg Government/Credit index by actively managing various market factors and employing a conservative, research-driven investment approach.
Municipal Environmental Strategy: The Municipal Environmental Strategy builds a portfolio of environmentally-oriented municipal bonds, emphasizing water, sewer, green and impact bonds, while actively managing market trends to align returns with the Bloomberg Barclays Muni Bond Index, appealing to clients seeking environmental impact through investing.
Fees Under Silvercrest Asset Management Group
Silvercrest charges clients based on a percentage of assets under management. The firm charges different rates depending on the portfolio type, and in some instances, it reduces rates as the amount of assets under management increases. Silvercrest charges clients quarterly. In contrast to most firms that charge clients in arrears, payments are due in advance of the upcoming quarter.
The firm states that the below fee rates may be negotiable to a certain extent. However, it also stipulates that this policy usually only applies to clients who have extremely large amounts of assets under management.
| Fees for Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) | |
| Portfolio Type | Annual Fees |
| Managed equity and balanced |
|
| Managed fixed-income only |
|
| Managed cash only |
|
| Silvercrest Municipal Value Strategy |
|
What to Watch Out For
There are no disclosures listed on Silvercrest's SEC-filed Form ADV.
Opening an Account With Silvercrest Asset Management Group
New York City is home to Silvercrest Asset Management Group’s principal office, but the firm also has five other branches, including two in New Jersey, two in Virginia and one in Massachusetts. If you live anywhere near these locations, feel free to stop by and talk to an advisor in person. Prospective clients can also reach Silvercrest over the phone at (212) 649-0600 or via email.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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