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Waddell & Reed Review

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This review was produced by SmartAsset based on publicly available information. The named firm and its financial professionals have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed this review and are not responsible for its accuracy. Review content is produced by SmartAsset independently of any business relationships that might exist between SmartAsset and the named firm and its financial professionals, and firms and financial professionals having business relationships with SmartAsset receive no special treatment or consideration in SmartAsset’s reviews. This page contains links to SmartAsset’s financial advisor matching tool, which may or may not match you with the firm mentioned in this review or its financial professionals.

Waddell & Reed

Waddell & Reed is a fee-based financial advisor firm. The firm has one of the largest advisor pools in the U.S., as it is affiliated with over a thousand advisors. The Overland Park, Kansas-based firm's client base is massive, with most of these clients being individuals with less than a high net worth.

Although Waddell & Reed's advisors work with clients directly, these advisors are technically independently partnered with the firm. This means your advisor utilizes Waddell & Reed's investment and financial planning services, but they aren't actually employed by the firm. Waddell & Reed also offers partnered advisors access to its in-house investment and broker-dealer services.

Waddell & Reed Background

This firm functions as a wholly owned subsidiary of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc., a publicly traded mutual fund company. Waddell & Reed has provided various advisory services since 1937. The firm was founded by World War I veterans Chauncey Waddell and Cameron Reed. The firm offers its services through hundreds of offices throughout the country.

Waddell & Reed Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes

This Kansas-based firm’s client base consists of mostly non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals. The firm's institutional clients include pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, corporations and government entities.

This firm doesn’t specify any minimum account size requirements for its financial planning services, though investment advisory services can vary.

Services Offered by Waddell & Reed

Clients with an account under Waddell & Reed’s management have access to an array of advisory services, including:

  • Portfolio management
    • Custom portfolio creation
    • Periodic rebalances
    • Independent analysis
    • Long-term investment needs planning
  • Financial planning
    • Estate planning
    • Retirement planning
    • College fund planning
    • Home purchase planning
    • Life insurance needs analysis
    • Investment planning
  • Pension consulting
  • Advisor referrals

The firm’s financial planning services also encompass survivor income needs, disability income, long-term care, asset allocation, business planning and income tax planning. In addition, the firm offers fee-based asset allocation and wrap fee programs. 

Waddell & Reed Investment Philosophy

Waddell & Reed generally recommends that clients diversify their assets across a range of asset classes. This can protect them from being overly reliant on returns from a specific area of the market. The firm’s three key principles include listening to the client, build a plan based on their needs and continued advising as their needs and goals change. Waddell & Reed says on its website that it builds its investment products and services them in a way that meets different and specialized client needs.

The firm says it also uses planning tools, which can adjust to economic changes, tax laws and life changes. This is also related to the firm's rebalancing services.

Fees Under Waddell & Reed

At Waddell & Reed, financial planning fees are negotiable between the advisor and the client. The firm determines financial fees based on the complexity of each client’s financial situation. To determine this difficulty level, Waddell requires each client to complete a complexity worksheet, which is part of the financial planning services agreement. The firm then uses three levels of rating to determine a client’s complexity: basic, intermediate or advanced.

According to the firm's Form ADV, the maximum amount advisors can charge for "Basic Complexity" is $2,500, while the maximum fee for "Intermediate Complexity" is $5,000. For clients with an "Advanced Complexity," $10,000 is the most that can be charged.

When it comes to investment advisory services, Waddell & Reed typically charges clients a specific percentage of their assets under management. Between the firm's main advisory programs such as Choice MAP, Classic MAP, MAPDirect and MAPLatitude, fees vary wildly, with rates dropping as the client's AUM pool grows in size.

What to Watch Out For

Waddell & Reed has several disclosures listed on its Form ADV. Each of the disclosures were related to regulatory violations. For example, in 2016, the firm reportedly violated New Hampshire securities law, as one of the firm’s investment advisors was found to have verbally misrepresented the financial planning fees he charged to clients. The New Hampshire Bureau of Securities also found the firm’s supervision of the investment advisor to be deficient.

Additionally, this firm is fee-based, as advisors can offer affiliated mutual fund investments, which can earn them commission-based compensation. This can create a potential conflict of interest if advisors favor these over other investment solutions that would be more suitable to client needs. The firm’s fiduciary duty prevents such conflicts, though, ensuring advisors work in each client’s best interest.

Opening an Account With Waddell & Reed

Waddell & Reed offers a few options for getting in touch. Prospective clients looking to open an account can fill out the firm’s online contact form, and a firm representative will reach out with answers to any questions you may have. You can also visit any of the firm’s offices, or you can call the firm at (913) 236-2000 to speak with an advisor over the phone.

All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.

Tips for Investing

  • SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
  • Investing can be a great way to save for retirement. Whether you’re a passive or active investor, you can generate significant returns through practices like portfolio diversification and asset allocation. If you’d like a better picture of how much money your investments can earn you over time, consider using our investment calculator.

How Long $1mm Lasts in Retirement

SmartAsset's interactive map highlights places where $1 million will last the longest in retirement. Zoom between states and the national map to see the top spots in each region. Also, scroll over any city to learn about the cost of living in retirement for that location.

Least
Most
Rank City Housing Expenses Food Expenses Healthcare Expenses Utilities Expenses Transportation Expenses

Methodology We analyzed data on average expenditures for seniors, cost of living and investment returns to determine how many years of retirement a $1 million nest egg would cover in cities across America.

First, we looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the average annual expenditures of seniors. We then applied cost of living data from the Council for Community and Economic Research to adjust those national average spending levels based on the costs of each expense category (housing, food, healthcare, utilities, transportation and other) in each city. Using this data, SmartAsset calculated the average cost of living for retirees in the largest U.S. cities.

We assumed the $1 million would grow at a real return (interest minus inflation) of 2%. Then, we divided $1 million by the sum of each of those annual numbers to determine how long $1 million would cover retirement expenses in each of the cities in our study. Cities where $1 million lasted the longest ranked the highest in the study.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Council for Community and Economic Research