Allworth Financial (allworthfinancial.com) is an independent financial advisory firm that specializes in investment advising, retirement planning and 401(k) management. Their short- and long-term investment planning, consulting and portfolio management help clients to achieve their financial goals and strategically plan for retirement. Let’s dive deeper into Allworth Financial below.
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Allworth Financial Features
| Average Client Balance | Approximately $800,000 |
| Assets Under Management | Over $10 billion |
| Advisor-to-Client Ratio | 1:96 |
| Headquarters | Sacramento, CA |
Allworth Financial Services
Asset management. Allworth mainly provides advisory services on a discretionary basis, which means the advisor buys and sells investments on their client’s behalf. The focus is on preparing for retirement. Other services include estate planning, tax planning and consultation for 401(k) providers.
Financial planning. Allworth also offers several levels of financial planning for an additional fee. Services include retirement planning, trust and estate planning, tax planning and management, cash flow forecasting, divorce planning and insurance/risk management.
Weekly newsletter & workshops. Allworth also puts out a weekly newsletter and popular workshops. The one in 2019 drew almost 10,000 attendees.
How Allworth Financial Invests Your Money
Allworth has more than 15 model portfolios to choose from when building client portfolios. In general, the firm constructs portfolios based on the client’s financial situation, goals and risk profile, and by using a combination of low-fee and no-load mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Thousands of potential investments are screened every year. The ones selected are chosen because the investment management team believes they will best create diversification, reduce risk and have growth potential.
Allworth Financial Accolades
Allworth has received multiple awards in the industry, including Barron’s list of the 50 Best RIA Firms, the Financial Times’ list of the Top Registered Investment Advisors, and InvestmentNews’ list of the Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors.
Allworth Financial Fees
Allworth Financial charges different fees for their asset management and financial planning services.
Asset Management Fees
Asset management fees vary and are negotiated on a per-case basis. That said, they’re usually not more than 1.85% of AUM. Most asset management services are offered under the wrap fee program, which means your fee will cover all management, brokerage and custodial charges.
If the firm decides to use third-party strategists for your client account, and implements their recommendations, you may have to pay an advisory fee of up to 0.60% higher than it would be without the help of the strategist.
Financial Planning Fees
The firm offers four levels of financial planning. You pay either a flat rate (see the table below) that you negotiate with your advisor, or an hourly rate of $325 to $650 an hour, plus $125 per hour for any administrative work related to your account. Reviewing and updating your plan won’t incur any additional fees.
| FINANCIAL PLANNING SERVICE | FIXED FEE |
| Comprehensive Financial Review | $2,500 to $4,000 |
| Comprehensive Planning | $3,450 to $5,000 |
| Comprehensive Planning – Financial Independence | $3,850 to $5,000 |
| Comprehensive Planning – Advanced | $15,000 to $30,000 |
Allworth Financial Limitations
Limited number of offices. Allworth Financial is registered to provide services in all 50 states, but they only have offices in eight states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Washington.
Unclear asset management fees. Allworth does not publish a set fee schedule for their asset management services. To determine how much it would cost, you need to first meet with an advisor.
Potential conflicts of interest. Some of Allworth Financial’s advisors are also registered security and insurance agents, so they may receive commission on the products they recommend to clients. Allworth also uses performance-based fees, which can increase the cost of investing or motivate managers to take unnecessary risk.
Bottom Line
Allworth Financial is a good solution if you’re looking for a straightforward and fairly hands-off investment strategy. However, if you aren’t located near an Allworth office, but want face-to-face financial planning, you may want to look elsewhere.
You might also be interested in SmartAsset. The platform matches you with vetted financial planners who align with your profile and preferences.
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