MagnifyMoney 
Austin isn’t just full of talented musicians — it also has its share of talented financial advisors to support the city’s fast-paced economy. More options means more firms to sort through though. Finding the right advisor is a lot about figuring out the proper fit, which requires understanding your financial needs and goals as well as how much you’re able to spend on advisor’s assistance.
The process of finding an advisor also calls for comparing firms and data points. This may seem overwhelming, especially given Austin’s number of options, so we compiled information here on the Texas city’s top firms to help guide your search. To determine the best advisors in Austin, we only considered firms that manage individual accounts and offer financial planning services. We then ranked these firms based on assets under management (AUM), which serves as a general metric for a firm’s size. Although not formally part of our ranking, we encourage readers to take note of each firm’s client-to-advisor ratio, as this indicates how much attention you may get as a client. All data used in our methodology is taken from each firm’s most recent Form ADV filing with the SEC so as to ensure the accuracy and reliability of our rankings.
Our ranking won’t tell you which firm may be right for you, but it can help make the shopping experience easier. Take a look at our list below for the top firms in the Live Music Capital of the World, and their key highlights:
| Firm name | Minimum assets required | Fee structure |
|---|---|---|
| Leafhouse Financial Advisors, LLC | No minimum required |
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| TCG Advisory Services, LLC | Not specified |
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| Venturi Private Wealth | $2.5 million, though can make exceptions at its discretion |
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| Legacy One Financial Advisors, LLC | Not specified |
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| Durbin Bennett Private Wealth Management, LLC | $1 million for portfolio management |
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| Austin Asset | Not specified, but minimum annual fee of $5,000 |
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| Lion Street Advisors, LLC | Not specified |
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| Century Management Financial Advisors | Not specified, but minimum annual fee that varies by service |
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For our search, we looked at firms across the city of Austin. All of the firms considered are bound by fiduciary duty, registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and offer individual account management and financial planning services. Information used for our methodology criteria is taken directly from each firm’s most recent Form ADV filing and brochure, found on the IAPD database.
To localize our results for this list, we exclusively looked at firms that met the above criteria and had their headquarters in Austin, as per the address provided in the Form ADV. Of those firms, we only considered those that offer financial planning services and portfolio management to individual investors. To be considered for this list, firms also could have no more than one disciplinary disclosure in the past 10 years. From there, the remaining firms that met all of the above stipulations were ranked in order of highest to lowest AUM, as this is an indication of a firm’s size and how many assets it has been entrusted to manage.
In our reviews, we have also listed several other key features that will help you determine which financial advisor may be most fitting for your investing style and financial needs. While our ranking system and methodology is designed to help you compare firms, it does not indicate which firm may be best for you. All information here is accurate as of February 22, 2021, but we urge you to also evaluate these firms on https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/.
Leafhouse Financial Advisors, LLC launched in 2009. The firm is owned by Todd Kading, who also serves as the firm’s president, and Neal Weaver, who is CEO. The firm’s headquarters is in Austin, which is its only office location.
Leafhouse Financial Advisors offers investment management, consulting and fiduciary work for retirement plans, as well as financial planning (though on a limited, invitation-only basis.) The firm works with both non-high net worth and high net worth individuals (for reference, the SEC defines high net worth individuals as those with at least $750,000 under management or a net worth of at least $1.5 million), though the vast majority of its clients are pension and profit-sharing plans. Other financial professionals could also sign up for fiduciary support from Leafhouse Financial Advisors to help with their retirement plan clients.
Leafhouse Financial Advisors does not run fixed portfolios or strategies. Instead, the firm customizes an investment program for each client’s needs.
For investment research, Leafhouse Financial Advisors uses a mix of fundamental analysis (looking at business financial data), technical analysis (looking at market trends) and cyclical investing (reacting to predictable changes in economic conditions). The firm aims to diversify portfolios across a range of asset types, sectors, regions and investment strategies as it believes this improves performance.
Leafhouse Financial Advisors does not have any disciplinary disclosures to report. If a registered investment advisor has any issues on their record from the past 10 years — including a criminal action, a regulatory infraction or a civil lawsuit involving either the company or its employees or affiliates — the firm must report that information on its brochure and Form ADV filed with the SEC. For further information on Leafhouse Financial Advisors, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
John Pesce and Mike Cochran began operating TCG Advisory Services, LLC in 2020, with Pesce as the CEO and Cochran as the chairman. Prior to that, the firm was called TCG Advisors, which opened in 2000. The firm is owned by the TCG Group Holdings, LLP, of which Pesce is the largest partner.
The firm works with individuals, government entities, school districts, businesses, nonprofits and pooled investment vehicles. For individuals, it offers investment management, financial planning, tax and estate planning and support for negotiating executive contracts. For employers, it provides retirement plan support and institutional consulting.
TCG Advisory Services has its headquarters in Austin, but it also has two other Texas locations in Dallas and Fort Worth, along with two California locations in San Diego and Temecula.
TCG Advisory Services combines investment management with financial planning. The firm first gets to know a client’s entire financial situation, goals and wealth management needs. With this information, it designs customized portfolios. The firm then updates the plan as needed as a client’s life goals and situation evolve.
TCG Advisory Services takes a team approach to wealth management. This means that other professionals at the firm aside from a client’s personal advisor could review their portfolio and make recommendations as needed.
TCG Advisory Services does not have any disciplinary disclosures to report on its Form ADV filing. This indicates the firm and its employees and affiliates have had a clean record over the past 10 years. For further information, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Russell Wayne Norwood and George Lawson Clark launched Venturi Private Wealth in 2015. They are still on the firm’s management team and are its principal owners. Two clients are also minority owners of the firm, though they do not have influence over investment decisions.
Given its high portfolio minimum requirement of $2.5 million, Venturi primarily works with high net worth individuals, though it does have a number of non-high net worth clients. It also works with pension plans, charitable organizations and pooled investment vehicles. Services offered by the firm include investment management, financial planning, estate planning and trust services, as well as private banking and lending services.
Venturi Private Wealth has one location in Austin and another in Oklahoma City.
The Venturi Private Wealth investment management team coordinates with the financial planning team to make investment recommendations. The firm constructs customized portfolios to meet a client’s unique goals, primarily investing in mutual funds, ETFs, individual securities, options and other investment managers.
When picking investments, the team focuses on fundamental analysis, where they look at the underlying financial performance of a potential investment — including its management team, past performance, financial strength and reputation — to determine its value.
Venturi Private Wealth does not have any disciplinary disclosures to report, including any civil, criminal or regulatory events over the last 10 years involving the firm, its employees or its affiliates. The SEC requires all registered investment advisors to report any such information that may be relevant to a potential client’s evaluation of the firm and its management. To learn more, visit Venturi Private Wealth’s IAPD page.
Legacy One Financial Advisors, LLC has been in business for over 20 years. The firm’s primary owner is a holding company, owned by Austin billionaire John Paul DeJoria. Several of the firm’s executives are also small partial owners.
Legacy One Financial Advisors has two locations in Texas: one in Austin and the other in Georgetown. The firm offers investment management, financial planning, retirement planning and estate planning for individuals, as well as benefits planning and consulting for employers. The team works with individuals, including high net worth individuals, as well as family offices, trusts, charitable organizations and retirement/profit-sharing plans.
Before investing clients’ assets, Legacy One Financial Advisors first gets to know their overall financial situation. Then the firm creates customized investment recommendations to meet their goals. This can include creating a formal financial plan but doesn’t have to.
The firm tends to recommend long-term investment strategies, which are those that hold investments for a year or longer. It considers short-term trades only to meet specific client goals, like the need for cash or portfolio rebalancing.
Legacy One Financial Advisors does not have any disciplinary disclosures to report. This means that neither the firm nor its employees or its affiliates have been subject to any civil, criminal or regulatory issues over the last decade that would materially impact a client’s evaluation of the firm. For further information, view Legacy One Financial Advisors’ IAPD page.
Durbin Bennett Private Wealth Management, LLC first started doing business in 2001. The firm, which has its only office in Austin, is owned by six partners or members of the executive team.
Durbin Bennett Private Wealth Management’s services include portfolio management, retirement planning, financial planning, tax and estate planning, risk management and assistance with private placement life insurance. It works with individuals, including high net worth individuals, pension and profits-sharing plans, charitable organizations, businesses, pooled investment vehicles and other investment advisors. A minimum investment of $1 million is generally required for portfolio management.
Durbin Bennett Private Wealth Management uses an in-house committee of various investment professionals to design portfolio recommendations. The firm works with a client to create a customized investment policy, based on their goals and risk tolerance, which the team then uses to design a portfolio.
When creating portfolios, Durbin Bennett prioritizes global diversification, low fees and tax efficiency. The firm could also recommend alternative assets, such as hedge funds and real estate, along with traditional market assets.
Neither Durbin Bennett Private Wealth Management nor its employees or affiliates have any disciplinary disclosures to report. As a registered investment advisor, the SEC requires the company to report any such issues that would be relevant to a client’s evaluation of the firm or its management team. Learn more by visiting Durbin Bennett Private Wealth Management’s IAPD page.
Austin Asset launched in 1986. The two primary owners are William Eric Hehman, who is also the firm’s CEO, and Gregory S. Van Wyk, who is Austin Asset’s executive vice president. The firm’s headquarters is in Austin, which is its only location.
Austin Asset offers investment management, wealth planning, life event planning, charitable planning and family office services. The firm works with individuals, including those who meet the SEC’s definition of high net worth, in addition to charitable organizations.
When making investment recommendations, Austin Asset prioritizes diversification and asset allocation, as it believes these are the two most important factors in generating risk-adjusted returns. The firm also believes that investors are better rewarded for taking risks in equities than in fixed income.
The team at Austin Asset focuses on long-term investments and uses its resources to buy institutional mutual fund shares, which tend to have lower investment costs. Its investment committee, which consists of 10 members who all hold the certified financial planner (CFP) certification, regularly reviews and refines the firm’s investment strategy.
Austin Asset does not have any disciplinary disclosures to report and neither does its management personnel. This includes any civil, criminal or regulatory events within the last 10 years. For more information, visit Austin Asset’s IAPD page.
Lion Street Advisors launched in 2013. While the firm only has one location in Austin, it is part of Lion Street, Inc., a network of investment firms around the country that partner in working with clients. Austin Venture Funds X is the primary owner of Lion Street, Inc., which owns Lion Street Advisors.
Lion Street Advisors provides investment management, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, life insurance and estate planning to its clients. The firm’s clients include individuals who both are and are not high net worth, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans. The team also provides life insurance strategies and wealth management support for other financial professionals.
The investment representatives partnering with Lion Street Advisors have the flexibility to design portfolio recommendations themselves, so the strategy used will depend on which advisor a client signs up with.
In general, an advisor will review a client’s situation and goals to come up with an investment recommendation. Some common strategies used by Lion Street Advisors include capital preservation, income generation, capital appreciation and making trading profits. Lion Street Advisors’ management team will periodically review client portfolios to make sure the advisor is following an appropriate strategy.
Lion Street Advisors does not list any disciplinary disclosures in its brochure or Form ADV filed with the SEC. This means the firm, its employees and its affiliates have not faced any civil, regulatory or criminal issues within the last 10 years. You can visit the firm’s IAPD page for further information.
Arnold Van Den Berg first launched his firm Van Den Berg Management in 1974. The firm now conducts business under the name Century Management Financial Advisors, as well as Century Management and Century Management Investment Advisors.Van Den Berg remains the principal owner, CEO and co-CIO. The firm’s only office location is in Austin.
Century Management Financial Advisors works with individuals (including high net worth individuals), trusts, retirement plans, corporations, estates and charitable organizations. The firm offers investment management and financial planning as well as retirement plan services for employers.
For investment management, Century Management Financial Advisors first has a client select their risk tolerance, from conservative to aggressive, along with what types of investments they want in their portfolio. Investment options generally include individual stocks and bonds, mutual funds and ETFs, though any type of investment can technically be used.
Century Management Financial Advisors will use these answers to construct an appropriate portfolio. The team takes a valued-based approach to investing where they look to buy assets at discounts so they can have an extra margin of safety and more room to earn a long-term return.
Century Management Financial Advisors does not have any disclosures, meaning it has a clean record. As a registered investment advisor, the SEC requires the firm to report this information in its Form ADV paperwork. To learn more about the firm and view its Form ADV, visit Century Management Financial Advisors’ IAPD page.
Financial planning in Austin is simpler than other parts of the country because neither the city nor the state of Texas charges income tax. They also do not charge estate or inheritance taxes. You and your advisor will only need to navigate these taxes at the federal level.
Start by narrowing the search to your advisor requirements: what services you need, what minimum account size you can meet, what kind of fee structure you want, etc. Then, go meet with a few advisors who seem to meet your criteria so you can find the best personality match. You could ask these 10 questions during your initial interview to help identify the best fit.
Financial advisors in Austin primarily charge clients an asset-based fee, where they deduct a percentage from the client’s account balance each year. They could also charge an hourly fee for their time or a fixed fee for a specific project, like designing a financial plan. Ask any advisor for a clear breakdown of how they are compensated so you know your total costs before signing up.
No. While some advisors list this service as a specialty on their website, others concentrate in other areas like portfolio management or estate planning. If retirement planning is your top priority, look for an advisor who makes this their specialty.
David RodeckDavid Rodeck is a financial freelance writer for MagnifyMoney. He has been writing for over a decade and also contributes to Forbes Advisor, Kiplinger and other financial publications. Before writing full-time, David was a financial advisor.
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