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Narrowing down your financial advisor search may feel overwhelming given the number of advisors in Colorado Springs, the Centennial State’s second most populous city. Finding an advisor who’s right for you requires understanding your own needs, what you want to get out of working with an advisor and how much you can afford to spend.
Still, this leaves you to sort through the advisor options in this city near the base of Pikes Peak and see which one piques your interest. In the hopes of making that process easier, we compiled the most pertinent information on the city’s top firms. To determine the best advisors in Colorado Springs — or “Little London” as it’s sometimes called — we only looked at 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.
Although our ranking can’t tell you which advisor will be right for your unique needs, it can help you narrow that down more easily. Check out our list below for the top firms in Colorado Springs and what you need to know about them:
| Firm name | Minimum Assets Required | Fee Structure |
|---|---|---|
| First Affirmative Financial Network LLC | $50,000 |
|
| The Corundum Group, Inc. | No minimum |
|
| Seamount Financial Group Inc | $500,000 |
|
| Cascade Investment Group, Inc. | No minimum |
|
| Accelerated Wealth Advisors LLC | Varies by model portfolio |
|
| Altus Wealth Group, LLC | $250,000 |
|
| Rainsberger Wealth Advisors | No minimum |
|
| Petra Financial Advisors Inc | No minimum |
|
For our search, we looked at firms across the city of Colorado Springs. 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 Colorado Springs, 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 March 10, 2021, but we urge you to also evaluate these firms on https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/.
First Affirmative Financial Network LLC was established in 1988 with a mission to provide environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, in line with the philosophies of sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing. In other words, the firm believes that people can make financial decisions that are not only in their own best interest, but are also in the interest of the environment and society as a whole.
The firm offers investment advisory and financial planning services directly to clients and, in addition, to independent investment advisors or broker-dealers. The team provides its services to individuals, high net worth individuals (which the SEC defines as those with either $750,000 under management or a net worth of at least $1.5 million), trusts, estates, charitable organizations and others. A minimum investment of $50,000 is generally required.
First Affirmative Financial Network is employee-owned. Its sole office is in Colorado Springs, though it has investment advisor representatives located across the country.
First Affirmative Financial Network makes social consciousness a priority in all of its investment recommendations. The firm uses a wide range of investment vehicles and methods of analysis to help clients achieve their goals, and believes in a long-term, diversified approach to investing.
AffirmativeESG is the firm’s proprietary model — this incorporates a client’s risk and return objectives when establishing an account and is used to rebalance and re-optimize established accounts. Investment strategies used include long term-purchases (those held for a year or longer), short-term purchases (those held for less than a year) and illiquid securities (those which have no current or anticipated liquidity).
First Affirmative Financial Network has no disciplinary disclosures on its record. This includes any civil, regulatory or criminal actions against the firm, its advisors or its affiliates over the last 10 years. The SEC requires all registered investment advisors to report this information in their Form ADV paperwork. For more information and to view the firm’s Form ADV, visit its IAPD page.
Founded in 1992, The Corundum Group, Inc. originally operated as a family office serving the descendants of a single family. Today, the firm serves a variety of individuals, as well as trusts, foundations, retirement plan partnerships and nonprofits. Services provided include asset allocation, investment management and estate planning. While The Corundum Group doesn’t have account minimums, most clients have account balances of $1 million or more.
The Corundum Group is a subsidiary of Central Bancorp Inc., a bank holding company. Ron Johnson, the chairman of The Corundrum Group, is also chairman, president and CEO of Central Bancorp, Inc. Other companies in the Central Bancorp. Inc. family include Central Bank & Trust, CB&T Mortgage, CB Insurance and Farmers & Stockmens Bank.
In addition to the firm’s Colorado Springs headquarters, The Corundum Group also has a branch office in Denver.
The Corundum Group uses a wide range of investment strategies, including large-, mid- and small-size company equities (domestic and international), in addition to growth equities and value stocks. The team recommends municipal and corporate bonds, government securities and private debt, as well as real estate funds, private equity and other alternative investments.
The Corundum Group’s investment committee — made up of directors, staff members and the Corundum Trust Company president — meets each to determine asset allocation guidelines and monitor investment performance, among other decisions.
The Corundum Group has no disciplinary disclosures to report. This means its record is free of any civil, regulatory or criminal actions involving either the firm or its employees or affiliates that may be material to a potential client’s evaluation of the firm or its management team. Learn more by visiting the firm’s IAPD page.
Seamount Financial Group, Inc. provides wealth management, financial planning, pension consulting and lifestyle planning services. The firm, which generally requires a minimum investment of $500,000, serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations and businesses.
The principal owner of the firm is Leon Colafrancesco, who founded the company in 1998 and serves as its president. In addition to its Colorado Springs office, Seamount Financial Group has offices in California and Arizona.
All investment advice provided by Seamount Financial Group is tailored to individual clients’ needs and objectives, financial horizon, risk tolerance and other factors, with their larger financial picture in mind. Accounts are monitored on an ongoing basis and reviewed at least once a year.
The firm recommends a variety of investments, including equity securities, corporate debt securities, mutual fund shares, U.S. government securities, partnerships investing in real estate, oil and gas interests and more. Investment strategies used by the team are similarly varied and include long-term purchases (securities held for a year or longer), short-term purchases (securities held less than a year), short sales (selling stock you don’t own) and margin transactions (when the broker-dealer lends the client funds to purchase securities).
Seamount Financial Group has a clean disciplinary record. This means that neither the firm nor its employees or affiliates have faced any civil, regulatory or criminal actions within the last 10 years. To get more information on the firm, view Seamount Financial Group’s IAPD page.
Established in 1993, Cascade Investment Group, Inc. provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals and high net worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, businesses, government entities, trusts and estates. While the firm doesn’t require a minimum account size in general, some individual advisory representatives may set a minimum account balance.
About 67% percent of the firm is owned by The Eastern Colorado Bank. Another 25% is owned by Gregory Justin Weed of Weed Investment Group, Inc., a company that provides banking services. Cascade Investment Group’s sole office is in Colorado Springs.
When determining asset allocation, Cascade Investment Group aims to balance a client’s need for fixed income and cash with security purchases that are in line with their goals and tolerance for risk.
The firm’s strategies include short-term and long-term purchases, as well as margin transactions. Investment recommendations may include exchange-listed securities, securities traded over-the-counter, foreign issuers, variable life insurance and variable annuities, as well as other securities.
In addition to its more traditional investment management services, Cascade Investment Group also provides consulting and evaluation services in which the client remains the investment manager with Cascade Investment Group’s help.
Cascade Investment Group has one disclosure to report. The company, formerly known as BJR & Associates, incurred expenses with the expansion of their offices that put it in a negative net capital position. Due to this, the company was fined and received a capital infusion to bring it back into good standing.
Aside from this disclosure, the firm has no further disciplinary issues to report. For more information, visit Cascade Investment Group’s IAPD page.
Accelerated Wealth Advisors was formed in 2013. It is owned by Arche Media, which is in turn majority owned by The Maj Trust, a trust established by Bill Walton, CEO of Accelerated Wealth Advisors, and Nathalie Walton.
Accelerated Wealth Advisors provide services to individuals, both high net worth and otherwise, as well as to corporations and other businesses. Services offered include investment advice, financial planning and the creation of new 401(k) plans or the replacement of existing ones, as well as subsequent 401(k) planning.
In addition to its headquarters in Colorado Springs, the firm also has two other offices in Colorado — in Englewood and Lone Tree — as well as one in Birmingham, Ala. and another in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Accelerated Wealth Advisors offers custom portfolios as well as an array of proprietary and non-proprietary model portfolios — each of the se portfolios has a varying minimum account balance. The firm determines which type of portfolio is best for a client based on an initial review questionnaire and client consultations.
The firm’s core concepts include participating in market booms while protecting from busts, balancing risk and reward and determining supply and demand to better assess market conditions. The team believes that momentum persists, and thus markets or sectors that have performed strongly will likely continue to do so, and also that you can win by not losing, meaning it prioritizes how much it doesn’t lose in down markets versus how much it makes when the markets are up. In addition, Accelerated Wealth Advisors espouses combining multiple strategies in every portfolio, as a further step in reducing overall volatility and risk.
Accelerated Wealth Advisors discloses a disciplinary incident in its Form ADV. Per the firm’s filings, the state of Colorado found that the method the firm used to offer promissory notes was done incorrectly by two of its founders. Fees of $400,000 were paid, and the matter was settled without any admission of wrongdoing.
This is the only disciplinary disclosure on the firm’s record. For more information, visit Accelerated Wealth Advisors’ IAPD page.
Altus Wealth Group, LLC was established in 2017. The firm provides investment management, wealth planning and more limited-basis consulting services to individuals, high net worth individuals, institutions, families, trusts and estates. It generally requires a minimum portfolio value of $250,000.
The firm is owned by Bethemore Holdings, LLC and KDJP Holdings, LLC. Its only public office location is in Colorado Springs.
After assessing a client’s goals, need for liquidity, risk tolerance and other individual factors, Altus Wealth Group allocates funds and provides ongoing monitoring of portfolios with reviews performed at least quarterly. The firm primarily recommends mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and individual bonds and equity securities.
Altus Wealth Group states that it attempts to make recommendations with a risk-first mentality, with risk budgets set for each portfolio. The team attempts to minimize the impact of market volatility for better overall returns in the long term. Various criteria are used when evaluating investments, such as the overall expense ratio, manager tenure, market size, strategy performance, reputation and more. When recommending individual securities, the firm also uses fundamental analysis, which weights economic, financial and other factors to look at the value in the overall market.
Altus Wealth Group, LLC, has no disciplinary discourses on its record. This includes any civil, regulatory or criminal actions against the firm, its advisors or its affiliates over the last 10 years. For more information, view the firm’s IAPD page.
Rainsberger Wealth Advisors was founded in 1990. The firm can provide advisory services to individuals, high net worth individuals, retirement plans and profit-sharing plans. Services offered include portfolio management and an array of financial planning services, such as retirement planning and estate planning.
The firm’s Colorado Springs office is its only location. It is owned by Ellis Rainsberger, who serves as the firm’s president.
Rainsberger Wealth Advisors provides both individual portfolio management, in which portfolios are constructed based on a client’s unique objectives and tax needs, and model asset allocation portfolios, which are designed to meet various investment goals. Model portfolios are selected for clients based on their goals and objectives; however, the portfolios are then managed with emphasis on the portfolio’s goals, rather than the needs of each individual client.
The firm’s investment recommendations typically include exchange-listed securities, securities traded over the counter, corporate debt securities, certificates of deposit (CDs), municipal securities, mutual fund shares, U.S. government securities and interests in partnerships investing in real estate. Both long-term purchases (those held a year or longer) and short-term purchases (those held less than a year) are used.
Rainsberger Wealth Advisors has a clean disciplinary record, meaning that neither the firm nor its employees or affiliates have faced any civil, regulatory or criminal actions in the last decade. The SEC requires that any registered investment advisor report such information in their Form ADV filings. To learn more about Rainsberger Wealth Advisors, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Founded in 1993, Petra Financial Advisors, Inc. serves individuals, high net worth individuals, families and related entities, such as trusts, estates, family businesses and charitable organizations. The firm’s primary focus is financial planning, with various types of arrangements offered, and it also offers investment management either outside of or alongside financial planning.
Though Petra Financial Advisors doesn’t require an account minimum, it does require a minimum annual fee of $7,500 for clients who opt for both investment management and financial planning. For other services, the minimum fee may be lower.
Petra Financial Advisors is owned by two individuals: David Forbes, who serves as the firm’s chairman and chief compliance officer, and Jonathan Forbes, who serves as president. The Maj Trust is also a partial owner. The firm’s Colorado Springs office is its only location.
Petra Financial Advisors groups its services into three categories:
Petra Financial Advisors develops an investment policy statement for each client, then invests and supervises their portfolio according to the established guidelines and based on the client’s goals and risk tolerance. The firm may recommend both short-term investments (those held less than a year) and long-term investments (those held for a year or longer).
Petra Financial Advisors, Inc., has no disciplinary discourses on its record. The SEC requires all registered investment advisors to report such events that may be material to a potential client’s evaluation of the firm or its management team. You can learn more about Petra Financial Advisors by visiting the firm’s IAPD page.
The individual income tax rate in Colorado is 4.63%. Neither estate taxes nor inheritance taxes are collected by the state of Colorado. Residents may, however, have to pay federal estate tax and inheritance laws. Note, however, that if you inherit property or assets from another state, it is that state’s tax laws that apply.
No, not all financial advisor firms specialize in retirement planning. While most can help with it to some degree, if planning for your retirement is a key priority for you, make sure you find an advisor who specializes in it. Along with other important questions about their credentials, ask about an advisor’s experience specifically with retirement planning if that’s a service you know you’ll want.
When choosing a financial advisor, you’ll want to find one that meets your unique needs and makes you feel comfortable. You’ll also want to make sure that their fees are fair in comparison to industry averages and in consideration of the services you’re receiving, their credentials are solid and they have experience working with people whose goals and needs are similar to yours.
In a word, yes, it is important to work with a fiduciary financial advisor. If an advisor is a fiduciary, it means they must always put their clients’ best interests above their own. With this commitment, you don’t have to worry as much about conflicts of interest, and you can rest assured that they’re going to provide you with their best advice for your situation.
Julie Ryan EvansJulie Ryan Evans is a writer and editor who has covered small business, real estate and personal finance for nearly a decade. She has written for an array of publications, including USA Today, Realtor.com, LendingTree and Debt.com.
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