MagnifyMoney 
If you’re looking for a trusted financial partner in Kansas City, options abound. It may also be hard to narrow your options down given the number of financial advisors in Missouri’s biggest city.
Don’t worry. MagnifyMoney is here to help.
We’ve done extensive research to come up with our list of the best financial advisors in Kansas City. From reviewing public filings with the Securities and Exchange commission and more, we’ve gone through the rest to bring you the best. If you’re curious about all the criteria we used to build this list, be sure to check out our detailed methodology.
And we know that your’e the best judge of the best advisors for you. We’re just glad you stopped by to start your search with us.
| Firm name | Minimum assets required | Fee structure |
|---|---|---|
| Prairie Capital Management Group, LLC | None required, but minimum annual fee of $15,000 |
|
| Frontier Wealth Management, LLC | Generally no set minimum, with the exception of the funds |
|
| Retirement Benchmark, LLC | None required |
|
| American Century Investments Private Client Group, Inc. | $50,000 |
|
| Sterneck Capital Management LLC | $500,000 |
|
| Mader & Shannon Wealth Management | $500,000 |
|
| Nicholson Meyer Capital Management, Inc. | $400,000 |
|
| Sonas Financial Group, Inc. | None specified, but minimum annual fee of $1,000 |
|
Our list of the best financial advisors in Kansas City kicks off with Prairie Capital Management Group. The firm’s principals have worked together since 1995. Today, the firm is part of the Focus Financial Partners, LLC partnership, which offers support to financial advisory firms, and it’s a wholly owned subsidiary of Focus Operating, LLC.
The firm offers investment management, financial planning and various family offices services to primarily high net worth individuals, who the SEC defines as those with at least $750,000 under management or a net worth of at least $1.5 million. The firm also works with some institutional investors, including pooled investment vehicles and corporations and other businesses.
Prairie Capital Management Group’s only office location is its headquarters in Kansas City.
Prairie Capital Management Group’s investment strategy revolves around constructing custom portfolios for each client consisting of investments with multiple managers and using multiple strategies. The firm aims to find the best third-party managers and investments in each asset class, including both traditional and alternative investments, as well as both active and passively managed securities.
Many of the third-party managers with whom Prairie Capital Management Group invests client portfolios are closed to or have a limited ability to accommodate new outside investors. The firm continuously monitors those managers’ performance and makes allocation adjustments as necessary.
Prairie Capital Management Group does not disclose any disciplinary actions, meaning it has a clean record. For reference, the SEC requires registered investment advisors to disclose legal or disciplinary actions in their Form ADV, which they must file every year. This includes any actions against the company, an employee or an affiliate that have occurred in the last 10 years.
For more information on Prairie Capital Management Group, visit the firm’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) page.
Principal and CEO Nick Blasi has led Frontier Wealth Management since 2009, two years after the independent firm was founded. The firm is owned by Frontier Wealth Enterprises and some of the firm’s employees, including Blasi.
Frontier Wealth Management offers financial planning and investment management services, primarily to individuals who are not considered high net worth. However, it does also serve some high net worth individuals as well as various institutional investors, including pension and profit-sharing plans, businesses, charitable organizations and pooled investment vehicles.
In addition to its Kansas City headquarters, Frontier Wealth Management has seven additional offices located throughout the country.
Frontier Wealth Management uses the principles of asset allocation and modern portfolio theory, which emphasizes maximizing returns while minimizing risk, to create customized portfolios that are tailored to each individual client’s needs. When creating a diversified portfolio, the firm takes each client’s objectives into account, making adjustments for factors, such as the need for investment income, tax efficiency and risk appetite.
In addition to traditional investments, such as stocks, bonds and funds, Frontier Wealth Management may also recommend that clients invest in alternative investments, such as private equity funds, hedge funds, venture funds or structured products.
Frontier Wealth Management does report a disclosure from within the last 10 years related to one of the private funds it offers. To settle allegations that the firm had failed to supervise a prior employee in connection with the recommended private fund investment, the firm in September 2021 paid disgorgement of $261,617, prejudgment interest of $47,095 and a civil money penalty of $350,000 to the SEC.
For reference, the SEC requires all RIAs to disclose on their Form ADV paperwork any disciplinary actions against the company, its employees or its affiliates that clients would find material in their evaluation of the firm or its management team. To view the firm’s Form ADV and learn more about its disclosure, visit Frontier Wealth Management’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) page.
Retirement Benchmark, LLC is a registered investment advisory firm that works with individuals and defined contribution plans. Its primary focus is on addressing the retirement income planning needs of individuals aged 50 and over, though it can work with people in all life stages. No minimum investment is required for its services, which include retirement income strategy services, financial planning services, investment management services and investment monitoring services.
In business since 2008, the firm is principally owned by MOC2, Inc. Its only office location is in Kansas City.
Retirement Benchmark offers its investment management services through its digital Income Strategy platform. The firm uses its platform with clients to determine appropriate strategies for withdrawing their funds and to manage their investment plans.
Retirement Benchmark’s overall strategy is centered on modern portfolio theory, which emphasizes diversification and is centered on aligning each client’s portfolio with their appropriate level of risk. The firm’s investment approach also prioritizes asset location, where clients’ investments are placed in the appropriate investment accounts in an effort to enhance their risk-adjusted returns. When it comes to withdrawing funds, Retirement Benchmark advises clients to do so in a tax-efficient manner in order to maximize the life of their funds.
Retirement Benchmark has a clean disciplinary record, free of any events from within the last 10 years. This includes any regulatory, civil or criminal actions involving the firm or employees or affiliates.
For further information on the firm, visit its IAPD page.
Founded in 2017, American Century Investments Private Client Group, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Century Companies, a financial services company. The firm’s private client group provides investment management to individuals, trusts, estates and business entities. Specifically, the firm offers the Planner Service, which provides point-in-time advice, including an investment plan, consisting at least in part of American Century Investment Private Group’s mutual funds.
In addition to its headquarters in Kansas City, American Century Investments Private Client Group has another Kansas City location, as well as an office in Leawood, Kan.
American Century Investments Private Client Group takes each client’s financial situation into account and recommends one of its five model portfolios based on various levels of risk tolerance. The firm’s Planner Service is provided on a non-discretionary basis, meaning that once American Century Investments give clients an investment plan, it is up to the client to implement the plan, either directly or with accounts held with other brokers, dealers or advisors.
The firm’s asset allocation recommendations reflect diversified model portfolios that range from very aggressive, all-equity portfolios, to more conservative strategies with less exposure to stocks. The equity portion of each model portfolio aims to include diversity across company size, sector and geographic region.
American Century Investments Private Client Group does not disclose any disciplinary actions on its Form ADV, meaning it has a clean disciplinary record. This includes any civil, criminal or regulatory actions against the company, its employees or its affiliates from over the last decade.
For more information, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Frank Sterneck founded Sterneck Capital Management as a Wall Street hedge fund in 1989, but later moved the firm to Kansas City and transitioned the business to individual-level financial planning and wealth management. Sterneck remains co-owner of the firm and serves as CEO. Sterneck’s wife, Robin Sterneck, has been the firm’s president since 2014 and is also a co-owner.
The firm primarily serves individuals and high net worth individuals, including early career professionals, professional families, those about to retire and those who have already retired from its Kansas City office. It generally requires a minimum portfolio size of $500,000.
Sterneck Capital Management believes that the keys to successful investing are diversification and discipline. Thus, the firm creates customized portfolios for its clients that offer diversification across and within asset classes, and strives to continuously re-examine and adjust investment decisions as the economic environment changes. In general, the firm states that it “often
buys on weakness and sells on strength,” operating with a focus on the long term.
The firm invests in both equity-oriented and fixed-income securities. Additionally, it may use margin to help clients cover short-term cash needs.
Sterneck Capital Management Investments has no disclosures to report. The SEC requires that all registered investment advisors report such events — including any civil, criminal or regulatory actions against the firm, its employees or its affiliates —in their Form ADV paperwork.
For more information, visit Sterneck Capital Management’s IAPD page.
James Mader and George Shannon co-founded Mader & Shannon Wealth Management in 2005. Mader, who remains the firm’s chairman and CEO, now co-owns it with firm president Bret Guillaume and Robert McQuain. The firm is headquartered in Kansas City, and it has an additional office in Leavenworth, Kan.
Mader & Shannon Wealth Management provides financial planning and portfolio management primarily to individuals, though it also serves some high net worth individuals. It also works with pension and profit-sharing plans, businesses and other investment advisors.
Mader & Shannon Wealth Management has an active management style of investing, focused mainly on securities traded on U.S. exchanges. The firm uses a variety of methods to analyze potential investment opportunities.
When it comes to asset allocation, Mader & Shannon Wealth Management takes a top-down, or big-picture approach. To choose specific securities, however, the firm uses a bottom-up strategy that is focused on selecting companies that have the best risk-reward opportunity in the current economic environment.
Mader & Shannon Wealth Management reports no disclosures on its Form ADV paperwork, meaning it has a clean disciplinary record. The SEC requires that all registered investment advisors report any incidents involving the firm, its employees or its affiliates from within the last 10 years that may materially affect an investor’s assessment of the company or its management.
For more information, visit Mader & Shannon Wealth Management’s IAPD page.
Registered as an investment advisor since 1988, Nicholson Meyer Capital Management, Inc. offers investment management, financial consulting and corporate retirement plan services. The firm primarily works with individuals, including those who are high net worth, in addition to trusts and estates, charitable organizations and pension and profit-sharing plans. While retirement plan services require a minimum investment of $1 million, investment management and financial consulting requires $400,000.
The firm’s majority owner is its president and chief compliance officer, Jennifer D. Nicholson; its minority owner is Susanne Meyer, the firm’s senior vice president. Its only office is in Kansas City.
On the whole, Nicholson Meyer Capital strives to build portfolios that are globally diversified and that minimize investment risk and volatility. Typical investments used by the firm in the creation of portfolios include stocks, bonds, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The firm allocates investments based on the client’s preferences for management styles as well as other outside investments the client may hold. It also takes into account a client’s risk tolerance, goals and objectives, as well as their needs for income, growth, capital preservation, aggressive growth, balanced income and growth or any mix of the aforementioned needs.
Nicholson Meyer Capital Management reports no disciplinary disclosures in its Form ADV filed with the SEC. For reference, this means that neither the firm nor its employees or affiliates have encountered any civil, criminal or regulatory issues within the last decade.
To learn more, visit Nicholson Meyer Capital Management’s IAPD page.
Sonas Financial Group, Inc. rounds our for list of the best financial advisors in Kansas City. The firm’s been in business since 2002 and is owned by Jim Meysenburg, the firm’s founder and president. Services the firm provides include investment management, financial planning and general investment consulting. Though the firm mainly works with individual investors, it does also serve a small number of pension and profit-sharing plans.
The firm is headquartered in Kansas City, which is its sole office location.
Before building a client’s investment portfolio, Sonas Financial Group will first interview them to assess their goals, risk tolerance and time horizon. This information then determines the client’s portfolio as well as the advice and recommendations given to them.
To build portfolios, Sonas first focuses on overall asset allocation, such as among stocks, bonds and cash. From there, it diversifies within asset classes. Alongside more traditional investments, Sonas Financial Group may recommend real estate, precious metals and commodities for those with a longer time horizon or a higher risk tolerance.
Sonas Financial Group, Inc. has a record free of any civil, criminal or regulatory events within the last decade. This extends to the firm as well as to its employees and advisory affiliates.
For further information on Sonas Financial Group, go to the firm’s IAPD page.
A fiduciary financial advisor is legally and ethically obligated to put your best interest first at all times. All registered investment advisors (RIAs) are bound by fiduciary duty, but not all advisors are RIAs, so it’s important to check the credential of a firm you’re considering. Advisors who are not bound by fiduciary simply must make recommendations that are suitable to the client, but not necessarily what is best.
In addition to looking for a fiduciary, you’ll want to choose a financial advisor with whom you’re comfortable, who has experience working with clients in similar financial situations to your own and who has a fee structure that you understand. Interview at least three potential advisors to make sure you’re choosing the best fit.
The state and local tax burden in Missouri is about average compared with states in the rest of the country. The top income tax rate in the state is 5.40%, but the state does not have an inheritance tax. However, residents of the state may still be subject to federal estate taxes.
No. While many financial advisor firms can help with retirement planning, it’s not the primary focus of every advisor. Before entering into an agreement with a financial advisor, it’s important to understand what type of services they offer and what type of clients they primarily serve. If you are specifically looking for help with retirement planning, make sure to choose a financial advisor who typically focuses on that area.
In our search for the best financial advisors in Kansas City, Missouri, we looked at firms throughout the city. All the firms considered are bound by fiduciary duty, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and offer individual account management and financial planning services. Information for our methodology criteria is taken directly from each firm’s most recent Form ADV filing and brochure, found in the IAPD database.
To localize our results for this list of the best financial advisors in Kansas City, we exclusively looked at firms that met the above criteria and had their headquarters in Georgia, per the address provided in the Form ADV. We only considered those firms 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.
Our reviews 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 can help you compare firms, it does not indicate which firm may be best for you. All information here is accurate as of [review date TK] but don’t hesitate to check out any firm’s Form ADV for yourself on the SEC’s Investment Advisor Public Disclosure site.
Beth BravermanBeth Braverman is a freelance writer covering personal finance, careers and parenting. Her work has appeared in dozens of publications, including CNN Business, CNBC.com and USNews.
Read More
