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Choosing a financial advisor can be challenging given the number of financial advisors in Lincoln, Neb. To find the right advisor for you in Nebraska’s capital city, you’ll need to think about your financial needs and goals, and how much you’re willing to spend.
Even so, comparing firms and data points can feel overwhelming, so we pulled together some information to help you with the selection process. To determine the best advisors in Star City, we started by considering only 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 the best firm for you, but it can help simplify the shopping experience. Take a look at our list below for the top firms in Lincoln, Neb., and their key highlights.
| Firm | Minimum assets required | Fee structure |
|---|---|---|
| Pittenger & Anderson Inc | Varies by account type |
|
| Lincoln Capital, LLC | None |
|
| Capital Consulting & Asset Management | None |
|
| Bellwether Wealth | $250,000 |
|
| R2 Wealth Management Partners | None |
|
| Flagstone Financial Management, LLC | None |
|
| Plan A Wealth, LLC | None |
|
| MJB Financial Planning | None |
|
For our search, we looked at firms across the city of Lincoln. 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 Lincoln, 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 31, 2021, but we urge you to also evaluate these firms on https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/.
Former Dean Witter brokers Jim Pittenger and Dan Anderson founded their firm in 1995. They remain the firm’s principal owners, serving as chairman/CEO and president, respectively.
Pittenger & Anderson, Inc. provides financial planning and investment management services to individuals, including high net worth individuals, who the SEC defines as having at least $750,000 under management or a net worth of at least $1.5 million. Pittenger & Anderson also advises companies on their employee retirement plans.
Its Lincoln headquarters is the firm’s sole office location.
Pittenger & Anderson believes that successful investing requires steering clear of temptations and thinking clearly. It describes its approach as focusing on “simplicity, levelheadedness and taking on smart risks,” and it states that it aims to invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds that it believes emphasize the same tenets.
The firm creates portfolios based on three different strategies:
Using the above strategies as a framework, Pittenger & Anderson will then customize a client’s investment portfolio according to their financial goals and preferences. The firm manages client funds on a discretionary basis, meaning it can make trades on their behalf without first getting approval.
Pittenger & Anderson has a clean disciplinary record. That means that it does not disclose any civil, criminal or regulatory events involving the firm, its employees or its affiliates over the past 10 years that would be material in a client’s evaluation of the firm or its management. Learn more about the firm by visiting its IAPD page.
Formerly a financial advisor at E.F. Hutton (now Morgan Stanley Smith Barney), Judd Norman launched Lincoln Capital, LLC in 2005. Norman remains the firm’s owner and serves as an investment advisor at the Lincoln-based firm.
Lincoln Capital offers investing management and financial planning and consulting, including retirement planning, estate planning, charitable planning, education planning and tax planning. Some advisors are also life insurance agents, and may sell life insurance though the firm’s affiliate, Lincoln Capital Life, LLC.
The firm works primarily with individual investors who are and are not high net worth. Its client base also includes institutional investors, such as pension and profit-sharing plans, businesses and charitable organizations.
When investing client funds, Lincoln Capital looks for stocks with long-term growth potential, which it then balances with fixed-income investments, such as certificates of deposit (CDs), Treasury Bonds and tax-municipal bonds. The firm uses fundamental analysis to evaluate stock prices, looking at economic and financial factors as well as the financial condition and management of the company.
Each portfolio the firm designs reflects a client’s risk tolerance, time frame and financial goals.
Lincoln Capital has a clean disciplinary record. That means it has not disclosed any disciplinary events against the firm, its employees or its affiliates over the last 10 years that could be material to a client evaluating the company. The SEC requires all registered investment advisors to disclose such information in their Form ADV paperwork. For more information, visit Lincoln Capital’s IAPD page.
Financial planner Rob Nixon founded Capital Consulting & Asset Management in 1996. Nixon remains an owner of the firm, along with financial advisor Amber Roemer, who came on board in 2008.
The firm offers financial planning and consulting, portfolio management and insurance services, as well as a digital investment program called Invest RX. It also advises businesses on their employee retirement plans. Capital Consulting & Asset Management typically targets individuals who have a net worth of at least $1.5 million, though its client base also includes individual investors who do not qualify as high net worth.
The team at Capital Consulting & Asset Management creates an asset allocation strategy for each client based on their financial situation, goals and risk appetite. For accounts of less than $500,000, the firm typically creates portfolios composed of mutual funds. Larger portfolios may include a variety of securities, including stocks, bonds, options and futures contracts and partnerships.
Capital Consulting & Asset Management uses fundamental and technical analysis when selecting securities, which look at a company’s or security’s inherent value and trends and patterns in the market, respectively. The firm evaluates performance data when choosing individual managers.
Capital Consulting & Asset Management lists no disclosures over the past 10 years, giving the firm a clean disciplinary record. The SEC requires all registered investment advisors to disclose on their Form ADV paperwork any disciplinary actions against the company, its employees or its affiliates that a client would find material to their evaluation of the firm or the integrity of its management team. For more information, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Bellwether Wealth President Clark Bellin owns the firm, which registered as an RIA in January 2019. In addition to investment management, the firm offers financial planning, retirement planning, estate planning and tax planning.
Typically requiring a minimum investment of $250,000, the firm works with individuals, retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations and businesses. It serves clients from its office in Lincoln.
Bellwether Wealth typically uses four core investment strategies — aggressive growth, growth, growth and income and conservative — to create client portfolios. The aggressive growth strategy uses the most equities, while the conservative portfolio has the fewest. Appropriate model portfolios for clients are determined based on the client’s individual needs and risk tolerance.
Bellwether takes a “total portfolio” approach to investing, using a mix of active and passive, diversified investment approaches. It may invest client funds in mutual funds, ETFs, individuals stocks, bonds, alternative investments and cash.
Bellwether Wealth has a clean disciplinary record. That means it does not have any civil, criminal or regulatory events from within the past decade involving the company or its employees or affiliates to report that would be material to the evaluation of the firm or its management team. Learn more about Bellwether Wealth by visiting its IAPD page.
Financial planners Andrew Pool and Robert Rossi each own 50% of Paradigm Wealth, which does business as R2 Wealth Management Partners. The firm registered as an RIA in 2019.
From its office in Lincoln, R2 Wealth Management Partners offers asset management and financial planning services to individuals, including high net worth individuals. The firm also provides retirement plan services to employers and to participants in the plans.
R2 Wealth Management Partners typically does not recommend specific investment products, instead tailoring its advice to each client’s unique situation. Portfolios created by the firm may include both long- and short-term investments, frequent trading, margin transactions and option strategies.
The firm uses several strategies to inform its investment advice, including:
R2 Wealth Management Partners does not have any disciplinary disclosures to report. If a registered investment advisor has any issues on their record from the past 10 years — such as a criminal action, a regulatory infraction or a civil lawsuit involving the company, its employees, or its affiliates — the firm must report the information on its brochure and Form ADV, filed with the SEC.
For more information on R2 Wealth Management Partners, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Michael T. Johnson founded Flagstone Financial Management, LLC in 2016 and remains the firm’s managing member, chief compliance officer and principal owner through a subsidiary.
Flagstone Financial Management provides financial planning, investment management and tax preparation and planning to entrepreneurs, young professionals and retirees or near-retirees. It serves individuals who are and are not considered high net worth. The firm’s current client base also includes a handful of charitable organizations and a pension or profit-sharing plan.
The firm has a single office location in Lincoln.
Flagstone Financial Management provides custom advice to individuals through its Strategic Wealth Management Program. However, it also offers model portfolios and digital advising through its Core Lifestyle Investment Management Basics (CLIMB) program. The firm generally recommends the former program to those with larger and more complex accounts and the latter to investors with smaller, less complex accounts.
Flagstone generally takes a passive approach to investing, and prefers investments that are low-cost, diversified and tax-efficient. The firm believes that the markets are efficient and reward investors who are disciplined.
Flagstone Financial Management does not have any disciplinary disclosures to report on its Form ADV filing. This indicates that the firm and its employees and affiliates have had a clean record for the past decade.
For more information on Flagstone Financial Management, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Ronald Anderson Jr. founded Plan A Wealth in 2015. Anderson remains the firm’s owner and also serves as president.
Plan A Wealth offers asset management, financial planning and portfolio monitoring to individuals and high net worth individuals. It also provides retirement plan consulting to employer plan sponsors, as well as retirement plan education to plan participants.
The firm serves clients from its Lincoln office.
Portfolios created by Plan A Wealth may include both traditional asset classes and alternatives, such as commodities, real estate, collectibles, insurance products, venture capital or private equity. When it comes to specific investment strategies, the firm uses short- and long-term purchases, as well as short sales, margin transactions and trading.
The firm creates portfolios to help clients meet specific investment goals, regularly monitoring them to rebalance as necessary. It uses a variety of asset allocation strategies, including:
Plan A Wealth does not have any disciplinary disclosures to report, including any civil, criminal or regulatory events over the last decade 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 about Plan A Wealth, visit its IAPD page.
Former Intel engineer Matt Buckwalter launched the firm as a sole proprietorship as Matthew James Buckwalter (doing business as MJB Financial Planning) in 2006. MJB Financial Planning was established in its current form in 2011. Buckwalter remains the firm’s majority owner, and his wife, Michele Buckwalter, has a minority stake in the business.
The fee-only firm offers wealth management and financial planning to individuals and high net worth individuals. It also offers small business retirement plan advisory services. In addition to its Lincoln headquarters, MJB Financial Planning has an office in Omaha, Neb.
MJB Financial Planning’s services combine financial planning and investment management, starting with the creation and implementation of a financial plan based on a client’s financial situation and goals. For the investment management component, the client grants MJB FInancial Planning discretionary authority, allowing the firm to make trades on their behalf.
MJB Financial Planning tends to recommend long-term investment strategies, and it follows Modern Portfolio Theory, which emphasizes asset allocation and portfolio diversification. Portfolios created by the firm typically include low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, and occasionally also contain individual stocks or bonds.
Neither MJB Financial Planning nor its employees or affiliates report any disciplinary disclosures. The SEC requires all registered investment advisors to report any issues that would be relevant to a client’s evaluation of the firm or its management team. Learn more about MJB Financial Planning by visiting the firm’s IAPD page.
No. While some financial advisor firms specialize in retirement planning, others concentrate on different areas, such as portfolio management or estate planning. If retirement planning is your top priority, look for an advisor who emphasizes the service and has experience providing it.
Income tax rates in Nebraska range from 2.46% to 6.84%, depending on your income. Nebraska does not have an estate tax, but it does have an inheritance tax. Of the six states with inheritance taxes, Nebraska has the highest top rate at 18%. The rate varies depending on the relationship of the inheritor, with siblings paying 1% on the inheritance after the first $40,000. Nieces and nephews pay 13% after a $15,000 exclusion, and non-relatives pay 18% after the $10,000 exclusion.
To find a financial advisor who is right for you, start by considering which services you’re most interested in, such general financial planning, retirement planning or portfolio management. Then, consider whether you’re comfortable with the firm’s fee structure, and if you can meet their account minimum requirements. Finally, connect with advisors at each of the firms to ask questions and see whether you feel comfortable working with them.
Some advisors in Lincoln charge an asset-based fee, where they deduct a percentage from the client’s account balance each year. Others get paid on an hourly basis or based on a flat fee per project. When you interview advisors, ask them how they get paid, so you understand your total costs before you begin a relationship.
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.
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