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If you’re looking for the best financial advisor in Missouri, you may be feeling unsure of where to start your search in this Midwestern state. After all, with so many advisors to choose from across the Show Me State, the thought of digging through tons of advisors to find your perfect fit can feel overwhelming.
The good news is that the MagnifyMoney team has done the hard work for you. Through extensive research, we’ve determined the best financial advisors in Missouri and compiled the ket details you’ll want to know about each firm. We only considered firms that manage individual accounts and offer financial planning. We then ranked these firms based on assets under management (AUM). All data used in our methodology is from each firm’s most recent Form ADV filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
While our ranking won’t necessarily tell you which firm may be right for you, it will hopefully make the search for an advisor easier. Here’s our list for the best financial advisors in Missouri.
| Firm | City | Minimum assets required | Fee structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC | St. Louis | No minimum |
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| Buckingham Strategic Wealth, LLC | St. Louis | Accounts under $500,000 accepted on case-by-case basis |
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| Buckingham Strategic Partners, LLC | St. Louis | $500,000 suggested, but not required |
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| Prairie Capital Management Group, LLC | Kansas City | No minimum, but $15,000 minimum annual fee |
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| Plancorp, LLC | St. Louis | No minimum |
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| HM Capital Management, LLC | Clayton | No minimum |
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| Pension Consultants Inc. | Springfield | Varies by program |
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| BKD Wealth Advisors, LLC | Springfield | No minimum |
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| Frontier Wealth Management, LLC | Kansas City | Generally no minimum |
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| Retirement Benchmark, LLC | Kansas City | No minimum |
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To kick off our list of the best financial advisors in Missouri, we’ve got Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC. The firm bills itself as a “family CFO” for many of its clients, who include individuals across the wealth spectrum, trusts and estates. The firm also serves institutional clients, including 401(k) plans, pension and profit-sharing plans, foundations, endowments and other charitable organizations. The firm provides investment advice; financial, tax, estate and retirement planning; business succession consulting; and concierge services, such as bill paying and bookkeeping.
Moneta Group Investment Advisors has been in business since 1933, and previously went by the name Physicians Planning Service Corp., as it was primarily focused on financial planning services for doctors. The firm is a subsidiary of Moneta Group, LLC, which is owned by the Moneta Partners. In addition to its headquarters in St. Louis, Moneta Group Investment Advisors has offices in Denver, Worcester, Mass., and Mission Woods, Kan., which is in the Kansas City metro area.
Moneta Group Investment Advisors’ strategy is focused on proper asset allocation, as opposed to the selection of specific investments or attempts to time the market. The firm evaluates factors including money supply, interest rates, inflation forecasts and the political climate to help make recommendations that meet each client’s objectives, including their performance expectations and risk tolerance.
Moneta Group’s recommendations most frequently include bonds; cash and cash equivalents (such as money markets and certificates of deposit); large-, small- and mid-cap equities; and alternative investments. Additionally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors may seek input from third-party investment consultants.
The firm’s investment choices move between three different lists — recommended, watch and sell — and fund managers evaluate individual portfolios based on these lists. For example, if an investment lands on the sell list and it ‘s in your portfolio, then a manager will determine if liquidating that asset makes sense and where it might be reinvested, while those on the recommended list are used to build portfolios. The watch list, meanwhile, is for those investments that have been removed from the recommended list and aren’t on the sell list at that point, but are being evaluated with more caution.
Moneta Group Investment Advisors reports no disclosures. For reference, all registered investment advisors are required to disclose any disciplinary history in their Form ADV paperwork filed with the SEC. This includes any civil, regulatory or criminal events involving the firm, its employees or its affiliates within the last 10 years.
For more information, visit Moneta Group Investment Advisors’ Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) page.
Second on our list of the best financial advisors in Missouri is Buckingham Strategic Wealth, LLC. The firm was established in 1994. The firm provides wealth management services to both individuals and high net worth individuals, retirement plans, charitable organizations, foundations and corporations. In addition to managing investment portfolios, the firm’s services may include financial planning and consulting on matters such as college planning, charitable gifts, retirement and estates. It also acts in some cases as a sub-advisor to other independent registered investment advisors and their clients.
Like Buckingham Strategic Partners (see the No. 2 firm on this list), Buckingham Strategic Wealth is a subsidiary of Focus Operating, LLC, which is in turn a subsidiary of Focus Financial Partners. Though both firms operate independently, Buckingham Strategic Wealth shares offices with Buckingham Strategic Partners, and both firms are under common ownership.
In addition to its headquarters in St. Louis, Buckingham Strategic Wealth has 46 other offices throughout the U.S.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth typically recommends portfolios that contain passive and evidence-based mutual funds (i.e., those with low turnover rates) and, in some cases, individual fixed-income securities and closed-end funds. Sometimes, the firm may recommend model portfolios if it deems them appropriate for a client’s situation.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth takes an evidence-based approach to investing — this means it doesn’t make decisions based on what it thinks might happen in the market, but rather based on facts derived from research and historical data.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth has no disclosures to report. This means that the firm, its employees and its affiliates have not faced any civil, criminal or regulatory issues within the last decade.
For more information, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Buckingham Strategic Partners, LLC has been in business since 1997. The firm formerly operated under the name BAM Advisor Services before merging with Loring Ward in 2018. It is now a subsidiary of Focus Operating, LLC, which itself is a subsidiary of Focus Financial Partners; Focus Financial Partners is the owner of a network of partner firms, primarily in the U.S.
Buckingham Strategic Partners provides asset management services to independent registered advisors. In some cases, the firm holds discretionary authority over individual client portfolios, but it primarily helps advisors coordinate their service requisitions and provides access to some investment options, portfolio management tools and other support. In addition, Buckingham educates these advisors and provides investment recommendations to them.
In addition to its headquarters in St. Louis, Buckingham Strategic Partners has offices in San Jose, Calif., and Sacramento, Calif. It shares offices with Buckingham Strategic Wealth, LLC, a separate registered investment advisor that is also owned by Focus Financial Partners Inc.
Buckingham Strategic Partners believes in modern portfolio theory. The firm educates the advisors who hire them on the principles of the theory, which centers around diversifying assets in order to minimize risk and maximize returns — that means using long-term investments that are well-allocated rather than relying on market timing or stock picking.
Buckingham Strategic Partners also offers model portfolios, fixed income recommendations and investment management services to advisors and their clients. In select cases, the firm also works as a sub-advisor and oversees some portfolios, as well as fixed-income accounts.
Buckingham Strategic Partners has a clean disciplinary record. This means that neither the firm nor its employees or affiliates have faced any civil, criminal or disciplinary issues within the last 10 years.
To learn more about Buckingham Strategic Partners, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Prairie Capital Management Group, LLC offers investment management, financial planning and various family offices services to clients out of its single office in Kansas City. It currently serves individual investors as well as trusts, estates, pooled investment vehicles, charitable organizations, insurance companies, pension and profit-sharing plans and businesses. Notably, though it does not specify an account minimum requirement, all of the individual investors the firm currently works with are high net worth.
Prairie Capital Management’s principals have worked together since 1995. The firm is now part of the Focus Financial Partners, LLC partnership, which offers support to financial advisory firms. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Focus Operating, LLC.
Prairie Capital Management Group doesn’t have in-house portfolio managers; instead, the firm monitors, evaluates and recommends third-party investment managers. It believes that selecting the right managers, as well as providing a customized, long-term plan for its clients, is key to their financial success.
Prairie Capital Management Group believes in traditional investment strategies, such as equities and fixed-income securities. Alternative strategies may be used as well: These may include private equity funds, hedge funds and direct investments in private companies and real estate.
Prairie Capital Management Group has a clean disciplinary record, with no issues involving the firm, its employees or its affiliates within the last 10 years. This includes any civil, criminal or regulatory events, which the SEC requires all registered investment advisors to report in their Form ADV paperwork.
To learn more about Prairie Capital Management Group, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
In the middle of our list of the best financial advisors in Missouri is Plancorp. Plancorp’s roots date back to 1983, when the firm was established as FFG Plancorp, Inc. The firm changed its name to Plancorp in 1985 and has been providing investment management services ever since. Plancorp is owned by Prumentum Group, Inc. (which also owns BrightPlan, another registered investment advisor), as well as the firm’s board of managers, leadership team members and employees.
Plancorp provides financial planning, asset management and family office services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations and businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Plancorp also has an office in Sarasota, Fla.
Plancorp subscribes to modern portfolio theory, which calls for diversifying assets in order to minimize risk and maximize returns. The firm generally uses passively managed investments, such as mutual funds, in its client portfolios. It typically doesn’t recommend individual stocks and bonds or actively managed mutual funds, as its primary focus is on minimizing fees, taxes and other portfolio expenses.
To make fund recommendations, Plancorp uses academic-based research and reviews the fund’s operating expenses, portfolio turnover, investment objective and other criteria. Plancorp’s investment committee meets quarterly and reviews and rebalances portfolio positions as necessary.
Plancorp has no disclosures on its disciplinary record. The SEC requires all registered investment advisors to report any civil, criminal or regulatory issues that may be material to a client’s evaluation on their Form ADV paperwork filed with the SEC.
You can get further information on Plancorp by visiting its IAPD page.
HM Capital Management, LLC was founded in 2005. The firm provides investment advisory and financial planning services, and the clientele served primarily consists of individuals and families both with and without high net worths, pension and profit-sharing plans, pooled investment vehicles and other institutions. The firm is owned by the MEK Family Trust (Matt Kopsky, the firm’s president and CEO is the trustee) and three other employees.
HM Capital Management’s only office is in Clayton, Mo.
HM Capital Management takes a goal-based approach to portfolio management, meaning it uses the information it gathers about each client’s objectives to build and manage their portfolio. The firm may use both internal and external investment managers to handle client accounts, depending on the client’s unique circumstances. HM Capital Management continuously monitors client accounts and typically reviews portfolios on at least a quarterly basis.
To determine its portfolio recommendations, HM Capital Management uses a number of securities analysis methods, and also incorporates industry and financial media, third-party research, reports and public communications. Investing strategies the firm uses may include long-term purchases (those held for at least a year), short-term purchases (those sold within a year), higher frequency trading (securities sold within 30 days), short sales, margin transactions and various types of options.
HM Capital Management, LLC reports no disclosures, meaning it has a record free of any disciplinary events involving the firm or its employees or affiliates. The SEC requires that all registered investment advisors report such incidents in their Form ADV paperwork.
For more information, visit HM Capital Management’s IAPD page.
Pension Consultants, Inc. was founded in 1994 by Brian Allen, who now serves as the firm’s chairman. Allen is also the majority owner of the firm, though other employees also hold ownership stakes. The firm provides advisory services to retirement plan sponsors and to individuals who participate in retirement plans. Through its RetireAdvisers Consulting Services, the firm offers individual services, which include investment oversight, retirement planning guidance and consulting in specific areas.
The firm’s headquarters are in Springfield, but it has an additional Missouri office in Joplin, where one employee is based.
Pension Consultants, Inc. helps companies to evaluate and monitor their retirement plans. Specifically, the firm aims to ensure plans are performing in three main ways: whether the chosen investments are performing well, the fees being paid aren’t too high and employees are able to replace an adequate amount of their working income in retirement.
Pension Consultants focuses first on analyzing money managers, then looks at individual securities; notably, the firm primarily recommends mutual funds. In general, the firm’s investment advice is guided by the following four primary methods of analysis:
Pension Consultants reports no disciplinary disclosures, meaning that neither the firm nor its employees or affiliates have been subject to any civil, criminal or regulatory proceedings within the last decade. The SEC requires that all registered investment advisors report this information in the paperwork they are required to file.
For more information, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Established in 1998, BKD Wealth Advisors, LLC provides wealth management, financial planning and consulting on investments and benefit plans. Its clients include individual investors (both with and without a high net worth), as well as businesses, pension and profit-sharing plans and charitable organizations.
The firm is a fully-owned subsidiary of BKD, LLP, a national CPA and advisory firm. It has nearly 40 offices across the country, including its headquarters in Springfield, Mo.
BKD Wealth Advisors’ investment strategies are based on beliefs that support global diversification, the inclusion of both active and passive management in portfolios and the minimization of tax consequences. The firm also emphasizes the initial valuation of asset classes as an indication of the future return potential, and it prioritizes substance over form when choosing investments.
In general, the firm’s strategies are focused on the long-term, but it does include short-term investments at times. BKD Wealth Advisors builds most portfolios using mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, stocks and alternative investments, though in some cases it may consider other investment types, and may primarily or exclusively rely on mutual funds in others.
BKD Wealth Advisors reports no disclosures. This means that neither the firm nor its employees or affiliates have faced any civil, regulatory or criminal issues within the last 10 years.
You can get more information by viewing the firm’s IAPD page.
We’re nearing the end of our 10 best financial advisors in Missouri, so here’s number nine for you: Frontier Wealth. Founded in 2007, Frontier Wealth Management, LLC is owned by its employees and Frontier Wealth Enterprises, LLC. The firm provides investment management and financial planning services to individuals (both those who are and are not considered high net worth), as well as to trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, businesses and pooled investment vehicles. The firm also manages funds in which it may advise its clients to invest. A minimum investment is generally not required to work with Frontier, but the firm’s fund does require a minimum of $100,000.
Frontier Wealth Management has its headquarters in Kansas City, Mo. It also has offices in Arizona, Nebraska, Georgia, Kansas and Colorado.
Frontier Wealth Management relies heavily on modern portfolio theory — which calls for maximizing returns while minimizing risk — to determine its investment recommendations. The firm also believes strongly in proper asset allocation, which goes beyond diversification of assets to also account for individual portfolio objectives. It also takes into consideration the potential tax implications of investments when making its recommendations.
Generally, Frontier Wealth Management recommends the long-term purchase of securities. In some cases, however, it may suggest private investment vehicles, including private equity, venture capital and hedge funds, as well as other investment strategies like short-term purchases, short sales, trading, margin transactions, options, private placements, alternatives and structured products.
Frontier Wealth Management does report a disclosure in its Form ADV filing. The disciplinary action, which is related to one of the funds the firm offers, stems from an SEC allegation that Frontier violated advisor rules and failed to reasonably supervise the fund. The matter was settled in September 2021. The firm paid disgorgement of $261,617, prejudgment interest of $47,095 and a penalty of $350,000 to the SEC.
For more information, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Finishing our list of the best financial advisors in Missouri is Retirement Benchmark, LLC. It’s a Kansas City-based financial advisory firm focused on serving individuals aged 50 and over who need help with their retirement income planning. However, the firm states that it can also provide services for those in other life stages.
Services offered by Retirement Benchmark include retirement Income Strategy services, financial planning, investment management and investment monitoring. Many of the firm’s services are online. The bulk of Retirement Benchmark’s clients are self-directed, working with the firm on a non-discretionary basis, which means the client signs off on all investment decisions.
Retirement Benchmark has been in business since 2008. It is an affiliate of Retiree Inc., an
umbrella company under which exist related organizations that offer services to Baby Boomers and retirees. The firm is principally owned by MOC2, Inc.
Retirement Benchmark uses its Income Strategy platform, an online service that can offer automated investment advice, to craft retirement portfolios for its clients. In building portfolios, the firm aims to maximize returns for a given level of risk, and it also attempts to accommodate market volatility, changing market prospects and shifts in clients’ goals, risk tolerance and time horizon.
Clients are usually matched with one of the six model portfolios the firm offers, which range from low risk to aggressive. The model portfolios generally contain a mix of U.S. and international equities, U.S. fixed-income assets and real estate investment trusts. More aggressive portfolios may also use commodities. When selecting investments, the firm prioritizes minimizing costs and achieving tax efficiency.
Retirement Benchmark does not report any disciplinary disclosures. This indicates that neither the firm nor its employees or advisory affiliates have encountered any civil, criminal or legal issues within the past 10 years.
To learn more about Retirement Benchmark, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Missouri’s state income tax rate ranges from 1.50% to 5.40%, plus an additional charge to account for inflation — the amount you ultimately pay will depend on your taxable income. Missouri doesn’t have a state estate or inheritance tax, but if Missourians receive an inheritance from a state that has one, they may be responsible for taxes and be subject to federal taxes.
The cost of a financial advisor varies based on a number of factors. In general, however, financial advisors typically charge based on either a percentage of your account balance or an hourly rate. National averages indicate that asset-based rates usually range from 0.50% to 1.25% of your account balance per year, while hourly fees typically are between $100 to $400.
No, not all financial advisory firms specialize in retirement planning. Most advisors should be able to provide some guidance on retirement strategies, but if that’s a priority for you, then you’ll want to make sure to choose an advisor who has experience and knowledge in that area. Be sure to ask an advisor questions about their background, client base and services to ensure their offerings align with your needs.
Finding a financial advisor located near you can be a nice bonus when it comes to meeting in person and forming a more personal relationship. If you’re comfortable keeping most interactions limited to electronic communications and phone calls, or if you travel to another city frequently and can meet with an advisor there, then it may not be as important to you to have an advisor near your home. At the end of the day, the choice comes down to personal preference.
For our search for the best financial advisors in Missouri, we looked at firms across the state. All of the firms considered are bound by fiduciary duty, registered with the 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 of the best financial advisors in Missouri, we exclusively looked at firms that met the above criteria and had their headquarters in Missouri, 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 May 17, 2022, but we urge you to also evaluate these firms on adviserinfo.sec.gov.
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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