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Ritholtz Wealth Management specializes in portfolio management for individuals and institutions, offering a goals-based approach to portfolio management. The firm also provides financial planning services. Ritholz currently has more than $1.8 billion in assets under management (AUM). It is headquartered in New York City, with five additional office locations throughout the U.S.
The bottom line: Ritholtz Wealth Management’s minimum investment requirement is a bit high for beginning investors, though there are options for those with less.
| Assets under management: $1,806,283,367 |
| Minimum investment: $1 million |
| Individual investor to advisor ratio: 86:1 |
| Fee structure: A percentage of AUM, hourly charges, fixed fees |
| Headquarters: 24 West 40th Street, 15th Floor New York, NY 10018 Website: www.ritholtzwealth.com Phone: 212-625-1200 |
All information included in this profile is accurate as of February 14, 2022. For more information, please consult Ritholtz Wealth Management’s website.
Ritholtz Wealth Management has been a registered investment advisor (RIA) since 2013. The firm has over 30 employees on staff, around 16 of whom perform investment advisory functions. A number of directors at the firm hold advanced credentials, including the certified financial planner (CFP) and chartered financial analyst (CFA) designations.
The firm focuses on portfolio management for individuals and institutions, and also offers financial planning and consulting. It is privately owned, with co-founder Barry Ritholtz owning 42.2% of the firm and co-founder Josh Brown owning 28.1%. Other partners at the firm own the remaining stakes.
The firm’s co-founders are well-known financial advisors with longtime followings in the industry. Barry Ritholtz, who currently serves as the firm’s chairman and chief investment officer, is the author of the financial blog “The Big Picture” and the host of Bloomberg’s “Masters in Business” podcast. Josh Brown, the firm’s CEO, is the author of the blog “The Reformed Broker” and the host of CNBC’s “The Halftime Report.”
The minimum account balance required for Ritholtz’s comprehensive portfolio management services is $1 million. However, the company does offer a robo-advisor platform, Liftoff, that is provided by Betterment for investors who cannot meet that minimum threshold. The minimum account size for a Liftoff account is negotiable.
The firm’s Form ADV shows that it does have more clients who are not high net worth investors than those who are (for reference, the SEC defines high net worth individuals as those who have at least $750,000 invested or a net worth of at least $1.5 million). Those high net worth investors, however, have over $1.2 billion invested with the firm, while assets under management for non-high net worth individuals total approximately $312 million.
Ritholtz focuses on portfolio management while also offering financial planning and consulting as part of its services. The firm also offers assistance with company retirement plans and institutional asset management, including 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, cash balance plans, defined benefit pension plans and profit-sharing plans.
Discretionary portfolio management is done on a personalized basis. Portfolios are based on core asset allocation and tactical models, with adjustments made for individual client goals. Portfolio rebalancing can be done regularly.
Additionally, you can access the company’s robo-advisor, Liftoff, which features more generalized investing advice and doesn’t come with the same level of individualization that a client would receive with the firm’s portfolio management service. That said, it can also come with lower fees and a lower minimum to invest.
Here’s a full list of services you can expect to see offered by Ritholtz:
Personalized portfolio management: Ritholtz Wealth Management offers a personalized approach to portfolio management. It meets with its clients to understand their goals, risk tolerance and other relevant items. Using that information, an advisor then comes up with a recommended investment approach.
In general, the firm focuses on capital preservation and risk management when investing, and is more focused on asset allocation than stock picking.
The firm’s website features five key portfolios, each with proprietary asset allocation strategies, that it offers to clients. Each is named for a historic NASA mission:
Additionally, the firm’s Goaltender model is used with all of the firm’s portfolios. Goaltender is a tactical asset allocation strategy that aims not to beat the market but rather to manage risk and help clients weather major market downturns.
Automated investment service: Clients who use the firm’s automatic management platform, Liftoff, will receive more generalized investment advice compared to the personalized advice provided through Ritholtz’s portfolio management services.
For this service, the firm offers several portfolios designed to achieve different objectives. These portfolios include a core asset allocation model using institutional share class mutual funds and ETFs, as well as a tactical model portfolio that may complement the core asset allocation models. When appropriate, Ritholtz may also use separately managed accounts with all-equity or all-fixed income strategies.
Ritholtz Wealth Management charges fees based on a percentage of assets under management for its comprehensive portfolio management services. Fees are charged quarterly on a pro-rata, annualized basis.
Here is the firm’s standard fee schedule:
| Ritholtz Wealth Management Fee Schedule for Comprehensive Portfolio Management | |
|---|---|
| Assets under management | Maximum annual percentage of assets charged |
| $1,000,000-$1,999,999 | 1.25% |
| $2,000,000-$2,999,999 | 1.00% |
| $3,000,000-$4,999,999 | 0.75% |
| $5,000,000-$9,999,999 | 0.60% |
| 10,000,000-$20,000,000 | 0.50% |
| More than $20,000,000 | 0.35% |
The firm also has a loyalty program, called Milestone Rewards, that offers a discount of 16% on management fees once a client has been with the firm for three years, as long as they have at least $1 million in assets. Milestone isn’t applicable to 403(b) plans, 401(k) plans or Liftoff accounts.
For Liftoff, the automated advisory service, the firm charges an annual fee of up to 0.50% of assets under management. Retirement plan consulting fees won’t exceed 1%, though it’s important to note that this fee estimate doesn’t include fees charged by custodians or other administrators where assets are held.
Ritholtz Wealth Management has no disciplinary disclosures to report. This means it has a clean record with no legal or regulatory issues within the last 10 years involving either the company or its employees or affiliates.
Firms that are registered with the SEC must report any criminal charges, regulatory actions or legal actions like liens or civil judgments against them. These are called disclosures and must be listed on a firm’s Form ADV filed with the SEC.
For more information, visit the firm’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) page.
Ritholtz Wealth Management has offices in the following cities:
Ritholtz Wealth Management is most likely to benefit high net worth individuals who want a more personal touch to portfolio management. Because the minimum for assets under management is $1 million, many investors with less won’t qualify to have their money managed by Ritholtz, unless they’re open to exploring the firm’s automated advisory platform, Liftoff, which offers less-personalized advice.
Additionally, those with a higher amount of assets can benefit from the fact that management fees become lower as assets under management increase. For those who want individualized management and financial consulting, Ritholtz offers options that can be attractive. However it’s important to research multiple firms to ensure you find the right advisor for you.
Miranda MarquitMiranda Marquit has been a financial journalist for more than 12 years and has contributed to numerous national and local media outlets, including Forbes, NPR, CNBC, FOX Business, and The Wall Street Journal.
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