MagnifyMoney 
Silvercrest Asset Management Group, LLC provides financial planning, investment management and family office services primarily to ultra wealthy individuals and families, as well as certain institutional investors. The team is headquartered in New York, and there are seven additional offices across the country. The firm is nationally recognized and registered to do business in 36 states, plus the District of Columbia.
The bottom line: Silvercrest Asset Management Group is an asset management and financial planning firm based in New York that targets ultra-high net worth investors.
| Assets under management: $27,818,588,520 | |
| Minimum investment: Not specified, but firm notes it targets investors with at least $10 million | |
| Individual investor to advisor ratio: 19:1 | |
| Fee structure: A percentage of AUM, fixed fees, performance-based fees | |
| Headquarters: 1330 Avenue of the Americas, 38th Floor New York, NY 10019 Website: www.silvercrestgroup.com Phone: 212-649-0600 |
All information included in this profile is accurate as of August 25, 2021. For more information, please consult Silvercrest Asset Management’s website.
Silvercrest Asset Management Group, LLC, was established in 2001 (and officially began to do business in 2002) as an employee-owned registered investment advisor. The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of Silvercrest LP, whose general partner is Silvercrest Asset Management Group, Inc., a company that trades on the Nasdaq. All Class B Common shares of SAMG are owned by Silvercrest employees.
The team of close to 150 employees includes nearly 60 who are in advisory roles. Clients of the firm are mainly ultra-high net worth investors who can take advantage of the firm’s asset management and family office services.
Silvercrest Asset Management seeks out ultra wealthy individuals and families with at least $10 million or more to invest. The firm’s assets are often spread across multiple generations and among varying individual, retirement, trust and estate planning vehicles.
The firm does not have any individual clients who do not meet the definition of a high net worth individual, which the SEC defines as someone with at least $750,000 in assets under management or a net worth of at least $1 million.
Ultra-wealthy clients can enlist Silvercrest Asset Management to help manage their investments, as well as their overall wealth. Clients generally opt for advisors to manage their portfolios under a discretionary relationship, meaning clients do not sign off on every trading decision. Some clients do seek advice and guidance from advisors but choose to retain control over the final trading and investment decisions, known as non-discretionary management.
The team can also address issues around estate, tax and retirement planning, business successions, family foundations, diversifying from concentrated stock or private assets and more. Family office services, such as paying bills, tax planning and preparation, accounting, financial planning and consolidated reporting, are also offered.
For institutional clients, the team provides portfolio advisory support, due diligence, risk analytics and other services. The team also offers outsourced chief investment services, and also advises many private funds.
Here is a list of services offered by Silvercrest:
At Silvercrest Asset Management, advisors first help clients define their goals for their wealth and investments. Next, they create and implement a custom plan to achieve those goals, based on each family’s unique situation. The firm stresses that it does not subscribe to “cookie cutter” portfolio strategies. Clients who are personally opposed to certain types of investments can restrict the types of investments in their account.
Client money can be allocated across Silvercrest’s equity and fixed-income strategies. Clients can also invest in Silvercrest’s private funds and with third-party portfolio managers, both of which can provide exposure to alternative investments, such as hedge funds, private equity and real estate, as well as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds.
When looking for companies in which to invest, Silvercrest’s portfolio managers use a value-oriented approach. They look for companies that are attractively valued, understandable, transparent about their financials and headed by proven management teams with a lot of their own money at stake. The team says its stock portfolios “tend to underperform slightly in bull markets but outperform significantly in bear markets.” When looking for outside managers, the team looks for consistent returns, tax-efficiency and managers with significant equity at stake to align the interest of the managers and investors.
For portfolio management, clients typically pay an annual fee calculated as a percentage of assets under management. The rate varies based on the type of investment, as well as the amount invested. Advisory fees are negotiable in certain situations, such as when clients have invested large amounts.
| Silvercrest Asset Management Annual Fee Schedule for Separately Managed Accounts | |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Fee |
| Managed Equity or Balanced Portfolios | 1% on the first $10 million, then 0.60% |
| Managed Fixed Income-Only Portfolios | 0.40% on the first $10 million, then 0.30% |
| Managed Cash-Only Portfolios | 0.20% |
| Silvercrest Municipal Value Strategy | 0.65% |
| Managed Growth Equity Portfolios | 1% on the first $25 million, 0.90% on the next $50 million, then 0.80% |
Clients may also owe additional management fees and expenses when they invest with outside third-party managers or in private funds advised by Silvercrest. In the case of a private fund of funds, they’d owe even higher fees for the underlying managers those funds invest in.
Clients may also owe certain performance-based fees, ranging from 10% to 30% of net income or capital appreciation, when investing with third-party funds or private funds advised by Silvercrest. The fee schedule is typically shared with clients in writing prior to beginning a relationship.
In addition to those management fees, clients can expect to owe brokerage and custodian fees, as well as any internal mutual fund, ETF or other investment product fees. Fees are typically paid quarterly and in advance, although this may vary.
Clients pay separately for family office services such as bill paying, tax planning and financial planning. The fees depend on the services requested, and are worked out prior to the start of the relationship.
Silvercrest Asset Management does not disclose any legal, regulatory or other disciplinary items, and thus has a clean record. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires all registered investment advisors to disclose on their Form ADV any legal or disciplinary actions against the company or an employee or affiliate in the last 10 years that would be material to clients’ evaluation of the firm or the integrity of the management team.
For more information on Silvercrest Asset Management, go to the firm’s IAPD page.
Those interested in learning more about Silvercrest Asset Management can reach out by:
As for communication once a relationship begins, clients with separately managed accounts receive written monthly or quarterly reports (per their preference) from Silvercrest, summarizing their holdings, account activity and investment returns, in addition to the reports that clients receive from their custodian. Clients in the private funds also receive written monthly or quarterly reports with the investment values and returns. The firm also offers a client portal for regular review.
Silvercrest Asset Management has eight offices in total. Its offices are located in the following cities:
Individuals and families with at least $10 million to invest who are also looking for additional help in managing and simplifying their vast wealth may want to consider Silvercrest Asset Management, particularly if they live near one of their firm’s offices. Clients may find it attractive that the firm is independent and not affiliated with any big banks or brokerage firms.
That said, it’s obviously a limited number of investors with the ultra wealth necessary to work with the firm — everyone else will need to look elsewhere. Before you make your decision, be sure to research multiple firms to ensure you find the right advisor for you.
Amanda GenglerAmanda Gengler has been researching and writing about finance for more than 15 years. She honed her personal finance writing as a journalist at Money magazine for a decade.
Read More
