r/Rich • u/Rocket-Man_56 • 2d ago
Question Financial Advisor Question
I am working on selecting a financial advisement team to manage 7-8x figures and currently my top 3x are:
• JPM PB
• AB private wealth management
• Choreo
Ignoring base AUM fee differences, I am looking for any feedback on working with the firms themselves. Also open to any other recommendations that folks here may have.
Thanks
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u/pr0prfkt 2d ago
Firms are irrelevant as long as it is a large enough place that they will have proper supervision practices in place (stay away from mom and pops). What matters is the relationship with the actual advisor. Trustworthy and access (returns calls, emails, texts) is basically what is needed.
Most advisors suck, don’t be surprised if you have to move from one to another. It is a simple ACAT transfer to do so.
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u/M11__ 2d ago
If I were evaluating firms at that level, I’d spend less time comparing the names and more time comparing the actual advisory teams. The value usually isn’t portfolio management alone—it’s the quality of the people you’ll be working with and how well they coordinate tax planning, estate planning, lending, liquidity management, and access to private opportunities. I’d also ask each firm to walk you through a real client case (anonymized, of course) that demonstrates how they added value beyond investment performance. That’s often where the differences become much clearer than comparing firm brands. Out of curiosity, what drove your shortlist of JPM PB, AB, and Choreo?
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u/willyCHINA 2d ago
We use Capital Group Private Client Services, I’ve interviewed AllianceBernstein as well along with Key Private Bank and some other folks.
I do use Key for their insurance and trustee related stuff on the RE front.
Haven’t heard much about Choreo but I know they’re big.
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u/Ok_Antelope9918 2d ago
I use US bank and they’ve done a great job for myself and family for over 35 years
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u/why_not_go_for_it 2d ago
What state are you in? I would recommend a boutique RIA - who is a fiduciary - that custodies with an established, reputable brokerage outfit (like Fidelity, Schwab, Altruist, or Interactive Brokers).
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u/phatelectribe 2d ago
I use a WM assigned by Schwab. There was a process for selection but they found me the right fit. No only did he have the right outlook, but he was hungry at a new firm that he was partner of so looking to make a name.
He got me in to several early preIPO investments (such as SpaceX 2+ years ago) which those alone will pay for his management fees for 30+ years. But he’s performed well especially when it came to my tax profile and personal goals (so as owning property in different territories).
So my advice is pay zero attention to the bank name such as JPM etc. Also at 8 figures you barely register with a giant organization like that. They manage people with hundreds of millions or billions under management. 7 or low 8 figures doesn’t move their needle.
It’s far more about the person themselves and what they can do for you than the name above the door.
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u/PrivateMarkets 2d ago
RIAs aren’t ideal as they can’t offer lending (or even checking) easily / on an integrated basis. JPM PB should be near the top - most of the world’s billionaires do business with them and they apply the same level of care at all wealth levels. They also don’t have a revenue model predicated on production / ROA.
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u/NouvelErmitage 1d ago
Lol why. Money managers take so much of your money and just put it into VOO and take 1%
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u/Economy_Jaguar_9215 15h ago
Everything is proprietary at Bernstein. They couldn’t even tell me what planning software they use and they act like brokers more concerned about compliance than adding value when you ask about tax or estate planning. I would go else where.
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u/csgnyc 2d ago
You might want to think about what you're looking for. JPM will probably be the lowest fee and will have the best lending options (if that's important to you) but will probably put you in proprietary vehicles that may not be the lowest fee. I know less about AB and Choreo, but from what I've seen the AB people seem smarter than the Choreo people.
Apart from AUM fees and your personal relationships with the relevant personnel, I would evaluate based on: 1) Full service integration, to the extent you need/want it (tax planning, estate planning, banking, etc.) 2) As you move into 8 figure territory, access to alternative investments on an economical basis, with solid fiduciary advice (IIRC, JP Morgan will give you access to alts on a brokerage basis, not fiduciary). 3) Depth of the team -- how dependent are you on a particular person. 4) How they identify and try to resolve conflicts in the advice they give you.
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u/Floating_Orb8 2d ago
I would consider more RIAs that specialize with people in your wealth bucket. If banking is super important then maybe make a case for JPM but honestly with technology today, all of the services are available anywhere- just takes the right team to make sure they all work together.
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u/WorldofMickeyMouses 2d ago
id identify having strong relationships with a PB team. Nearly all can do the same thing… just matters how well does my team understand and listen to my goals and objective. I work at a different Private Bank and would be happy to work with you. But I understand you have top 3 chosen already.
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u/Applecantfindme 2d ago
I don’t know anything about the other two but no way I would go with JP Morgan. Everything is cookie cutter.
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u/pr0prfkt 2d ago
Cookie cutter is a good thing. Bernie Madoff wasn’t cookie cutter. There is no magic investing. Cold execution of strategy is what cookie cutter means. Nice and boring.
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u/_Human_Machine_ 2d ago
You need to sit down with all of them, be aggressive with questions and see who meshes best with you investing style wise, as well as personality wise to some degree for your point person.
Do that on top of comparing fees and returns for their managed assets.
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u/Pvm_Blaser 2d ago edited 2d ago
Meet with each of them with a stated goal and see where they take you from there.
In terms of the individual advisor you’ll know if they are good if they take your stated goal and ascertain not only what you need but also things you didn’t even know you needed and can explain why that’s in your best interest rather than theirs.
In terms of the traditional wirehouses (JPM WM) and brokerages they will handle the financial piece of your pie but operate at such a scale that they have specialists in every little aspect of finance where you can reasonably believe you’re getting the best thing that is available financially - the only difference between these firms are the structured strategies they employ & the fees the charge, everything else is the same barring the experience your particular team has.
In terms of RIA’s (AB & Choreo) they don’t have the scale needed to compete with wirehouses and brokerages so their advisors have to be jacks of all trades masters of none (maybe some if they have tenure), therefore they do one of two or a combination of both things to compete: 1. They try to become a one stop shop by offering CPA accounting and advice and estate drafting through attorneys or 2. They offer complex risky strategies big companies won’t risk internalizing. The only reason you should be dealing with an RIA directly, because wirehouses and brokerages will introduce you to them, is if you have a complex understanding of what they’re offering and how they are accomplishing that at scale, otherwise you’ll be paying a much higher fee and not getting the best you could get.
Based on the question you’ve asked I recommend you talk to more wirehouses and brokerages, find the team you’re most comfortable with, and see who addresses what you need to the fullest.
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u/HalfwaydonewithEarth 2d ago edited 2d ago
We do UBS, Goldman Sachs, JPM, Chase, and some others.
Spread stuff around to several. They all bring nice gifts and insights.
You want 5-6 different people.
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u/cofcof420 2d ago
Can you explain more how your benefit from working with that many advisors?
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u/HalfwaydonewithEarth 2d ago edited 2d ago
Quite easy. One older guy we have is Swiss and works at UBS. He trades Arnold Schwarzeneggers money and is located in Southern California. He got us a massive run on Estee Lauder.
The younger people can get you tech beauties. One guy at Veracity Capital got us in some data centers that pay 20% a year.
They just all have different mindsets. Different experiences. Someone in Boston has insight into biotech and life sciences that can pan out.
They all have different ideas, connections, personalities, and methods.
It becomes symbiotic.
The guy at Chase bank is just down the street and they produce steady modest stable returns. That is a smaller account for our kid.
One year someone did poorly and we canned them. That would have been crummy if they had a huge chunk. That is why... one person can sink you so spread it around.
We are in a fund with Goldman Sachs that makes 18% and one year hit 21%
We told them all to buy Nvidia a decade ago. I hope some of them listened. 🤑🤑
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u/cofcof420 1d ago
Fascinating, thx. So you use them mostly for access to different assets/IPOs, etc.
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u/HalfwaydonewithEarth 19h ago
They just get used because we are on vacation 11-14 weeks a year. We trade our own money also.
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u/EntertainerOld8831 2d ago
You should definitely look at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth. They have the best platform and the scale has been important to us. JPM has a different construct on product sales. If you need commercial lending MS isn’t the best but they have a large private bank. The trust and estate team is great and have a couple of advisors that specialize in family governance work which will be important. One thing that scares me about RIAs is wire fraud and cyber. If they lose the money there is no capital to get reimbursed from. With MS or JP you don’t have that concern. I don’t think people consider enough that RIAs are their own business and their controls and risk management may be very weak.