Money can be complicated. People have questions about how to save, manage and invest their cash. While it’s easy to find general advice, financial advisor firms can provide extra nuance based on your personal situation. You can speak with an advisor and craft a plan for your long-term finances.
Many financial advisor firms offer the tools and resources you need to grow your wealth. These firms offer brokerage accounts, live support, financial products and other resources. While investors should compare several financial advisor firms before choosing the right one for them, AUM can be a good place to start.
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AUM stands for assets under management. Firms obtain more assets to manage as their members make more deposits. A high AUM can indicate that a financial advisor firm is trustworthy, and it can also result in lower fees. These firms have the highest AUMs in the industry:
| Firm | Assets Under Management |
| BlackRock | $10.47 trillion |
| Vanguard | $8.6 trillion |
| Fidelity | $5.3 trillion |
| State Street Global Advisors | $4.34 trillion |
| UBS | $4.02 trillion |
| J.P. Morgan Wealth Management | $3.6 trillion |
| Goldman Sachs | $2.85 trillion |
BlackRock
BlackRock Inc. (ticker: BLK) is the largest financial advisor firm, with $10.47 trillion in assets under management as of the first quarter of 2024. The firm offers several core services, such as portfolio construction, enterprise risk and regulatory advisory, and data, analytics, and financial modeling. It has many exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, that track popular indexes and only require $1 to get started.
The firm also offers resources to help financial advisors serve their clients, including the top-tier Aladdin platform. The platform allows its users to analyze numerous data points and dive into current consumer behavior. It can perform stress tests and monitor more than 2,000 risk factors.
BlackRock was founded 1988 and has established itself as one of the most recognizable financial advisor firms. Institutional investors and retail investors have been continuously pouring their money into the firm. BlackRock’s assets under management increased by 15% year over year in Q1 2024 alone.
Vanguard
Vanguard is the second-largest financial advisor firm and had about $8.6 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023. The firm is well known for its affordable ETFs and mutual funds, many of which have expense ratios under 0.1%. Most investors use Vanguard’s index funds rather than actively managed funds. About 81% of the firm’s total assets under management are in index-based products.
Like many other firms, Vanguard has several advice service tiers for investors who want additional assistance. For example, you can get Vanguard Digital Advisor for a 0.15% fee as long as you have at least $3,000 in your portfolio. This robo advisor offers automated investing, financial guidance and ways to customize your goals. There aren’t any advisory fees for the first 90 days.
Vanguard Personal Advisor is the next tier up, with a $50,000 minimum portfolio size. The annual fee is about $30 per $10,000 invested and gives you access to professional financial advisors.
Vanguard Personal Advisor Select has a $500,000 minimum to qualify and lets you consult with a certified financial planner, or CFP. The fee for this service is equal to 0.3% of your portfolio’s value. It comes with stress testing and a personalized plan based on 30-plus data points.
The Wealth Management plan is the highest tier and requires a $5 million portfolio. The annual fee starts at 0.3% and goes down as the portfolio size increases, to 0.05% for a portfolio over $25 million. Clients work with a dedicated CFP and have access to private equity and closed funds. This level also includes wealth and estate planning.
Fidelity
The Boston-based firm has $5.3 trillion in assets under management as of March 31 ($13.7 trillion in assets under administration). Investors can distribute their capital across equities, fixed income, alternatives and global assets. Fidelity has services for digital advice, phone-based advice and dedicated advisors.
Fidelity Go offers basic money management and automatic portfolio rebalancing if you have at least $10 in your portfolio, though there’s no minimum to open an account. This robo advisor does not have any advisory fees if your portfolio is under $25,000. Once you cross that threshold, you will have to pay a 0.35% annual advisory fee, but you also get access to financial coaching at that point. You can get a personalized portfolio managed by professionals through FidFolios with a $5,000 minimum investment.
Phone-based advisors are available if you have at least $50,000 in your portfolio. This option allows you to speak to a team of advisors on the phone throughout the year. You will need at least $500,000 in your portfolio to work with a dedicated advisor through the Fidelity Wealth Management plan. The advisory fee ranges from 0.5% to 1.5%.
The highest tier is Fidelity Private Wealth Management. This plan requires that your Fidelity investments exceed $2 million. You will get to work with an advisor-led team with an advisory fee ranging from 0.2% to 1.04%.
State Street Global Advisors
State Street Global Advisors has $4.34 trillion in assets under management. The firm partners with the world’s largest institutions and financial intermediaries to offer top-notch services for its investors. More than two-thirds of its AUM are for institutional clients.
State Street is responsible for the first U.S. exchange-traded fund, the popular SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). The firm offers Model Portfolios built and managed by the Investment Solutions Group. This group manages capital for central banks, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and other large institutions. The Model Portfolios go through regular risk evaluations.
The asset management division of State Street Corp. was founded in 1978 in Boston. It got started by launching domestic and international index funds in the early days of index investing. State Street Global Advisors now has a massive pool of clients in 57 countries with 10 global investment centers.
UBS
UBS Group AG (UBS) has garnered $4.02 trillion in advisory assets under management as of Q1 2024, which represents a 3% year-over-year increase. The firm invites its potential clients to fill out a brief form to get connected with an advisor. UBS offers services in financial planning, investing, banking and charitable giving. Each of those categories includes several services investors can select from when working with an advisor. The company recommends having $1 million or more in investable assets to work with a UBS financial advisor.
UBS also offers several financial products, such as credit cards, securities-backed loans and savings accounts. While UBS has many services for institutional investors and consumers with deep pockets, you can also give UBS Advice Advantage a try. This robo advisor uses “intelligent technology” to deliver UBS’ perspective. The robo advisor launched in 2018 with a $10,000 minimum investment and a 0.75% advisory fee.
J.P. Morgan Wealth Management
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is one of the most prominent financial institutions, known for its Chase bank branches and its investment firm. J.P. Morgan has $3.6 trillion in assets under management as of the first quarter of 2024.
Clients can work one-on-one with a financial advisor to discuss financial planning, investments, retirement and other topics. The minimum investment to use a personal advisor is $25,000, but you will need a bigger portfolio for additional perks. You can schedule a free, individual investment consultation with a J.P. Morgan team member on any business day between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern time.
The firm has an advisory program available for people with portfolios worth $50,000 or more. The maximum advisory fee is 1.45%. J.P. Morgan typically works with clients who have $100,000 balances or higher for its Private Client Advisor services.
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s (GS) investment arm manages $2.85 trillion worth of assets as of Q1 2024. The firm offers many financial advisor services, including guidance for investment, trust and estate planning, liquidity, lending, alternative investments and other areas. Goldman Sachs also has exclusive advisory services for institutional clients.
The firm prioritizes high-net-worth clients and is offloading its robo advisor. You will have a lower advisory fee based on how much your portfolio is worth. However, clients still end up with an advisory fee above 1% for the company’s financial advisor services.
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7 Top Financial Advisor Firms by AUM originally appeared on usnews.com
