Cadaret Grant Review
Cadaret, Grant & Co. is a fee-based financial advisor firm. This firm has been in business for over 35 years and is headquartered in Syracuse, New York. It offers services such as financial planning, portfolio management and investment advisory services.
As a fee-based firm, certain advisors at Cadaret Grant can receive both client-paid fees and third-party commissions as compensation. A fee-only firm, conversely, avoids these commissions and instead focuses entirely on client-paid fees.
Cadaret Grant markets its services to financial advisors. This means if you work with the firm as a retail client, you'll receive advisory services from an investment advisor representative (IAR) in the Cadaret Grant network but not necessarily directly employed by the firm.
Cadaret Grant Background
Founded in 1985, Cadaret Grant was founded by Art Grant and Mac Cadaret. According to the firm's website, the two were businessmen and wanted to create an independent broker-dealer that respected and encouraged the independence that advisors seek. By the end of it's first year, the firm had five employees and 50 representatives. It has been registered as an investment advisor since 1992 and as a broker-dealer since 1985. Cadaret, Grant is owned, controlled and managed by Atria Wealth Solutions, a privately-owned Delaware limited liability company.
Cadaret Grant Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Cadaret Grant advises the following types of clients:
- Individuals with and without a high net worth
- Pension and profit-sharing plans
- Charitable organizations
- Corporations or other businesses
Account minimums at Cadaret Grant vary by account type. The minimum account sizes for The Investment Management System (TIMS) and The Investment Management System II (TIMS II) – both portfolio management programs – is $25,000.
The Contour Platform, a wrap fee program that Cadaret Grant sponsors, consists of several tiers: Contour APM, with a minimum account size of $25,000; Contour Strategists, with minimums of varying amounts but as low as $2,000; Contour SMA and Contour UMA, both with minimums of $100,000.
Minimums can be negotiable at the firm's discretion.
Services Offered by Cadaret Grant
Cadaret Grant's principal business is to provide a full line of services as a registered broker-dealer. In this capacity, the firm is involved in the sales of various types of securities (including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, limited partnerships, unit investment trusts and variable annuities).
Cadaret Grant offers several advisory services for its clients, on both a discretionary and sometimes a non-discretionary basis:
- The Investment Management System (TIMS) and The Investment Management System II (TIMS II) are "advisor as portfolio manager" programs in which IARs can offer the ability to implement a fee-based asset management program using a wide range of investments.
- Contour is a wrap fee program powered by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions (EPS) that offers a comprehensive platform with four core tiers: Contour APM is an "advisor as portfolio manager" program that allows IARs to use a broad range of investments to execute a discretionary fee-based asset management strategy. The Contour Strategists programs consist of mutual funds and/or ETFs managed by EPS. Contour SMAs (Separately Managed Accounts) offer a wide range of investment strategies managed by third-party money managers. Contour UMAs (Unified Managed Accounts) allow IARs limited discretion to build custom portfolios.
Additionally, the firm offers a retirement services program, financial planning and third-party investment advisor programs.
Cadaret Grant Investing Philosophy
As a firm, Cadaret Grant does not determine investment philosophies and strategies for its clients, instead leaving the decision up to the individual IARs that work directly with clients. As a result, investment philosophies and strategies will vary by IAR but will always be under the supervision of Cadaret Grant.
IARs working under the supervision of the firm might use, but are not limited to using, one more of the following methods to analyze investments for advisory clients: charting, fundamental analysis, technical analysis, cyclical analysis and dollar-cost averaging.
The majority of the investment recommendations made by IARs through the firm’s advisory services programs involve the use of mutual funds. And while short-term trading is much less common and not recommended for most clients, some IARs provide short-term trading as a whole or partial investment strategy.
Fees Under Cadaret Grant
Fee schedules for advisory services at Cadaret Grant vary depending on the type of account a client opens. As such, the firm does not have a uniform fee schedule across all its various investment strategies.
- TIMS and TIMS II: The maximum annual asset management fee for TIMS and TIMS II will be 2.20% of assets under management as well as an account administrative fee of $25 per quarter for accounts with less than $100,000. Fees may be billed in advance of each calendar month or quarter based on certain parameters.
- Contour: The fees for clients of the wrap-fee Contour program are also based on an annual percentage of AUM. The total fee consists of the program fee, the advisory fee and if applicable, the manager fee. Depending on the fee schedule, the firm will calculate the total fee at the beginning of the month or quarter based on the fair market value of client assets. The maximum allowable advisory fee for any Contour APM account is 2.25% of AUM plus a platform fee not to exceed 0.20%.
Additionally, the firm provides financial planning and consulting services for a fee. Clients in the Comprehensive Financial Planning program will pay a maximum fee of $10,000. For consulting services, the maximum fee a client may incur is $350 per hour. Unearned, prepaid fees will be returned if a contract is terminated. All fees are negotiable on an individual basis.
What to Watch Out For
In its latest Form ADV filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Cadaret Grant reported 28 disciplinary disclosures. In response, Cadaret has paid millions in fines and has also submitted to censures, cease-and-desist orders, as well as restitution (plus interest) and disgorgement.
The firm also acknowledges in its latest SEC filing that IARs who are also financial professionals of Cadaret Grant do accept compensation for the sale of securities or other investment products. This presents a conflict of interest because of the incentive to recommend financial products based on the compensation the IAR will receive, rather than on the best interests of the client. However, the firm makes sure that it discloses conflicts to clients beforehand and allows clients the option to purchase recommended investment products through other brokers, agents, advisors, product sponsors, third-party advisors and service providers not associated with or offered through Cadaret Grant.
Opening an Account With Cadaret Grant
To open an account with Cadaret Grant, you can visit the firm's website or call over the phone.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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