Churchill Management Group's founder and CEO Fred Fern was inducted into the Barron's Hall of Fame in 2019. Fern is a certified veteran of the investment industry, as he has over half a century of experience working with portfolios.
Churchill Management Group functions as a fee-based firm providing investment advisory services to investment limited partnerships and various client accounts. The financial advisor has billions in assets under management (AUM), and it currently serves more than 7,000 clients. It's also on SmartAsset's top financial advisor list for Los Angeles.
Churchill Management Group Background
CEO and chairman Fred A. Fern founded Churchill Management Group in 1963. The firm is headquartered in Los Angeles, and has many offices across the country.
Churchill Management offers financial planning, 401(k) planning and investment management services. In addition, the firm uses its discretionary authority to invest primarily in publicly traded equity and equity-related securities.
Churchill Management Group Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Churchill Management works with individuals both with and without a high net worth, pooled investment vehicles, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, corporations and nondiscretionary accounts.
The firm generally requires an account minimum of $750,000. The firm may be willing to waive these requirements under certain circumstances. Annual management fees are based on a percentage of client assets under management, ranging from 0.60% to 1.25%.
Services Offered by Churchill Management Group
Churchill Management primarily provides investment management and financial planning services, but it also offers investment products. Its services and products include:
- Investment Strategies
- Fully invested strategies
- Fixed income strategies
- Tactical strategies
- Combined strategies
- Investment Products
- Exchanged-traded funds (ETFs)
- Stocks
- Fixed-income
- Cash and cash equivalents
- Financial Planning
- Securities investing advice
- Financial plan strategies
- 401(k) planning
Investment Philosophy
Through Churchill Management’s Premier Wealth Tactical investment philosophy, the firm strives to pinpoint and grow wealth in favorable markets while protecting capital from high-risk situations. The firm employs a number of investment strategies to help ensure it meets client needs and performance expectations. These include the Premiere Wealth Tactical Core, Premiere Wealth Tactical, Maximum Growth Tactical, Tactical Opportunity, ETF Sector Rotation, Equity Growth Opporunity, Equity Dividend Income, Fixed Income and Equity Growth and Value strategies.
The firm also strongly prioritizes advisor-to-client communication and believes in making sure they fully understand the risks associated with each client portfolio. Churchill Management says it also utilizes a top-down and bottom-up investment approach to meet each client’s specific needs.
Fees Under Churchill Management Group
Churchill Management bills its fees quarterly, in advance. The firm bases its final management fee on the total account value at the beginning of each quarterly computation period. For clients who decide to add to or withdraw from their accounts during the quarterly period, Churchill Management doesn’t require a refund or additional management fee for such actions. The firm does list annual management fees for certain account sizes, but these fees may vary upon negotiation.
For its Maximum Growth Tactical Strategy the firm charges a management fee of 1.25%. For accounts introduced by third-party solicitors or joint advisors, the management fees vary, but they’re available upon request. Churchill Management also retains the discretion to waive the first tier of its fee schedule.
The firm also participates in wrap fee programs. Additionally, accounts investing in mutual funds pay investment advisory fees to the managers of those funds.
| Premiere Wealth Tactical, Premiere Wealth Tactical Core, ETF Sector Rotation, Equity Growth and Value, Equity Divided Income, Tactical Opportunity and Premiere Wealth Tactical Core/ETF Sector Rotation Strategies | |
| Amount of Assets | Annual Management Fee |
| Up to $2,500,000 | 1.00% |
| Next $2,500,000 | 0.80% |
| Next $5,000,000 | 0.70% |
| Greater than $10,000,000 | 0.60% |
Churchill Management Group Awards and Recognition
Churchill Management was listed as one of Forbes' 2020 "Top Wealth Advisors." The firm also made it onto Barron's list of the Top Independent Advisors of 2020.
What to Watch Out For
Churchill Management Group doesn’t have any disclosures of a legal or regulatory nature on its Form ADV.
Opening an Account With Churchill Management Group
The easiest way to make initial contact with the firm is to submit your contact information on its website. Alternately, you can call the firm’s Los Angeles phone number (323) 937-7110 or email an advisor at the office nearest you through its website.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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