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IRON Financial Review

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This review was produced by SmartAsset based on publicly available information. The named firm and its financial professionals have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed this review and are not responsible for its accuracy. Review content is produced by SmartAsset independently of any business relationships that might exist between SmartAsset and the named firm and its financial professionals, and firms and financial professionals having business relationships with SmartAsset receive no special treatment or consideration in SmartAsset’s reviews. This page contains links to SmartAsset’s financial advisor matching tool, which may or may not match you with the firm mentioned in this review or its financial professionals.

financial advisor firm located in Northbrook, Illinois, IRON Financial has advisors who work mainly with pension and profit-sharing plans, but also with individuals and businesses. The firm focuses on portfolio management, though they also provide retirement plan services.

As a fee-only advisory firm, IRON Financial earns its compensation from just client-based fees. A fee-based firm, on the other hand, is one that collects commissions from insurance or security sales in addition to standard fees.

IRON Financial Background

IRON Financial was founded in Chicago in 1994 by CEO Howard Nixon and chief investment officer (CIO) Aaron Izenstark. With decades of investment experience between them, the co-founders focus the firm’s strategy around a strategic income philosophy. The firm is under the principal ownership of IRON Holdings, LLC, a financial services holding company.

The financial advisors at IRON Financial hold a number of advisory certifications. Among the firm’s investment professionals, there are multiple chartered financial analysts (CFAs) and certified financial planners (CFPs). 

IRON Financial Types of Clients and Minimum Account Sizes

The vast majority of IRON Financial’s clients are non-government pension and profit-sharing plans. Non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, retirement plans and businesses round out the firm’s client base.

The minimum account sizes of IRON Financial’s managed portfolios range from $100,000 to $500,000. They are as follows:

  • Incertus Portfolios $250,000
  • High Quality Equity Strategy: $250,000
  • Global Equity Plus Strategy Portfolios: $250,000
  • S&P Equity Plus Strategy Portfolios: $100,000
  • All-Cap Alpha Equity Strategy Portfolios: $300,000
  • Fixed-Income Yield Only Portfolios: $300,000
  • Fixed-Income High-Yield Only Portfolios: $300,000
  • Core Plus Portfolios: $500,000
  • Fixed-Income Total Return Portfolios: $500,000
  • Risk-Based Mutual Fund Total Return Portfolios: $250,000
  • REIT Strategy Portfolios: $100,000

Most of the firm’s corporate retirement plan services call for a minimum balance of $100,000.

Services Offered by IRON Financial

IRON Financial offers a number of portfolio management services, including a variety of fixed-income strategies, total return strategies and more.

  • EQUITY Plus Strategies
  • Global Equity Plus Strategy Portfolios
  • S&P Equity Plus Strategy Portfolios
  • All-Cap Alpha Equity Strategy
  • Risk-Based Mutual Fund Portfolios
  • Select and managed portfolios
  • Convertible Bond Strategy
  • Real estate investment trust (REIT) strategy

IRON Financial Investment Philosophy

IRON Financial places emphasis on adding value to typical beta investment practices. It uses a wide array of asset classes, coupled with effective risk management and primary research, to drive growth for clients. The investments that fill out these strategies and portfolios are a combination of fixed-income securities, equities, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options and derivatives.

The firm’s methods of analysis include charting as well as fundamental, technical and quantitative analysis. Each of these techniques attempts to analyze a security’s intrinsic value by looking at various factors, like pricing statistics, performance data, underlying financial conditions of the company and more.

IRON Financial Fees

IRON Financial’s fees vary based on the investment strategy. These charges follow the fee schedule below, though the firm may negotiate fees on a client-to-client basis.

Investment Fee Schedule
Account Strategy Maximum Annual Fee
Incertus Portfolios 0.70%
High Quality Equity Strategy Portfolios 0.70%
Global Equity Plus Strategy Portfolios 0.70%
S&P Equity Plus Strategy Portfolios 0.50%
All-Cap Alpha Equity Strategy Portfolios 0.75%
Fixed-Income Yield Only Portfolios 0.35%
Fixed-Income High-Yield Only Portfolios 0.50%
Core Plus Portfolios 0.50%
Fixed-Income Total Return Portfolios 0.70%
Risk-Based Mutual Fund Total Return Portfolios 0.75%
REIT Strategy Portfolios 0.70%

What to Watch Out For

IRON Financial does not have any disclosures of legal or regulatory action on its most recent SEC Form ADV.

Opening an Account With IRON Financial

If you’d like to open an account with IRON Financial, you can go online and submit a form on the firm's website. You can also call its office toll-free at (888) 396-4766.

All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.

Tips for Finding the Right Financial Advisor for You

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How Long $1mm Lasts in Retirement

SmartAsset's interactive map highlights places where $1 million will last the longest in retirement. Zoom between states and the national map to see the top spots in each region. Also, scroll over any city to learn about the cost of living in retirement for that location.

Least
Most
Rank City Housing Expenses Food Expenses Healthcare Expenses Utilities Expenses Transportation Expenses

Methodology We analyzed data on average expenditures for seniors, cost of living and investment returns to determine how many years of retirement a $1 million nest egg would cover in cities across America.

First, we looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the average annual expenditures of seniors. We then applied cost of living data from the Council for Community and Economic Research to adjust those national average spending levels based on the costs of each expense category (housing, food, healthcare, utilities, transportation and other) in each city. Using this data, SmartAsset calculated the average cost of living for retirees in the largest U.S. cities.

We assumed the $1 million would grow at a real return (interest minus inflation) of 2%. Then, we divided $1 million by the sum of each of those annual numbers to determine how long $1 million would cover retirement expenses in each of the cities in our study. Cities where $1 million lasted the longest ranked the highest in the study.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Council for Community and Economic Research