Madison Investment Advisors is a fee-only financial advisor firm based in Madison, Wisconsin. It works with a wide range of clients, including individuals (both with and without a high net worth), retirement plans, corporations and other institutional clients. The firm offers both investment management and financial planning services.
Madison Investment Advisors Background
Madison Investment Advisors was founded in 1974, and it’s a wholly-owned subsidiary of Madison Asset Management, LLC. Madison Asset Management is itself a subsidiary of the holding company Madison Investment Holdings, Inc., which is owned by the firm’s employees.
Many advisors at the firm are chartered financial analysts (CFA). Other certifications earned include chartered alternative investment analysts (CAIA), Certified Financial Planners™ (CFP®), chartered investment management analysts (CIMA) and certified public accountants (CPA).
Madison Investment Advisors Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Individuals make up by far the largest portion of Madison Investment Advisors’ client base. Of these individual clients, most come in below the high-net-worth threshold. The firm also works with high-net-worth individuals, banks, pensions and other retirement plans, charitable organizations, government entities, investment advisors, insurance companies and businesses.
Madison Investment Advisors generally imposes a minimum account size of $500,000 for equity accounts fixed-income accounts.
Services Offered by Madison Investment Advisors
Madison Investment Advisors provides three categories of portfolio management services:
- Active bond management
- Risk-managed equity management
- Customized multi-asset portfolios
As the names would indicate, the first two services focus exclusively on fixed-income and equity securities, respectively. The third option is for clients who are looking for a portfolio that encompasses both fixed-income securities and equities.
Additionally, the firm provides management via several wrap fee or model account programs that external brokers and firms sponsor.
Under certain circumstances, the firm may provide financial planning services like retirement planning, risk management, asset allocation planning, insurance analysis and more.
Madison Investment Advisors Investment Philosophy
Madison Investment Advisors follows what it calls its “Participate and Protect” philosophy, aiming to capture market gains in strong periods while limiting losses in downturns. Its approach emphasizes high-quality securities, strong fundamentals and disciplined valuation, using a bottom-up process for equity selection and a high-quality bias in fixed-income portfolios.
The firm incorporates fundamental analysis, management evaluation and valuation discipline, often seeking companies with sustainable competitive advantages, solid cash flow and attractive relative yields.
Its investment strategies include multi-asset allocation, fixed income and equity portfolios. Multi-asset strategies use proprietary models to allocate among mutual funds and ETFs, including but limiting exposure to its own funds. Fixed-income portfolios may hold government, corporate, and municipal bonds, with a focus on liquidity and issuer strength. Equity portfolios may include large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, international, dividend income, sustainable and disciplined equity.
The firm may also employ covered call strategies and selectively incorporate ETFs or preferred stocks to meet client objectives.
Fees Under Madison Investment Advisors
Madison Investment Advisors charges a management fee that’s based on a percentage of your total assets under management (AUM). The exact rate you will be charged will vary depending on the type of account you open and the size of your account. Equity and balanced accounts follow the schedule below:
| Equity/Balanced Account Management Fees | |
| Account Size | Annual Fee Rate |
| Up to $15MM | 0.80% |
| Above $15MM | 0.60% |
Fixed-Income accounts adhere to a slightly different set of charges:
| Fixed-Income and Multi-Asset Account Management Fees | |
| Account Size | Annual Fee Rate |
| Up to $5MM | 0.50% |
| Above $5MM | 0.40% |
What to Watch Out For
With certain clients, Madison Investment Advisors may enter into a performance-based fee arrangement, in which the client pays a fee for portfolio performance that exceeds some agreed-upon benchmark. This type of fee arrangement creates the potential for a conflict of interest, as the firm may have an incentive to take risks and favor accounts for which it receives these fees.
Madison Investment Advisors doesn’t have any disclosures, which means its regulatory record is clean in the eyes of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Opening an Account With Madison Investment Advisors
If you’re interested in starting a relationship with Madison Investment Advisors, you can reach out in a couple of different ways. You can call the firm’s headquarters at (800) 767-0300, or you can visit the firm’s website and fill out a form with your name, contact info and a message.
Tips for Finding a Financial Advisor
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