Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services, Inc.
Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services, Inc. is a financial advisor firm based in Mansfield, Ohio. The firm offers services such as financial planning, portfolio management and pension consulting services. The firm works almost exclusively with high-net-worth and non-high-net-worth individuals, though it also has some institutional clients as well.
As a fee-only firm, Pinnacle Wealth earns all of its compensation from client-paid fees. Conversely, a fee-based firm would earn those fees in addition to commissions from insurance and securities sales.
Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Background
Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services, Inc. (also known as Pinnacle) is an SEC-registered investment advisor that began conducting business in 1998. The firm's headquarters are located in Mansfield, Ohio and it has additional offices in both Medina and Columbus, Ohio as well as Saint Petersburg, Florida. The firm is a family-owned Corporation and it currently serves the wealth management needs of clients across 28 US states.
Many of the firm's investment advisory representatives (IARs) hold specialized financial designations, such as CFA (chartered financial analyst), CFP (certified financial planner), ChFC (chartered financial consultant), CMFC (chartered mutual fund counselor), CLU (chartered life underwriter) and AAMS (accredited asset management specialist), among others.
Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
The firm provides investment advice the following types of clients:
- Non-high-net-worth individuals
- High-net-worth individuals
- Pension and profit-sharing plans (other than plan participants)
- Charitable foundations
- Corporations or other businesses not listed above
The firm has certain initial minimum account requirements that vary based on the nature of the service or services that the client receives.
Services Offered by Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services
Pinnacle offers a variety of advisor services to its clients. It requires that individual clients use its wealth management programs, which include financial planning or educational services, in order to use other advisory services. The firm bundles financial planning with investment advisory and Quarterback Services to create its formal Wealth Management Services. The services are as follows:
- Formal wealth management programs: financial planning services, investment advisory services, independent manager selection, client portal and quarterback administration services
- Informal wealth management programs: financial planning education, planning coordination and investment advisory services
- Financial planning: personal finance, tax and cash flow, investments, insurance, retirement, estate, and death and disability
- Investment advisory services: continuous advice to a client regarding the investment of client funds based on the client's individual goals and objectives; offered on both a discretionary and non-discretionary basis
- Independent managers: the firm may allocate a portion of client assets among affiliated independent investment managers
- Quarterback service: provides administration and coordination of investment planning services alongside client's other professional advisors
- Pension consulting services: retirement plan consulting services under the alternate name Pinnacle Fiduciary Consulting Group (PFCG), which offers these services to retirement plan sponsors and to individual participants in retirement plans
Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Investing Philosophy
Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services uses a long-term purchasing strategy, which means that it buys securities with the idea that it will hold them in the client's account for one year or longer. The firm employs this strategy with all clients, insofar as this strategy is in keeping with the needs of the client as well as the client's investment objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon and other factors.
Fees Under Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services
Advisory fees at Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services are charged as a percentage of AUM according to a tiered fee schedule. Fees may be negotiable on a client-by-client basis. The fee schedule goes as follows:
| Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Advisory Fee Schedule | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| Up to $500,000 | 1.20% |
| $500,001 to $1,000,000 | 1.00% |
| $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 | 0.90% |
| $2,000,001 to $3,000,000 | 0.80% |
| $3,000,001 to $4,000,000 | 0.70% |
| $4,000,001 to $5,000,000 | 0.60% |
| $5,000,001 to $10,000,000 | 0.40% |
| More than $10,000,000 | 0.30% |
Differences may apply depending on complexity of your personal needs. Below is the estimated dollar amount you'll pay in advisory fees based on the size of your account:
| *Estimated investment management fees do not include brokerage, custodial, third-party manager or other fees, which can vary in amount. | |
| Estimated Investment Management Fees for Portfolio Management Services at Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services* | |
| Your Assets | Annual Fee Amount Charged on All AUM |
| $500,000 | $6,000 |
| $1MM | $11,000 |
| $5MM | $41,000 |
| $10MM | $61,000 |
For financial planning and consulting, the firm charges a fixed project-based fee. These fees are negotiable but range usually from $2,000 to $20,000 depending on scope and complexity of services.
For Quarterback program fees, basic fees are included in the client's Wealth Management Program fee; however, Comprehensive Quarterback Services fees depend on how complex each client's circumstances are. These fees are charged on a fixed-fee basis, usually ranging between $2,000 and $20,000.
For asset tracking and performance reporting, fees are charged based on the amount of non-managed assets being tracked. For retirement plan consulting services, minimum fees, standard fees and upper limit fees depend on the amount of assets as well as whether the assets are eligible for flat-fee pricing; fees for this service are also negotiable based on various factors.
What to Watch Out For
Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services has a clean legal and regulatory record according to its SEC-filed Form ADV.
Opening an Account With Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services
To open an account with Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services, you can visit the firm's website or call (419) 526-5226.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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