Finding a Top Financial Advisor Firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Big cities like Pittsburgh have no shortage of financial advisors, so it can be tough to narrow them down and know which one will best fit your needs. To make the search a bit easier for investors in the Steel City, SmartAsset determined Pittsburgh’s top 10 financial advisor firms and ranked them according to assets under management. In tables and reviews, we lay out the key facts on each firm to help you determine which one is the best fit for you. If you don’t have a financial advisor yet, finding one doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Find a Fiduciary Financial Advisor
We match nearly 50,000 people with financial advisors per month. Get connected to an advisor that serves your area today.Rank | Financial Advisor | Assets Managed | Minimum Assets | Financial Services | More Information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Greycourt & Co., Inc. ![]() | $5,511,789,755 | $400,000 annual minimum fee |
| Minimum Assets$400,000 annual minimum feeFinancial Services
|
2 | Allegheny Financial Group, LTD ![]() | $4,904,134,773 | None |
| Minimum AssetsNoneFinancial Services
|
3 | Cookson Peirce Wealth Management ![]() | $2,323,321,323 | $1,000,000 |
| Minimum Assets$1,000,000Financial Services
|
Let us help match you with up to three vetted fiduciary financial advisors.Answer a few questions to get matched. | |||||
4 | Guyasuta Investment Advisors, Inc. ![]() | $2,353,148,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Minimum Assets$1,000,000Financial Services
|
5 | Hunter Associates, LLC ![]() | $1,201,488,433 | No set account minimum |
| Minimum AssetsNo set account minimumFinancial Services
|
6 | Henry H. Armstrong Associates, Inc. ![]() | $1,143,301,792 | $2,000,000 |
| Minimum Assets$2,000,000Financial Services
|
7 | The Coury Firm | $1,189,533,934 | $30,000 minimum annual fee |
| Minimum Assets$30,000 minimum annual feeFinancial Services
|
8 | D.B. Root & Company, LLC ![]() | $829,797,025 | No set account minimum |
| Minimum AssetsNo set account minimumFinancial Services
|
9 | Milestone Asset Management, LLC ![]() | $546,273,689 | $25,000 |
| Minimum Assets$25,000Financial Services
|
10 | Trebuchet Consulting, LLC ![]() | $921,440,185 | No set account minimum |
| Minimum AssetsNo set account minimumFinancial Services
|
What We Use in Our Methodology
To find the top financial advisors in Pittsburgh, we first identified all firms registered with the SEC in the city. Next, we filtered out firms that don't offer financial planning services, those that don't serve primarily individual clients and those that have disclosures on their record. The qualifying firms were then ranked according to the following criteria:
- AUMFirms with more total assets under management are ranked higher.
- Individual Client CountFirms who serve more individual clients (as opposed to institutional clients) are ranked higher.
- Clients Per AdvisorFirms with a lower ratio of clients per financial advisor are ranked higher.
- Age of FirmFirms that have been in business longer are ranked higher.
All information is obtained through public records and is updated annually after the firms’ form ADV filing. This list may include firms that have a business relationship with SmartAsset, in which SmartAsset is compensated for lead referrals. Such relationships have no impact on our rankings, and firms are included and ranked based strictly on the above criteria. SmartAsset is not a client of the aforementioned firms, and did not receive compensation for including any of the firms on the aforementioned list.
Greycourt & Co, Inc.
Greycourt and its Principals have been providing comprehensive investment advice to sophisticated investors for over 30 years. Greycourt offers investment advisory services to ultra-high net worth families and family offices, including foundations controlled by or affiliated with client families. The firms services are divided into three categories that include investment advisory services, collaborative solutions and organizational solutions.
Greycourt’s fee is based on the services provided to the client, the amount of client assets advised by the firm (which may include cash and assets held in money market funds and some legacy or client-directed assets) and on the degree of complexity of the engagement. The degree of complexity is affected by various factors including the number of family units and generations involved, the complexity of the estate planning vehicles, the presence or absence of endowed foundations, the presence of a closely held company, and the number of face-to-face meetings expected.
Greycourt provides asset allocation analysis, strategic and tactical asset allocation, and specific investment recommendations for clients across asset classes, employing a broad range of implementation strategies. Greycourt utilizes information from a broad range of sources, including economic and market analysis, databases, and news sources, among others. However, Greycourt relies most heavily on its own analysis, particularly in its efforts associated with capital markets forecasting and manager due diligence.
Allegheny Financial Group
Allegheny Financial Group offers investment management and financial planning services to clients. The firm offers investment management services, comprehensive portfolio management, financial planning and more. It primarily works with individuals, high net worth individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporation and other business entities, pension plans, individual retirement account plans, profit sharing plans and private funds.
The firm's advisory fees for investment management services are generally based on a percentage of assets under management and exclude costs that may be imposed by your custodian, broker-dealer and any independent managers. Advisory fees for services are set forth in our investment management agreement with you. The fees may range from 0.35% to 1.00%.
The firm chooses investments based on a number of factors that include client objectives. The firm's advisors draw upon their extensive experience and ask questions with the goals to discover key client issues and concerns, and to build a meaningful evaluation of your finances. These questions include determining your risk tolerance, education needs, retirement objectives, long and short-term goals and objectives. The firm analyzes your assets and liabilities and evaluate your risk tolerances to develop a clear picture of your financial status.
Cookson Peirce Wealth Management
CooksonPeirce Wealth Management requires a $1 million account minimum for new clients, though it may make exceptions to this rule. Despite this, CooksonPeirce primarily serves non-high-net-worth individuals, though its client base also includes high-net-worth individuals, trusts, endowments, pensions, foundations, businesses and investment companies.
CooksonPeirce provides asset management services, as well as advice on financial planning, tax planning and retirement planning. In addition, CooksonPeirce provides asset management services to professional advisors at financial institutions.
CooksonPeirce Wealth Management's investment philosophy is to "listen to the numbers," which, it points out, "simply don't lie." The firm relies on a quantitative selection methodology to eliminate the possibility of emotions or subjectivity entering into its investment selection process. The firm primarily uses equities and fixed-income securities, including stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and bonds. Equity investments are managed through one of four strategies: aggressive, growth, moderate and conservative.
Guyasuta Investment Advisors
Guyasuta Investment Advisors primarily serves high-net-worth individuals, but it also works with non-high-net-worth individuals, pension plans, charitable organizations, government entities and corporations. The firm has an account minimum of $1 million, though it may be willing to waive this stipulation
Guyasuta provides investment management and financial planning services, and will work with your other financial advisors to ensure it crafts a lasting, comprehensive solution. The firm says that it’s structured to allow its team to work collaboratively. At least one partner works closely with each client.
Guyasuta Investment Advisors determines specific objectives and risk tolerance before it builds your portfolio and determines the appropriate asset allocation. It prioritizes minimizing taxes, controlling risk and reducing fees and other expenses.
The firm primarily uses individual equity and fixed-income securities. Guyasuta employs two investment philosophies: equity philosophy and fixed income philosophy. The equity philosophy is focused on risk management, diversification and direct ownership to drive long-term capital appreciation. The fixed income philosophy, on the other hand, is focused on the generation of steady income and the preservation of capital. While the equity strategy uses equity securities of high-quality companies across multiple sectors and industries, the fixed income strategy uses individual bonds, with a focus on issuers who have strong credit fundamentals.
Hunter Associates
Hunter Associates stands out on this list for not having a set account minimum. The firm serves both non-high-net-worth individuals and high-net-worth individuals, with the former making up a greater percentage of the firm’s client base. Hunter Associates employs certified financial planners (CFPs), chartered financial analysts (CFAs), accredited investment fiduciaries (AIFs). There are other financially certified advisors at the firm as well.
The firm's services include individual portfolio management and financial planning. It has offerings for investors with complex financial situations who need tailored advice and planning, as well as more traditional services, like estate planning, charitable giving, legacy planning, college funding, retirement strategies or tax planning.
Hunter Associates' investment approach is a two-step process. First, the firm works with a client to create his or her individualized investment policy, which is focused on determining a portfolios balance between risk and reward and which serves as the general framework for a client's portfolio. After that, Hunter Associates selects securities using research tools and outside sources.
The firm believes in long-term investing, and it says that it typically seeks out "small, sound companies that offer substantial appreciation opportunities." Hunter Associates divides clients' assets into four risk-based categories of investments: conservative fixed-income, conservative, high-grade growth and aggressive growth for appreciation. The firm believes that owning a "carefully selected mixture" of conservative, high-grade growth and aggressive growth for appreciation is "the most appropriate asset allocation to assume risk for incremental reward."
Henry H. Armstrong Associates
Henry H. Armstrong Associates is the next firm on our Pittsburgh list. While Henry H. Armstrong Associates’ advisory team is small, its account minimum is not. The firm’s minimum account size is $2 million, one of the highest minimums on this list. As you might expect, the firm serves primarily high-net-worth individuals, but its client base also includes non-high-net-worth individuals. This might be due to the fact that the firm will waive its account minimum at its discretion.
The firm's clients include individuals, families, trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, corporate assets, charitable organizations and pooled investment vehicles. These clients are spread across 25 states and two countries outside of the U.S. It also offers continuous investment advisory services as well as wealth advisory services.
Henry H. Armstrong's eponymous founder's investment philosophy mirrors the approaches of Benjamin Graham, widely known as the father of value investing, and Warren Buffett. Graham advises investors to avoid getting emotional about market declines, and to be wary of stocks that become too expensive, even if the companies have strong fundamentals. Of Buffett's principles, Armstrong embraces his advice to embrace market volatility and a period of inactivity after stock purchases. While most firms on this list embrace the conventional strategy of diversification, Armstrong is guided by Buffet's counterintuitive strategy of concentrating portfolios.
The Coury Firm
The Coury Firm, an advisory firm run by the Coury family, is next on our list. While the firm doesn’t have an explicit account minimum, it does charge a minimum annual fee of $30,000, which may make its services cost-prohibitive to clients with smaller portfolios. The Coury Firm works with individuals with and without a high net worth, pooled investment vehicles, pension plans, charitable organizations and corporations.
The Coury Firm offers investment advisory services and wealth planning services to individuals, families, trusts and foundations. The firm also provides investment management services to affiliated investment funds.
The Coury Firm typically provides investment management services in one of two ways: allocating a client’s assets entirely with third-party managers/funds, or divvying the assets between firm-affiliated funds and third-party managers/funds. The firm will factor in each client’s preferences, financial situation and liquidity needs when choosing between the two approaches.
When constructing a client’s portfolio, the firm first focuses on asset allocation, seeking to strike a balance between diversifying risk and earning steady returns. Using proprietary tools and published information, the firm calculates an allocation that maximizes expected return for a given level of risk, matching that risk level to the client’s risk tolerance.
D.B. Root & Company
D.B. Root & Company offers a wide range of services to several different types of individual and institutional investors. Certain advisors at this fee-based firm are licensed insurance agents or representatives of a broker-dealer, and they can sell products on a commission basis. However, because the firm is a fiduciary, its legally required to put its clients' bests interests first.
There is no set account balance minimum. The firm's services include business planning, cash flow forecasting, trust and estate planning, financial reporting, retirement planning, risk management, tax planning and more. These services are all available on a standalone basis or in conjunction with investment management for more comprehensive wealth management.
D.B. Root & Company's investment committee carries out the process through the creation, management and review of client portfolios, which take into consideration their goals, risk tolerance and life stage. A key part of the investment committee strategy is a robust asset allocation process. D.B. Root & Company's portfolios are made up of a mix of low-cost securities, cash, bonds and stocks.
Milestone Asset Management
Milestone Asset Management is a mid-sized financial advisor firm that primarily works with individual clients. Most of these individuals do not have a high net worth. Other clients of the firm include retirement plans, charities and businesses. The firm technically has a $25,000 minimum account size, though it may be willing to waive this.
As a fee-based firm, some of Milestone’s advisors can sell insurance products to clients on a commission basis. While this represents a potential conflict of interest, the firm’s fiduciary duty requires it to act in your best interest at all times. Investment management at Milestone is customized to clients’ needs. Financial planning can cover topics like insurance, retirement, estate planning, debt consolidation and more.
Milestone Asset Management works with new clients to build out a personalized investment policy statement, or IPS. This will detail all the specifics of their situation and needs, such as their risk tolerance, income and liquidity needs, time horizon and overarching goals. Following the creation of your IPS, your advisor will put together a specific investment plan for you. These typically include some combination of stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), structured notes and options.
Trebuchet Consulting
Trebuchet Consulting is a large registered investment advisor that offers, on a non-discretionary basis, financial planning and wealth management services to high-networth individuals, their related trusts, charitable organizations and other entities. The firm invests client funds in are stocks, mutual funds, alternative investments, real estate and bonds.
As a fee-based firm revenue may be received from third parties for the sale of insurance products like annuities. However, as a fiduciary Trebuchet is obligated to put client interests first, at all times.
A client’s goals are broken into near-term, intermediate- and long-term goals. The historical return and volatility of different asset classes are the basis of the firm's target allocation for each client. The target asset allocation and type of investments recommended reflect that liquidity and little volatility are a priority for near-term goals. For investments and long-term goals, portfolios can have greater volatility in order to target greater returns.