Plancorp, LLC is a financial advisor firm headquartered in St. Louis with branches in Nashville, San Francisco, Boca Raton, Florida, and Sarasota, Florida. The firm is on SmartAsset's top financial advisor list for both St. Louis and Missouri.
Plancorp is a fee-only firm, which means that all of its compensation comes from the management fees that clients pay. This is different from a fee-based firm, which may also earn compensation through commission-based transactions like insurance sales. By sticking strictly to client fees, a fee-only firm like Plancorp can avoid many conflicts of interest.
Plancorp Background
Plancorp can trace its history back to 1983 when it was founded under the name FFG Plancorp, Inc. The firm shifted to its current name two years later. It’s currently owned by 28 direct owners, 24 of whom are employees of Plancorp.
Plancorp's team of advisors include those holding the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), accredited investment fiduciary (AIF), chartered financial analyst (CFA) and certified public accountant (CPA) designations.
Plancorp Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Plancorp's client base is made up of individuals (both with and without a high net worth). The firm also works with pensions and other qualified retirement plans, charitable organizations and businesses.
Plancorp doesn’t typically impose a minimum size for new or existing client accounts. However, the firm may charge a minimum annual fee of $12,000 for wealth management services, which may include investment management, financial planning, estate planning coordination, cash flow planning and other areas of need. For those with less to invest, this minimum could cause Plancorp's services to not be cost effective. That said, Plancorp may waive or reduce its minimum annual fee at its discretion.
Services Offered By Plancorp
Plancorp offers a wide range of services to its clients, spanning several broad categories, including financial planning, investment management, retirement plan advisory services, institutional investment management and more. Here's a detailed breakdown:
- Financial planning
- Financial goal-setting
- Cash flow and income tax analysis
- Capital needs assessment
- Education funding analysis
- Retirement planning
- Estate planning
- Asset protection planning
- Investment management
- Intelligent Investor Solutions
- Ongoing portfolio monitoring
- Periodic portfolio rebalancings
- Family office services
- Financial organization and accounting
- Recordkeeping
- Advanced income tax planning
- Retirement plan advisory services
- Trustee meetings
- Investment selection
Plancorp Investment Philosophy
Plancorp’s investment philosophy is grounded in modern portfolio theory, with a focus on long-term asset allocation and systematic diversification. Rather than attempting to time markets or select individual securities, the firm emphasizes building portfolios that align with each client’s risk tolerance, objectives and investment horizon.
Plancorp primarily constructs client portfolios using mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and separately managed accounts (SMAs). Among the fund providers it recommends are Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) and Avantis Investors.
Plancorp does not typically recommend individual stocks, bonds or actively managed mutual funds. Instead, its approach emphasizes consistency, tax efficiency and disciplined portfolio rebalancing, guided by each client’s Investment Policy Statement. Regular monitoring and performance reviews support ongoing alignment with the client's financial goals
Fees Under Plancorp
Plancorp calculates the advisory fees that it charges using the market value of each client's AUM. The fees you pay will be a percentage of your AUM, with the exact rate depending on the size of your account. For the firm's flagship wealth management services, the fee schedule goes as follows:
| Wealth Management Services | |
| Assets Under Management | Fee Percentage |
| First $2MM | 1.00% |
| Next $2MM | 0.75% |
| Next $2MM | 0.60% |
| Next $4MM | 0.50% |
| Next $15MM | 0.45% |
| Next $20MM | 0.40% |
| Next $30MM | 0.35% |
| Above $75MM | 0.30% |
You can refer to this table to see how wealth management fees at Plancorp match up against a typical firm. Note, however, that these are only estimates, and your experience could vary from the figures presented here.
What to Watch Out For
As of its latest filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Plancorp reported no disclosures of legal or disciplinary action.
Opening an Account With Plancorp
There are a number of different ways to contact Plancorp. You can call the firm’s headquarters directly at (636) 532-7824 or toll-free at (888) 220-1163. You can also schedule a free call with the firm directly on its website by picking a date and time and filling out a brief inquiry form. Lastly, if you’d rather skip the inquiry form, you can send an email to info@plancorp.com.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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