Wetherby Asset Management is a privately owned firm, with a group of employee-owners handling the firm's advisory business. The investment and financial advisory firm in San Francisco have billions in assets under management (AUM). Wetherby's large staff of financial advisors provides personalized investment management and wealth planning services to nearly 600 individual clients. This group is dominated by high-net-worth individuals. This firm also appears on SmartAsset's ranking of San Francisco's top financial advisors.
Wetherby is a fee-only firm. This means that it only receives compensation from fees charged to clients’ accounts, which helps it avoid conflicts of interest. By contrast, a fee-based operation may earn commissions from insurance or securities transactions, incentivizing it to recommend such transactions.
Wetherby Asset Management Background
In 1990, Deb Wetherby left her job at Morgan Stanley to found Wetherby Asset Management. She remains the firm’s CEO to this day and holds chartered financial analyst (CFA) and certified financial planner (CFP) certifications. Wetherby Asset Management is owned by a collection of 26 principals, all but five of whom are employees.
The financial advisors at Wetherby hold a number of degrees and certifications. These include chartered alternative investment analysts (CAIAs), certified divorce financial analysts (CDFAs), CFAs, CFPs and more.
Wetherby Asset Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Wetherby primarily works with high-net-worth individuals. Its client base also includes individuals without a high net worth, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, government entities, pooled investment vehicles and businesses.
Weatherby adheres to a minimum account size of $10 million. However, this minimum is negotiable on a client-to-client basis. If you don't have enough investable assets to meet this minimum, you can find another financial advisor with our financial advisor matching tool.
Services Offered by Wetherby Asset Management
Wetherby constructs investment portfolios for each of its clients in order to meet their specific needs. This customization takes into account factors like their risk tolerance, time horizon, liquidity requirements and investing objectives. It typically manages portfolios under one of the three guidelines below:
- Discretionary arrangement: The client cedes investment decision-making control to their advisor, who will act in accordance with their interests.
- Non-discretionary arrangement: Under this agreement, the client’s advisor must run all transactions by them prior to initiating any transactions.
- Consulting arrangement: The advisor will give the client investment advice, but they won’t have direct access to their portfolio in any way.
Wetherby also provides financial planning, wealth planning and other consulting services to clients. These offerings encompass retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, education savings planning and more.
Wetherby Asset Management Investment Philosophy
Like many modern firms, Wetherby Asset Management tends to stick to long-term investing, with a time horizon of at least a year for most securities. This doesn’t preclude the firm from selling investments on a shorter-term basis, though, as market conditions may call for such a move. Wetherby is also experienced in helping clients with impact investing and socially responsible investing (SRI).
On its website, Wetherby cites the three main components of its portfolio construction process:
- Asset allocation: Wetherby likes to invest in a wide range of asset classes in an attempt to ensure long-term success through diversification.
- Manager selection: The firm tries to match clients with fund managers that utilize active management to achieve solid risk-adjusted returns.
- Implementation: Wetherby’s advisors aim to minimize trading costs to keep from wasting your investable assets. It believes this can help induce positive results on a long-term basis.
Wetherby Asset Management Fees
Wetherby Asset Management uses a simple fee schedule that varies depending on the size of your portfolio. The firm does not charge performance-based fees in addition to its regular fee schedule.
| Fees for Accounts Under $10,000,000 | |
| Account Size | Annual Fee |
| First $3,000,000 | 1% |
| $3,000,000 - $9,000,000 | 0.75% |
| $9,000,000 - $10,000,000 | 0% |
| Fees for Accounts Over $10,000,000 | |
| Account Size | Annual Fee |
| First $10,000,000 | 0.75% |
| $10,000,000 - $40,000,000 | 0.55% |
| $40,000,000 - $80,000,000 | 0.25% |
| $80,000,000 and up | 0.15% |
The above fees are paid quarterly, in advance, based on the total market value of your account at the conclusion of the preceding quarter. You can pay these charges either via a direct withdrawal from your brokerage account or through a quarterly invoice that’s payable by check.
| *Estimated investment management fees do not include brokerage, custodial, third-party manager or other fees, which can vary in amount. | |
| Estimated Investment Management Fees at Wetherby Asset Management* | |
| Your Assets | Wetherby Asset Management Fee Amount |
| $500K | $5,000 |
| $1MM | $10,000 |
| $5MM | $45,000 |
| $10MM | $75,000 |
| $50MM | $265,000 |
Wetherby Asset Management Awards and Recognition
Wetherby earned a spot on the Financial Times' 300 Top Registered Investment Advisors lists in 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2020. In addition, Forbes and Barron's recognized the firm on each of their 2020 lists of the top advisors in California. Forbes and Barron's also named the firm on each of their 2020 lists of the Top Women Wealth Advisors and Top Women Financial Advisors, respectively.
What to Watch Out For
There are no disclosures listed on Wetherby Asset Management’s Form ADV, which means it has a clean legal and regulatory record with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Opening an Account With Wetherby Asset Management
To open an account with Wetherby, you can call (415) 399-9159 or send an email to info@wetherby.com. Otherwise, feel free to stop by either of the firm’s branches.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
Tips for Investing
- While some may have trouble reaching Wetherby's $10 million account minimum, many advisors have much lower requirements. Finding a financial advisor 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.
- Remember that investments held outside of a tax-advantaged retirement account will be subject to taxation on earnings. To figure out how much you might owe, stop by our capital gains tax calculator.
