Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC (Boston)

Name: Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC
Address: Prudential Tower, Boston, MA, 02199 3600
Telephone: 617-235-4260

Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC is a large advisory firm based in Boston. It manages $4.26 billion of regulatory assets for 2,760 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2014 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alaska, Arizona, California, and 32 other states.

Ropes Wealth Advisors provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, and selection of other advisers. It prepares financial plans for more than 50 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Ropes Wealth Advisors: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC is $4.26 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 57% since the beginning of its operation, and $28.39 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $4.12 billion in discretionary accounts and $138.81 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $1.52 million each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $2.52 million.

Ropes Wealth Advisors has custody of $1.32 billion in cash and securities for 340 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in investment and business development companies the most. They account for 66% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is exchange traded securities, which make up 13% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in state and local bonds form 9% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, and fixed fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Ropes Wealth Advisors serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, and high net worth individuals. The largest group of clients of Ropes Wealth Advisors is high net worth individuals with 631 clients and $3.44 billion of assets under management. Among the 12 most similar advisory firms, Ropes Wealth Advisors has the highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $3.9 billion for 1,097 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Ropes Wealth Advisors doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC

The company employs 34 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 29 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 10 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There are 2 people with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Kristin Dibarnaba Fazio joined the executive team most recently as the Chief Compliance Officer.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Ropes & Gray Llp	Sole member	1 May 2013	75% - 100%	04-2233412
Hugh Anthony Simons	Chief executive officer	1 May 2013	Other	6250141
Stephen Riley Shirley	Chief compliance officer	1 May 2013	Other	6250148
Martin Hall	Management committee member	1 Jan 2014	Other	6438078
Kristin Dibarnaba Fazio	Chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2015	Other	5521276
Michelle Ann Knight	Chief investment officer, chief economist	1 Jan 2015	Other	2866359
Robert Newman Shapiro	Management committee chair	1 Jan 2015	Other	6438074
Martin Anthony Hall	Management committee member	1 Jan 2015	Other	6438078
Robert N Shapiro	Management committee chair	1 Jan 2015	Other	6438074
Michelle A Knight	Chief investment officer, chief economist	1 Jan 2015	Other	2866359
Martin Hall	Management committee member	1 Jan 2015	Other	6438078
Robert Newman Shapiro	Chief executive officer	1 Sep 2016	Other	6438074

Based in Boston

The principal office where Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC performs its advisory services is located at Prudential Tower, Boston, MA 02199 3600, which is also the mailing address of the firm. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 617-235-4260 or by fax 617-235-4261. The normal business hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at ropeswealthadvisors.com.