Ascend Financial Consultants, Inc. (Pasadena)


Ascend Financial Consultants, Inc. is a large advisory firm based in Pasadena. It manages $97.16 million of regulatory assets for 361 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2017 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California, Nevada, and Texas.

Ascend Financial Consultants provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, and pension consulting services. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Ascend Financial Consultants: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Ascend Financial Consultants, Inc. is $97.16 million, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 7% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $97.16 million in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $269.13 thousand each.
Ascend Financial Consultants has custody of $63.15 million in cash and securities for 242 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 36% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is exchange traded securities, which make up 32% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in cash and cash equivalents form 21% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Ascend Financial Consultants, Inc. for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, and fixed fees. Flat-fee based compensation is the most transparent and the one you can safely predict in advance. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Ascend Financial Consultants serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, high net worth individuals, corporations or other businesses, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Ascend Financial Consultants is high net worth individuals with 39 clients and $61.78 million of assets under management. Among the 9 most similar advisory firms, Ascend Financial Consultants has the 5th highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $97.16 million for 168 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.

Ascend Financial Consultants doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Ascend Financial Consultants, Inc.

The company employs 2 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 50 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. Only one employee is registered as an investment adviser representative with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone 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.

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Stephanie Ann Dewitt President, chief compliance officer 1 Mar 2004 75% - 100% 723803

Based in Pasadena

The principal office where Ascend Financial Consultants, Inc. performs its advisory services is located at 200 East Del Mar, Pasadena, CA 91105, 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 626-405-0256 or by fax 626-405-0257. The normal business hours are 7am - 4pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at ascendfc.com.