Eide Bailly Advisors is a financial advisor firm with over a billion dollars in client assets under management (AUM). Its principal office is in Fargo, North Dakota. The firm's investment advisors manage accounts, both discretionary and non-discretionary, as well as offer financial planning, pension consulting and portfolio managment.
As a fee-based operation, certain on-staff advisors at Eide Bailly can earn commissions from the sale of financial products, in addition to client-paid fees. This differs from a fee-only firm that only earns compensation from client fees.
Eide Bailly Advisors Background
Eide Bailly Advisors, LLC has been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since September 2005. It is wholly owned by Eide Bailly Financial Services, LLC, which is wholly owned and operated by Eide Bailly, LLP. Jeremy Hauk serves as managing partner and CEO.
Beyond its North Dakota HQ, the firm has branches across the U.S.
Eide Bailly Advisors Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Eide Bailly Advisors generally advises the following types of clients:
- Non-high-net-worth individuals
- High-net-worth individuals
- Pension and profit-sharing plans, qualified retirement plans, 403(b) plans
- Trusts, estates or charitable organizations
- Corporations or businesses
At this firm, specific sub-advisors and affiliate programs do have minimum account sizes: Symmetry Partners as sub-advisor has a minimum account size of $10,000 and Parametric as sub-advisor has a minimum of $250,000; Seasons Direct (an automated program clients open at Charles Schwab) has a minimum account size of $5,000 and a minimum for its tax-harvesting feature of $50,000. Written financial plans have a $750 minimum fee.
Services Offered by Eide Bailly Advisors
The firm offers one-time or ongoing online or printed financial plans via its Eide Bailly WealthOne Client Portal; these services do not involve active management of accounts but rather focus on the client's overall situation. Generally, financial planning recommendations from Eide Bailly are generic in nature and do not involve the recommendation of specific investment products.
Eide Bailly offers one-time or recurring investment advice and pension consulting services upon request.
The firm offers advisory services by referring clients to third-party money managers, who are responsible for continuously monitoring client accounts and making trades when necessary. Investment selection and monitoring services consist of four distinct aspects: investment policy statement preparation, selection of investment vehicles, monitoring investment performance and employee communications (educational support via webinars or seminars).
Seasons Direct is an automated investment program that clients open at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. through which client assets are invested in a range of customized strategies. Each account consists of a portfolio of ETFs and a cash allocation. Seasons Direct investments are managed as a model portfolio (aggregating clients), not individual portfolio asset analysis.
Additionally, the firm offers advisory services for qualified retirement plans as well IRA rollovers.
Eide Bailly Advisors Investing Philosophy
The overall investment philosophy at Eide Bailly Advisors is a strategic and passive asset allocation approach, meaning that the firm's investment strategy aims to balance both risk and reward in the client's portfolio by apportioning assets according to the client's goals, risk tolerance and investment horizon. There are three main asset classes (equities, fixed income and cash or cash equivalents) with different levels of risk and return over time. When considering investment strategies and recommendations for the client, Eide Bailly uses the following types of analysis:
- Fundamental analysis: attempt to measure the intrinsic value of a security by looking at economic and financial factors
- Technical analysis: analysis of how the market has performed historically
- Cyclical analysis: measurement of the movements of a particular stock against the overall market
Eide Bailly may use the following strategies when implementing their recommendations:
- Long-term purchases of securities
- Short-term purchases of securities
- Trading securities (sold within 30 days)
- Margin transactions - securities transactions in which the investor borrows money to purchase a security, making the security collateral on the loan
- Option purchases and option writing
The firm sources information from financial newspapers and magazines, research materials prepared by others, corporate rating services, timing services, annual reports, prospectuses and filings with the SEC and company press releases.
Fees Under Eide Bailly Advisors
Fees for written financial plans and consultations can be either hourly or charged as a fixed fee, to be determined by the client. Hourly fees are $300 per hour. Fixed fees range from $750 to $25,000 depending on the nature and complexity of the client's circumstances. If a retainer is required when the advisory agreement is signed, it will not exceed half of the quote fee and the remainder will be due upon the plan's presentation.
Standard annual asset management fees also depend on the nature, size and complexity of the client's account. They are charged as a tier percentage and range from 0.25% to 1.15% of the AUM. The maximum fee charged does not exceed 2% per year. Percentage fees are charged quarterly in advance based on the fair market value of the account at the end of the previous quarter.
Fees for retirement plan advisory services are negotiated based on certain variables: asset size, account size, number of employees, complexity of the plan investment options selected by the sponsor and the level of the services agreed upon.
Clients in the Seasons Direct program will be charged 0.60% of their AUM computed for each monthly billing period, with calculations being rounded to the nearest penny. Clients will pay brokerage commissions, transaction costs or other fees to Charles Schwab & Co. No fee waivers or discounts are available in this program.
If clients work with a third-party money manager or sub-advisor, the actual fee charged will vary depending on the sub-advisor and the selection of services that the client uses, but the portion retained by Eide Bailly as solicitor fees or consulting fees will not exceed 2%. Fees are calculated and deducted directly from the client's custodial account.
What to Watch Out For
Eide Bailly Advisors does not have any disclosures on its SEC-filed Form ADV. You can view its latest Form ADV on the official website of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
It is important to note that advisors at Eide Bailly Advisors may also be broker-dealer representatives. Employees acting in these roles generally receive transaction-based fees, which can be a potential conflict of interest. That said, as an SEC-registered investment advisor, the firm is legally obligated to uphold its fiduciary duty and work in clients’ best interests at all times.
Opening an Account With Eide Bailly Advisors
To open an account with Eide Bailly, you can visit the firm's website or call (701) 476-8759.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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