Finding a Top Financial Advisor Firm in Southfield, Michigan
Southfield, Michigan is home to a relatively high number of financial advisor firms, so making a final decision on one can be tough. We researched company records and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to find the best contenders in the city. To further your search, use SmartAsset’s financial advisor matching tool. It connects you with up to three advisors who serve your area.
Find a Fiduciary Financial Advisor
We match more than 50,000 people with financial advisors per month. Get connected to an advisor that serves your area today.| Rank | Financial Advisor | Assets Managed | Minimum Assets | Financial Services | More Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plante Moran Financial Advisors  Find an Advisor | $16,742,515,079 | $500,000 |
| Minimum Assets$500,000Financial Services
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| 2 | Advance Capital Management, Inc.  Find an Advisor | $3,569,927,529 | No set account minimum |
| Minimum AssetsNo set account minimumFinancial Services
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| 3 | Telemus Capital, LLC  Find an Advisor | $3,361,836,038 | No set account minimum |
| Minimum AssetsNo set account minimumFinancial Services
|
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| 4 | Center For Financial Planning, Inc.  Find an Advisor | $1,443,669,806 | No set account minimum |
| Minimum AssetsNo set account minimumFinancial Services
|
| 5 | SkyOak Wealth LLC Find an Advisor | $471,851,536 | $200,000 |
| Minimum Assets$200,000Financial Services
|
| 6 | CIG Asset Management, Inc.  Find an Advisor | $209,435,781 | $100,000 |
| Minimum Assets$100,000Financial Services
|
| 7 | ELE Advisory Services  Find an Advisor | $105,821,826 | Founded in 2010 |
| Minimum AssetsFounded in 2010Financial Services
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| 8 | Lumin Financial, LLC  Find an Advisor | $214,280,855 | $250,000 |
| Minimum Assets$250,000Financial Services
|
What We Use in Our Methodology
To find the top financial advisors in Southfield, we first identified all firms registered with the SEC in the city. Next, we filtered out firms that don't offer financial planning services, those that don't serve primarily individual clients and those that have disclosures on their record. The qualifying firms were then ranked according to the following criteria:
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AUMFirms with more total assets under management are ranked higher. -
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Individual Client CountFirms who serve more individual clients (as opposed to institutional clients) are ranked higher. -
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Clients Per AdvisorFirms with a lower ratio of clients per financial advisor are ranked higher. -
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Age of FirmFirms that have been in business longer are ranked higher.
All information is obtained through public records and is updated annually after the firms’ form ADV filing. This list may include firms that have a business relationship with SmartAsset, in which SmartAsset is compensated for lead referrals. Such relationships have no impact on our rankings, and firms are included and ranked based strictly on the above criteria. SmartAsset is not a client of the aforementioned firms, and did not receive compensation for including any of the firms on the aforementioned list.
Plante Moran Financial Advisors, LLC
Plante Moran Financial Advisors LLC is a wealth advisory firm with a client base that includes non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as charitable organizations and corporations.
For portfolio management services, the firm will typically charge a percentage of your AUM that ranges from 0.25% to 0.90%, depending on the market value of your assets. Financial planning fees are typically charged at an hourly rate between $110 and $450.
PMFA is a fee-based firm, meaning its advisors may earn commissions on top of standard advisory fees - either through certain securities transactions or the sale of insurance products. While this may create a potential conflict of interest, the firm has a fiduciary duty to always act in its clients' best interests.
The firm's advisory team includes certified financial planners (CFPs) and chartered financial advisors (CFAs).
Plante Moran Financial Advisors Background
PMFA was established in 1993. The firm is a wholly owned affiliate of P&M Holding Group, LLP.
PMFA provides investment management, general financial planning, wealth management, estate planning, auditing, tax preparation and consulting services. Plante Moran generally imposes an account minimum of $500,000, but it may waive this requirement at its discretion.
Plante Moran Financial Advisors Investment Philosophy
PMFA typically invests in many different types of securities when constructing client portfolios. These include open-end mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), collective trusts, certificates of deposit (CDs), limited partnership interests, interests in limited liability companies, options contracts on securities, hedge funds and other alternative investments.
PMFA uses proprietary models to analyze investment options and attempt to find undervalued securities. The model will factor in statistics like P/E ratio, dividend yield, price-to-book ratio and others to formulate a market valuation that can be compared to historical averages. From time to time, the firm may recommend allocating a portion or all of a client’s portfolio to the advisement of an independent investment manager.
Advance Capital Management, Inc.
Fee-only Advance Capital Management, Inc. works with both non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and corporations.
Typically, the firm expects new clients to have varying amounts of minimum assets for different services that if offers. For investment management and financial planning services, the firm charges a percentage of your assets under management (AUM) from 0.65% to 1.00%. The firm may decide to negotiate a different fee agreement based on additional factors as well.
The advising team at ACM is spread across several offices. The team in Southfield includes staff members with professional designations as certified financial planner (CFP), chartered financial advisor (CFA), chartered alternative investment analyst (CAIA) and certified public accountant (CPA).
Advance Capital Management Background
Advance Capital Management was established in 1986. The firm is owned by holding company Advanced Capital Group, Inc., which itself has four owners. The principal owner is the ACG Employee Stock Ownership Plan, while minority owners include John Shoemaker, Raymond Rathka and Robert Cappelli.
The firm offers financial planning and investment consulting services for individuals and retirement plans.
Advance Capital Management Investing Philosophy
Advance Capital Management usually invests in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), provided that these securities fit in with a client’s risk tolerance and overall investment goals. The firm may also use alternative investments as a way to further diversify a portfolio.
When deciding on what funds to invest in, the firm considers factors like its risk-adjusted performance, size, manager tenure, Morningstar rating and availability to new investors. From there, the firm’s investment committee will further analyze and narrow down the options to a list of approved funds. To determine the proper asset allocation, advisors will consider the client’s risk tolerance, investment objectives, time horizon, income needs and tax circumstances.
Telemus Capital, LLC
Telemus Capital, LLC works with both non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as pooled investment vehicles, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, government entities and corporations.
The team at Telemus holds multiple certifications, including certified financial planners (CFPs), chartered financial advisors (CFAs), certified public accountants (CPAs) and accredited wealth managment advisors (AWMAs), among other designations.
The firm doesn’t have an account minimum, but it does impose a minimum annual fee of $3,750 per household. Note that this minimum may cause Telemus’ services to be cost prohibitive for low balances.
For investment management services, the firm will typically charge 0.55% to 1.25% of your invested assets. Financial planning fees are generally included in this rate. However, the firm may decide to charge a stand-alone fee for especially complex situations.
Telemus Capital Background
Telemus Capital is wholly owned by Focus Operating, LLC, which itself is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Focus Financial Partners, LLC, a financial services holding company.
The firm offers investment advisory and financial planning services to its clients, as well as consulting services for pensions and other qualified retirement plans.
Telemus Capital Investment Philosophy
A key aspect of the Telemus Capital investment process is fitting its strategy to individualized factors like your time horizon, need for liquidity, risk tolerance and investment goals. For most clients, the firm uses one of several model strategies: "Income Only," “Capital Preservation,” “Conservative,” "Conservative Income," “Moderate,” “Balanced,” “Aggressive,” "Ultra Aggressive" and "Growth Only."
Allocations of multiple asset classes (equities, fixed-income securities, alternative investments, cash) will be present in differing percentages in each model strategy, depending on the risk profile it adheres to. Every model will include some combination of individual equities, individual bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), alternative investments and potentially other investments too.
Center For Financial Planning, Inc.
The Center for Financial Planning, Inc. serves both non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals.
There is no minimum portfolio size required to work with the Center for Financial Planning.
As a fee-based firm, some advisors may earn commissions from certain transactions, thereby creating the potential for conflicts of interests. That said, the firm has a fiduciary duty always to act in the best interests of its clients.
Fees for investment management services tend to fall between 0.30% and 1.20% of your assets under management (AUM).
Financial planning fees are frequently determined on a case-by-case basis, but most clients are charged an initial fee that’s between $1,500 and $3,000. From there, the remainder of your fees will be a negotiable fixed or hourly rate.
Center for Financial Planning Background
The Center for Financial Planning was created in 1985. The firm has two principal owners in Matthew Chope and Timothy Wyman. Its ownership group is rounded out by other individuals: Sandra Adams, Laurie Renchik, Nick Defenthaler, Angela Palacios, Matthew Trujillo and Lauren Adams.
The firm provides comprehensive financial planning services, along with investment management, to its clients.
Center for Financial Planning Investment Philosophy
The Center for Financial Planning uses both actively-managed mutual funds and passively-managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as the core of its portfolios. This allows for inherent diversification across industry sectors around the world. The firm may also invest in individual stocks or bonds, closed-end mutual funds, structured notes, hedge funds and other alternative investments.
SkyOak Wealth
SkyOak Wealth LLC provides investment advice to both non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans, charities and corporations.
The minimum portfolio size to work with the firm is $200,000.
SkyOak Wealth is a fee-based firm, and some of its advisors are licensed as insurance agents and may earn commissions if clients choose to purchase insurance products through them. While this creates a potential conflict of interest, SkyOak Wealth has a fiduciary duty to act in its clients’ best interest at all times.
The team includes a certified financial planner (CFP).
SkyOak Wealth Background
Founded in 2006, SkyOak Wealth LLC is owned by Brandt Holdings Corp, Agility Partners, Inc., Simmons Holdings Corp. and the Kenneth G. Brandt Revocable Living Trust.
The firm offers wealth management, investment management, comprehensive financial planning, retirement plan advisory, financial consultation and family office services to clients.
SkyOak Wealth Investment Philosophy
SkyOak Wealth constructs investment portfolios based on client risk tolerance, objectives and time horizon. It primarily employs fundamental analysis when it comes to evaluating securities. Fundamental analysis is the attempt to discern a company’s intrinsic economic value by analyzing its balance sheet and other financial documents rather than focusing only on the movement of its stock price.
The firm may complete securities transactions in equities; municipal, government and corporate bonds; investment company products (i.e. mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds), alternative investments, etc.
CIG Asset Management, Inc.
CIG Asset Management works with both non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as pooled investment vehicles and pension and profit-sharing plans.
The firm imposes a minimum account size of $100,000 for its services.
Certain CIG advisors are registered representatives of a broker-dealer, which means they may earn transaction-based fees. Additionally, some advisors are separately licensed to sell insurance products, which may also generate commissions. These transaction-based commissions create the potential for conflicts of interests, but the firm is bound by its fiduciary duty to always act in a client's best interest.
CIG calculates investment management fees as a percentage of your AUM between 0.80% and 2.50%. Financial planning and consulting clients will be charged a fixed fee of between $2,500 and $10,000. These rates are negotiable and vary depending on the scope and complexity of the services provided.
CIG Asset Management Background
CIG Asset Management was formed in 1997 by Osman R. Minkara. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CIG Capital Advisors, which is in turn owned by Minkara.
CIG provides fee-based investment management and comprehensive financial planning or consulting.
CIG Asset Management Investing Philosophy
CIG Asset Management’s investment approach is centered around strategic asset allocation. This practice involves setting long-term allocation targets for various asset classes and periodically rebalancing portfolios when necessary to return to these targets. The firm will work with clients to establish an appropriate level of risk and their required return rate. Only then can it put together these target allocations accordingly.
Securities used in CIG’s portfolios may include cash, fixed-income, domestic and international equities, options, real estate investment trusts (REITs), commodities and other alternative assets. The firm may invest in mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to provide coverage of asset classes with built-in diversification.
ELE Advisory Services
ELE Advisory Services is a fee-based firm that has no minimum account size. It works mainly with non-high-net-worth individuals, though a few high-net-worth clients are on the books as well. Institutional clients include charitable organizations, corporations and investment clubs.
Fees for investment management are based on a percentage of assets under management. Fixed and hourly fees are also used. Some advisors earn commissions for selling securities. This is a conflict of interest, but advisors must act in the best interest of the client.
ELE Advisory Services Background
ELE was founded in 2010. It's owned by Ellis Liddell, who is also the firm's chief compliance officer.
Services include investment supervisory services, investment strategy, asset allocation, asset selection, financial planning, life insurance, retirement planning and college planning.
ELE Advisory Services Investment Strategy
Fundamental analysis is the basis of how advisors at ELE make investment decisions.
Long- and short-term trading are used. Specific securities that the firm uses include equities, debt securities, fixed-income securities, mutual funds, ETFs, real estate funds (including REITs), annuities, options and more.
Lumin Financial, LLC
Lumin Financial, LLC provides investment advice to clients including non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans.
The minimum portfolio size to work with the firm is $250,000.
Lumin Financial is a fee-based firm, and some Lumin advisors are licensed to sell insurance products like annuities. While this creates a potential conflict of interest, Lumin has a fiduciary duty to act in its clients’ best interest at all times.
Fees for investment advisory services are a percentage of your assets under management (AUM) that can vary from 0.25% to 1.75%. Fees for 401(k) plan participants may be up to 0.80% of their invested assets, but the exact rate will be negotiated through your plan sponsor.
The team includes staff members who hold designations such as certified financial planner (CFP) and accredited investment fiduciary (AIF).
Lumin Financial Background
Lumin Financial was founded in 2000. The firm’s sole owner is Victor Hayes Hicks II. Hicks is one of the firm’s two advisors, and he’s a certified financial planner (CFP) and an accredited investment fiduciary (AIF).
The firm provides financial planning and consulting services to its clients on top of discretionary investment advisory services. For certain clients, the firm can also offer consulting for retirement plans and 401(k) plan participants.
Financial planning services may come with a fixed or an hourly fee. If fixed, the fee will end up being anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000. If hourly, the fee will be somewhere between $150 and $350.
Lumin Financial Investment Philosophy
Lumin Financial primarily employs fundamental analysis when it comes to evaluating securities. Fundamental analysis is the attempt to discern a company’s intrinsic economic value by analyzing its balance sheet and other financial documents rather than focusing only on the movement of its stock price.
The firm creates portfolios that are customized to each client’s goals and risk level. When constructing portfolios, the firm looks for equity securities of companies with high returns and dividends. Additionally, the firm believes that diversification is a crucial element needed to achieve an optimal return for a given level of risk.
