For more than 30 years, Savant Wealth Management has provided wise counsel to individuals, families, and businesses. As a fee-only, independent RIA firm, it offers investment management, financial planning, retirement planning, and family office services to financially established individuals and institutions. Through its affiliate, Savant Tax & Consulting, the firm also provides corporate accounting, tax preparation, payroll, and consulting services. As of December 31, 2024, Savant managed approximately $29.03 billion in assets and advised on an additional $1.14 billion in assets.
Savant positions itself as a one-stop-shop platform, integrating wealth management with accounting, estate planning, and trust services. The firm emphasizes a team-based approach similar to the Mayo Clinic model, focusing on delivering comprehensive and integrated services to clients. Savant also differentiates through curated acquisitions and a well-defined, articulated vision, centralizing certain functions while allowing local autonomy and advisor judgment. The firm offers a comprehensive client tool set called the "ideal futures platform," which includes proprietary tools, access to specialists, and best-in-class software fintech combinations. This platform is designed to provide great value to clients through tax planning, estate planning, and other specialized services.
Savant operates under the premise that markets are relatively efficient, and consistently beating benchmarks is difficult. The firm emphasizes broad diversification, low costs, and systematic approaches. Savant follows an evidence-based investing philosophy, applying evidence to make informed decisions about portfolio construction.
Savant maintains a series of asset allocation models based on risk tolerance and investment objective. Model portfolios typically include a blend of low-cost mutual funds and ETFs across a broad spectrum of equity, fixed income, and alternative asset classes. The investment models span from liquid alternatives and tax-efficient ETFs to interval funds with quarterly liquidity, with clients typically holding 7-10% of assets in interval funds if the advisor and client deem it appropriate. Savant's platform offers a wide array of allocation models, currently 100+ choices, to accommodate various client preferences, including those based on ESG, SRI, or religious considerations.
Full Acquisition
Yes. For further information, please contact Alaris.
Yes
For further information, please contact Alaris.
For further information, please contact Alaris.
Requires Brand adoption day 1.
Upon joining Savant, partners will centralize operations. This includes the technology stack, billing, compliance, HR, marketing, and more.
Savant will centralize the P&L for advisors, so they can spend more time on client-facing activities.
While advisors have the ultimate say in what is recommended to clients, Savant does have a branded process they require advisors to adopt.
Savant considers its practice management support and assistance central to their value to their advisors and strongly urges partners to adopt it’s best practices.
With the help of Savant's investment research and trading teams, partner offices will transition onto the Savant investment platform over the first couple of years in a highly tax-conscious manner.
Savant has a deep bench of experts to help support its advisors. This includes a 4-person portfolio advisors team that can take over small clients for senior advisors. An insurance expert, an 8-person investment management team, a 9-person advanced planning team, a 15-person retirement plan service team, a wealth transfer (estate planning team) which includes 4 lawyers that reviewed 1,050 estate plans in 2023, and a 100+ tax team that performed over 10,000 tax returns in 2023. Additionally, Savant understands the importance of offering a career path for all individuals, especially for a G2 advisor.
They have a flexible mentorship program and two training programs overseen by a dedicated team member. The training covers advisor and employee development, including financial support for additional degrees and designations. Additionally, participants have the chance to attend a week-long training event at Harvard or the University of Wisconsin. Moreover, Savant encourages knowledge sharing with an annual advisors' retreat, promoting the exchange of best practices among participants.
Savant has a 15-person para-planning team. This team is divided into two teams, the foundational client group (Mass affluent) and the private client (HNW & UHNW) group. The planning team offers document reviews, acts as a strategic sounding board for advisors, and can handle tasks such as social security analysis, pension calculations, net worth statements, and complex tax strategies for high-net-worth clients. This support allows advisors to focus more on client interactions and prospecting while staying updated on industry standards and changes.
The following services are centralized: Trading, Investment Research, Marketing, Human Resources & Training, Finance & Payroll, Billing & Operations, Compliance, IT, Facilities, Business Intelligence, Optimization & Strategic Planning, Advisory Practice Management, Retirement Plan Services, Wealth Strategy/Planning, Wealth Transfer, Tax & Consulting, and Private Client Group.
Savant offers a wide range of services, including wealth management, estate planning, tax planning and preparation, legal services, retirement planning, debt management, educational planning, business and succession planning, charitable planning, corporate trustee services, and TAMP (Turnkey Asset Management Program). They commit to adopting and incorporating scalable services that benefit all Savant advisors and clients. The firm provides a team of industry experts to assist advisor teams with various tasks, from simple to complex analysis, education on industry developments, and support for third-party products like insurance and annuities.
Savant participates in the Schwab Advisor Network "SAN", but they are determined not to rely solely on it. They are diligently constructing their own lead generation system and continue to invest heavily in state-of-the-art digital marketing strategies. This entails the development of an inside sales team responsible for nurturing warm leads and facilitating the transition to advisors. This team screened 16,000 leads in 2023 for its advisors. Members of this team will implement a qualifying call process for vetting potential leads.
Savant boasts a 14-person marketing team, with plans to expand to 17-18 members shortly. This team can help implement marketing resources at the local level. In addition, they help produce social media content, newsletters, blogs, coordinate client events, and more. Savant has successfully cultivated several client niches, including University Professionals and C-suite executives. What sets Savant apart is the replicability of their niche capabilities in new markets. This adaptability allows them to extend their specialized services to a broader range of clients and geographic areas.
In supporting partners/advisors, a critical aspect involves Savant assisting in defining staff roles and responsibilities for their local offices. This extends to aiding partners in conducting employee reviews and effectively managing performance. Additionally, they collaborate closely with partners to identify and execute strategic growth initiatives tailored to their specific needs. A key component of their support involves helping partners establish and oversee their local offices in alignment with predetermined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Notably, within their organizational structure, Savant boasts a dedicated Director of Practice Management, John Hanley, who plays a pivotal role in guiding these endeavors.
Utilizing Tablout, a powerful tool, they streamline data management processes by consolidating information into a centralized data lake, which in turn facilitates monitoring and analysis by the advisor leadership team. Moreover, they help in financial forecasting, providing partners with access to a live dashboard for real-time insights. While their focus primarily revolves around quality updates, they remain flexible, offering weekly updates on the status of partners' portfolios. Through these comprehensive services and tools, they aim to empower partners and advisors to thrive in their endeavors while ensuring strategic alignment and efficient operations.