Gries Financial LLC (Cleveland)

Name: Gries Financial LLC
Address: 1801 E Ninth Street Ste 1600, Cleveland, OH, 44114 3103
Telephone: 216-861-1148

Gries Financial LLC is a large advisory firm based in Cleveland. It manages $545.56 million of regulatory assets for 861 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2001 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California, Florida, Indiana, and 5 other states.

Gries Financial 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 also engages as real estate partnership.

Gries Financial: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Gries Financial LLC is $545.56 million, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 41% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $545.56 million in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $633.64 thousand each.

Gries Financial has custody of $71.62 million in cash and securities for 48 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 51% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is state and local bonds, which make up 12% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in other assets form 11% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Gries Financial LLC 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 Edward Joseph Bell serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, corporations or other businesses, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Edward Joseph Bell is high net worth individuals with 61 clients and $343.55 million of assets under management. Among the 10 most similar advisory firms, Gries Financial has the 3rd highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $545.56 million for 357 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.

Gries Financial doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Gries Financial LLC

The company employs 21 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 52 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. No employees are registered as investment adviser representatives 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 compensates employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Edward Joseph Bell has been acting as President since 1 Oct 2010. Robert Michael Leggett has served as the Chief Investment Officer since 1 Apr 2000. Sarah Louise Gries joined the executive team most recently as the Founder.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Inc. Proudfoot Holdings	Member	1 Apr 1999	25% - 50%	34-1257039
Sarah Louise Gries	Chairperson, ceo & manager	1 Apr 1999	Other	229805
Robert Dauby Gries	Manager	1 Apr 1999	Other	4375775
Michael Keith Wager	Manager	1 Apr 1999	Other	4375779
Jeffrey Hamilton Palmer	Chief compliance officer	1 Apr 1999	25% - 50%	4375785
L.P. Kirtland Capital Partners Ii	Member	1 Apr 1999	Other	34-1789459
L.P. Kirtland Capital Partners Iii	Member	1 Apr 1999	Other	31-1573174
Stewart Ladon Rice	Executive vice president	1 Apr 1999	Other	375365
Edward Joseph Bell	Vice president, wealth management	1 Apr 1999	Other	4375773
Robert Michael Leggett	Chief investment officer	1 Apr 2000	Other	4375790
Edward Joseph Bell	President	1 Oct 2010	25% - 50%	4375773
Robert Joseph Herman	Senior managing director	1 Apr 2012	Other	3132466
Sarah Louise Gries	Founder	1 Mar 2017	Other	229805
Lauren Rich Fine	Partner	1 Mar 2017	Other	2632320
Kenneth Ross Brodkowitz	Cio	1 Mar 2017	Other	2632666

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 4 indirect owners.

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Kirtland Capital Corporation	Partner	1 Apr 1999	Other	34-1748480
Kirtland Partners Ltd.	Member	1 Apr 1999	Other	31-1573172
John Franklin Turben	Shareholder	1 Apr 1999	50% - 75%	700788
Turben Ventures Preferred	Member	1 Apr 1999	75% - 100%	34-1881295

Based in Cleveland

The principal office where Gries Financial LLC performs its advisory services is located at 1801 E Ninth Street Ste 1600, Cleveland, OH 44114 3103, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Cincinnati, OH. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 216-861-1148 or by fax 216-861-0106. The normal business hours are 8:30 am - 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at gries.com.