Wms Partners, LLC (Towson)

Name: Wms Partners, LLC
Address: Towson City Center, Towson, MD, 21204
Telephone: 410-337-7575

Wms Partners, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Towson. It manages $3.68 billion of regulatory assets for 619 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2005 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California, Connecticut, Delaware, and 13 other states.

Wms Partners provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, and selection of other advisers. It prepares financial plans for more than 250 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Wms Partners: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Wms Partners, LLC is $3.68 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 1554% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $2.62 billion in discretionary accounts and $1.06 billion in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $5.94 million each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $5.95 million.

Wms Partners has custody of $1.26 billion in cash and securities for 487 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 29% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is pooled investment vehicles, which make up 28% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in exchange traded securities form 19% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Wms Partners, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, fixed fees, and performance-based fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Wms Partners serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, corporations or other businesses, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Wms Partners is high net worth individuals with 470 clients and $3.37 billion of assets under management. Among the 7 most similar advisory firms, Wms Partners has the highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $3.68 billion for 619 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.

Wms Partners also advises several private funds. Namely, one real estate fund, seventeen other private funds, and two private equity funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons ranges from $46 to $250,000.

Careers at Wms Partners, LLC

The company employs 51 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 59 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 22 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 receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Paul A Speargas has served as the Chief Investment Officer since 1 Jan 2018. Chad Joseph Norfolk joined the executive team most recently as the Chief Advisory Officer.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Timothy William Chase	Partner	1 Jul 1992	25% - 50%	1356537
Martin Joseph Eby	Partner	1 May 1994	25% - 50%	1185744
William Francis Bruns	Operations manager	1 Nov 2000	Other	4358827
David Mark Citron	Partner	1 Apr 2002	25% - 50%	1190454
Jeffrey Brian Vain	Financial planner	1 Apr 2004	Other	2931034
Timothy William Chase	Chief compliance officer/managing partner	1 Oct 2004	25% - 50%	1356537
Jerome Smith Mcmanus	Chief operations officer	1 Sep 2006	Other	2462520
Robert Sterling Killebrew	Partner	1 Dec 2010	Other	269352
Bryan Michael Lopez	Chief operations officer	1 Oct 2013	Other	5960705
Jeffrey Brian Vain	Chief financial officer	1 Mar 2014	Other	2931034
Bryan Michael Lopez	Chief financial officer	1 Feb 2016	Other	5960705
Chad Joseph Norfolk	Chief operations officer	1 Feb 2016	Other	3184071
Pace Roy Kessenich	President & ceo	1 Jan 2017	Other	3256408
Sam A Beritela	Chief financial officer	1 Apr 2017	Other	6043738
Paul A Speargas	Chief investment officer	1 Jan 2018	Other	5625214
Chad Joseph Norfolk	Chief advisory officer	1 Jan 2018	Other	3184071

Based in Towson

The principal office where Wms Partners, LLC performs its advisory services is located at Towson City Center, Towson, MD 21204, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Columbia, MD. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 410-337-7575 or by fax 410-337-7641. The normal business hours are 9:00am to 5:00pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at wmsfamilyoffice.com.