Sterling Investment Counsel, LLC (Buffalo)

Name: Sterling Investment Counsel, LLC
Address: 360 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY, 14202
Telephone: (716) 783-7054

Sterling Investment Counsel, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Buffalo. It manages $329.39 million of regulatory assets for 1,341 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2016 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California, Connecticut, Florida, and 7 other states.

Sterling Investment Counsel provides financial planning services and portfolio management for individuals and small businesses. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Sterling Investment Counsel: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Sterling Investment Counsel, LLC is $329.39 million. The firm's AUM has grown by 80% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $326.79 million in discretionary accounts and $2.6 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $247.57 thousand each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $123.76 thousand.

Sterling Investment Counsel has custody of $45.7 million in cash and securities for 66 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 78% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is exchange traded securities, which make up 13% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in cash and cash equivalents form 6% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Sterling Investment Counsel, 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 Sterling Investment Counsel 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 Sterling Investment Counsel is high net worth individuals with 140 clients and $206.51 million of assets under management. Among the 14 most similar advisory firms, Sterling Investment Counsel has the 6th lowest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $329.39 million for 563 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.

Sterling Investment Counsel doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Sterling Investment Counsel, LLC

The company employs 9 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 89 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 5 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 doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Christopher Michael Marks	Managing member & chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2016	25% - 50%	2875428
Cynthia Eileen Vance	Managing member	1 Jan 2016	25% - 50%	1187243
Phillip Kenneth Vance	Member	1 Jan 2016	Other	2363797
John Lawrence Langer	Member	1 Jan 2016	Other	3221100
John L Langer	Member	1 Jan 2016	Other	3221100
James Thomas Goede	Chief operating officer	1 Apr 2016	Other	5123083

Based in Buffalo

The principal office where Sterling Investment Counsel, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 360 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, which is also the mailing address of the firm. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number (716) 783-7054 or by fax (716) 783 - 7068. The normal business hours are 9:00 am - 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at sterinv.com.