Gradient Investments, LLC (Arden Hills)

Gradient Investments, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Arden Hills. It manages $2.12 billion of regulatory assets for 26,800 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2009 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, and 42 other states.

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

Gradient Investments: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Gradient Investments, LLC is $2.12 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 4896% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $1.97 billion in discretionary accounts and $154.78 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $78.04 thousand each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $98.78 thousand.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 92% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is cash and cash equivalents, which make up 5% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in investment and business development companies form 3% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Gradient Investments, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management 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 Michael Arthur Binger serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, high net worth individuals, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Michael Arthur Binger is individuals with 12,663 clients and $1.79 billion of assets under management. Among the 13 most similar advisory firms, Gradient Investments has the highest percentage of individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $2.12 billion for 12,866 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.

Gradient Investments doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Gradient Investments, LLC

The company employs 28 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 43 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 12 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There are 341 people 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.

Michael Arthur Binger has been acting as President since 1 Jul 2018. Wayne Richard Schmidt has served as the Chief Investment Officer since 1 Oct 2008. Nicole Shelton Alexander joined the executive team most recently as the Chief Compliance Officer.

Direct owners and executive officers

Based in Arden Hills

The principal office where Gradient Investments, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 4105 Lexington Avenue North, Arden Hills, MN 55126, 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 888-824-3525 or by fax 651-212-2566. The normal business hours are 8:00 am - 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at gradientinvestments.com.

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