Gratus Capital, LLC (Atlanta)

Name: Gratus Capital, LLC
Address: 3350 Riverwood Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30339
Telephone: 404-961-6000

Gratus Capital, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Atlanta. It manages $1.67 billion of regulatory assets for 2,395 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2014 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alabama, California, Colorado, and 13 other states.

Gratus Capital provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for investment companies, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, and selection of other advisers. It prepares financial plans for more than 25 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Gratus Capital: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Gratus Capital, LLC is $1.67 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 111% since the beginning of its operation, and $748.18 thousand of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $1.48 billion in discretionary accounts and $195.56 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $703.1 thousand each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $669.74 thousand.

Gratus Capital has custody of $548.99 million in cash and securities for 474 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 58% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is investment and business development companies, which make up 28% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in state and local bonds form 5% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Gratus Capital, 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 Gratus Capital serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, investment companies, high net worth individuals, and pooled investment vehicles. The largest group of clients of Gratus Capital is high net worth individuals with 319 clients and $1.45 billion of assets under management. Among the 10 most similar advisory firms, Gratus Capital has the 2nd highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $1.67 billion for 682 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.

Gratus Capital also advises several private funds. Namely, two private equity funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $200,000 for each fund.

Careers at Gratus Capital, LLC

The company employs 28 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 57 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 4 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.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Llc Focus Operating	Member (manager)	1 Oct 2014	75% - 100%	20-816194
Amy Christine Tierney	Chief compliance officer	1 Oct 2014	Other	3161333
Hank A Mclarty	Managing director	1 Oct 2014	Other	2241783
Todd S Jones	Director of investments	1 Oct 2014	Other	5039099
Henry Alexander Mclarty	Managing director	1 Oct 2014	Other	2241783
Todd Stephenson Jones	Director of investments	1 Oct 2014	Other	5039099
Mark Cody Burton	Chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2017	Other	6472590
Wayne Garner Holbrook	Chief operating officer	1 May 2017	Other	1579195
William Travis Mckinney	Chief compliance officer	1 Aug 2019	Other	4955347

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 7 indirect owners.

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Llc Focus Financial Partners	Member	1 Jan 2007	75% - 100%	16-1728260
L.P. Cp Falcon Aiv	Member	1 Oct 2013	25% - 50%	36-4767158
L.P. Trident Vi Parallel Fund	Member	1 Apr 2017	75% - 100%	98-1132009
Trident Ffp Blocker Llc	Limited partner	1 May 2017	25% - 50%	82-1662776
L.P. Trident Vi	Limited partner	1 May 2017	25% - 50%	98-1131820
L.P. Trident Ffp	Member	1 Jul 2017	25% - 50%	82-1662703
Focus Financial Partners Inc.	Member	1 Jul 2018	75% - 100%	47-4780811

Based in Atlanta

The principal office where Gratus Capital, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 3350 Riverwood Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339, 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 404-961-6000 or by fax 404-961-6020. The normal business hours are 9 - 5 on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at gratuscapital.com and its LinkedIn profile.