Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC (Waltham)

Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Waltham. It manages $85.21 billion of regulatory assets for 388,288 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2017 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and 49 other states.

Commonwealth Equity Services provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, pension consulting services, selection of other advisers, publication of newsletters, and educational seminars and workshops. It prepares financial plans for approximately 11,000 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Commonwealth Equity Services: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC is $85.21 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 39% since the beginning of its operation, and $38.4 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $83.25 billion in discretionary accounts and $1.96 billion in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $219.37 thousand each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $223.37 thousand.

Commonwealth Equity Services has custody of $82.14 billion in cash and securities for 373,148 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 64% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is exchange traded securities, which make up 22% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in cash and cash equivalents form 8% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, fixed fees, and commissions. Commissions are paid and earned by the adviser when a trade or a sales of an investment is made. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Joseph Samuel Deitch serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, corporations or other businesses, pension and profit sharing plans, and state or municipal government entities. The largest group of clients of Joseph Samuel Deitch is individuals with 371,390 clients and $59.95 billion of assets under management. Among the 8 most similar advisory firms, Commonwealth Equity Services has the highest percentage of individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $85.21 billion for 388,288 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. 1% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Commonwealth Equity Services doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC

The company employs 3,350 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 72 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 2,400 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There are 200 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 receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Joseph Samuel Deitch has been acting as President since 1 Jul 1996. Kol Birke joined the executive team most recently as the Managing Principal, Technology & Corporate Strategy.

Direct owners and executive officers

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 7 indirect owners.

Based in Waltham

The principal office where Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 29 Sawyer Road, Waltham, MA 02453 3483, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Iselin, NJ. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 781-736-0700 or by fax 781-398-9905. The normal business hours are 8:30a.m. to 5:30p.m. on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at linkedin.com/company/commonwealth-financial-network.

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