Ballast Advisors, LLC (Woodbury)

Name: Ballast Advisors, LLC
Address: 683 Bielenberg Drive, Woodbury, MN, 55125
Telephone: (651) 478-4644

Ballast Advisors, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Woodbury. It manages $341.02 million of regulatory assets for 2,430 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2017 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Arizona, California, Florida, and 13 other states.

Ballast Advisors provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, and selection of other advisers. It prepares financial plans for more than 499 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Ballast Advisors: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Ballast Advisors, LLC is $341.02 million. The firm's AUM has grown by 13% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $333.5 million in discretionary accounts and $7.52 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $140.13 thousand each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $150.42 thousand.

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 investment grade corporate bonds form 4% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Ballast Advisors, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, and fixed fees. Hourly charges are usually charged for consulting work and special projects. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Ballast Advisors serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, high net worth individuals, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Ballast Advisors is individuals with 739 clients and $210.9 million of assets under management. Among the 11 most similar advisory firms, Ballast Advisors has the 3rd highest percentage of individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $339.69 million for 824 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.

Ballast Advisors doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Ballast Advisors, LLC

The company employs 13 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 46 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 6 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
Steven Andrew Schmidt	Managing member	1 Feb 2017	Other	2269458
Paul Louis Parnell	Managing member	1 Feb 2017	50% - 75%	2704387
Richard Gerard Gerczak	Managing member and chief compliance officer	1 Feb 2017	25% - 50%	2489405

Based in Woodbury

The principal office where Ballast Advisors, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 683 Bielenberg Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Arden Hills, MN. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number (651) 478-4644 or by fax (651) 200-3119. The normal business hours are 8:00am - 5:00pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at ballastadvisors.com.