What does Ballentine Partners do?
Ballentine Partners Financial Advisory is an advisor-led wealth management service designed for families with substantial assets and complex financial needs.
The firm’s history dates back to 1984, and it has operated under its current structure, Ballentine Partners, LLC, since 2010.
As of December 31, 2024, Ballentine Partners reported managing approximately $12 billion in regulatory assets and employed a team of over 130 professionals.
How the service works
The firm’s model is built on long-term, personalized advisory relationships, standing in contrast to automated investing platforms or self-directed tools.
Each client is paired with a dedicated senior wealth advisor who acts as the primary point of contact. This advisor coordinates all investment decisions, financial planning, and implementation across the client’s various accounts and entities.
Clients can choose to have their investment accounts managed on either a discretionary or non-discretionary basis. The firm organizes its services around two main client groups, high net worth and family office, tailoring the resources to the complexity of each situation.
The advice provided often extends beyond managed accounts to encompass assets held in trusts, private entities, and foundations, enabling coordinated guidance across a family’s entire balance sheet.
Investment portfolio
The firm customizes each investment portfolio based on the client’s specific circumstances rather than using standardized models. In designing a portfolio, advisors consider a range of factors, including financial goals, existing assets, tax implications, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
Portfolios can be constructed from a mix of publicly traded and private investments, depending on the client’s objectives and suitability. These may include:
- Stocks
- Bonds
- Cash and cash equivalents
- Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds
- Private equity and venture capital investments
- Real estate-related investments
- Hedge funds and other alternative strategies
Core services
Ballentine Partners financial advisory integrates a broad scope of wealth management, financial planning, and investment advisory services. The core offerings include:
- Investment strategy and portfolio management
- Public market investing
- Private investments, such as private equity, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds, and other alternatives
- Asset allocation, asset location, and tax-aware investment planning
- Cash flow planning and balance sheet analysis
- Estate and wealth transfer planning coordination
- Charitable and philanthropic planning, including family foundations
- Risk management and insurance planning coordination
- Oversight of outside investment managers, including selection, evaluation, and ongoing monitoring
- Family office advisory and administrative support for complex, multi-entity family structures
What are the pros and cons of Ballentine Partners?
Ballentine Partners is structured as a high-touch, advisor-led service for clients with complex financial needs.
Its primary strengths and weaknesses stem from this personalized approach, which contrasts with the lower costs and higher minimums of automated platforms.
Here are the key pros and cons of working with Ballentine Partners.
Pros of Ballentine Partners:
- Advisor-led, customized service: Clients work with experienced advisors, enabling tailored advice for complex situations involving trusts, private companies, and foundations.
- Integrated planning approach: Investment management is coordinated with other financial areas, including cash flow, tax strategy, estate planning, and charitable giving.
- Broad investment access: Portfolios can include a wide range of public and private investments, such as private equity, venture capital, and real estate.
- Flexible management options: Clients can decide whether to grant the firm discretionary authority to implement investment decisions or to retain final approval.
- Fee-only compensation: The firm is compensated directly by clients, not through commissions on product sales, which reduces certain conflicts of interest.
- Diverse client experience: The firm has a history of advising a wide range of clients, including senior executives, business owners, and multi-generational families.
Cons of Ballentine Partners:
- High minimum requirements: The service is generally for families with at least $4 million in investable assets, making it inaccessible for many investors.
- Higher cost structure: Advisory fees are substantially higher than those of robo-advisors, reflecting the personalized nature of the service.
- Not suitable for self-directed investors: Investors who prefer to manage their own portfolios or trade frequently may find the service more comprehensive than they need.
- May be too complex for simple situations: The family-office-style approach may be unnecessary for those with straightforward financial needs.
- Risks of private investments: Alternative investments, when utilized, can introduce illiquidity, valuation challenges, and additional layers of fees.
The firm offers a deeply personalized service with broad planning integration, making it well-suited to families with substantial and complex wealth. However, its high minimums and comprehensive scope mean it is less aligned with investors seeking low-cost or self-directed solutions.
Ballentine Partners fees: how much does Ballentine Partners cost?
Ballentine Partners uses a premium, customized fee structure. Pricing is based on assets under management or a negotiated flat fee, with annual minimums that are significantly higher than mass-market advisory services.
How Ballentine Partners charges fees
The firm’s primary source of revenue is advisory fees paid by clients. These arrangements are tailored to each client and generally use one of the following structures:
- Asset-based fees: A percentage of assets under management.
- Flat annual fees: Typically renegotiated annually.
- Project-based fees: For consulting engagements with a defined scope.
Asset-based fees for high-net-worth clients
- Standard tiered fee schedule ranges from 0.95% to 0.25% per year of AUM
- Minimum annual fee: $40,000
Asset-based and flat fees for Family Office clients
- Asset-based fees range from 0.60% to 0.10% per year.
- Fixed annual service fees are also available and typically range from $180,000 to $500,000, negotiated based on complexity.
- The minimum annual fee is $180,000.
Clients may also incur other investment-related costs charged by third parties, such as mutual fund expense ratios, fees from private fund managers, and custodial fees.
What is Ballentine Partners’ minimum account size?
Ballentine Partners’ minimums are defined by minimum annual advisory fees rather than a single asset threshold. These fees effectively limit the service to clients with multi-million-dollar portfolios.
Minimum requirements by client type
Instead of publishing a universal account minimum, Ballentine Partners sets minimum annual fees tied to each type of advisory relationship.
| Client type | Fee structure | Minimum requirement |
|---|---|---|
| High net worth clients | Asset-based advisory fee | $40,000 minimum annual fee |
| Family office clients | Asset-based advisory fee | $180,000 minimum annual fee |
| Family office clients | Flat annual service fee | $180,000–$500,000 per year, negotiated based on scope and complexity |
While there is no formally published asset minimum, the firm notes that clients typically have between $4 million and $30 million in assets.
Who should choose Ballentine Partners?
Ballentine Partners Financial Advisory is best suited for high-net-worth families who desire ongoing, advisor-led wealth management with a high degree of customization.
Ballentine Partners may work well for:
- High-net-worth families with complex finances: The firm commonly serves clients with multi-million-dollar portfolios spread across various accounts, trusts, and private entities.
- Families seeking long-term, advisor-led relationships: The service is aligned with clients who prefer working closely with a dedicated wealth advisor over using automated tools.
- Investors who want integrated financial planning: The service combines investment management with broader planning for cash flow, retirement, taxes, and estates.
- Clients interested in private investments: Portfolios can be structured to include private equity, venture capital, and other alternative strategies.
- Family office and multi-generational clients: The service is designed for families navigating multi-generational wealth and succession planning.
Who might not benefit as much:
- Investors with smaller portfolios: The high minimum annual fees make the service inaccessible for those without substantial assets.
- Hands-on or self-directed investors: Individuals who prefer managing their own portfolios will likely find the service more comprehensive than necessary.
- Investors seeking low-cost or automated solutions: Clients focused on minimizing advisory costs may find better alignment with digital-first platforms.
- Those with straightforward financial situations: The depth of the family-office-style approach may not be required for investors with simple needs.
Ballentine Partners: Is it secure?
Ballentine Partners is generally considered secure.
The firm is an SEC-registered investment adviser, which holds it to a fiduciary standard. It typically does not take custody of client assets directly.
Client investments are generally held with independent third-party custodians, providing an important separation between advisory services and asset custody.
For information security, the firm maintains documented safeguards to protect client data, including restricted access to confidential information and secure network environments.
Ballentine Partners: Customer service
Ballentine Partners provides a relationship-driven, advisor-led customer service model.
The experience is shaped by the firm’s focus on long-term relationships with high-net-worth and family office clients.
Clients work with a dedicated senior wealth advisor who serves as their primary point of contact, ensuring continuity.
Communication is typically handled through scheduled meetings, phone calls, and email, with the frequency tailored to each client’s preference.
Ballentine Partners: mobile app
Ballentine Partners does not provide its own mobile app.
Clients access their account information through the online platforms of third-party custodians, while advisory services and planning are handled directly with their advisor.
Is Ballentine Partners worth it?
Whether Ballentine Partners is worth its cost depends on an investor’s wealth, complexity, and service expectations.
For high-net-worth families and family office clients, the firm can be a strong fit. It offers a high degree of customization and integrates investment strategy with long-term financial planning. Clients who value a dedicated advisory relationship and require guidance across complex family and financial structures may find the service justifies its premium fees.
However, the firm is not a good fit for everyone. Investors seeking low-cost automated investing, self-directed trading capabilities, or app-based tools will find the service more comprehensive and costly than necessary.
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