What does Buckingham Strategic Wealth do?
Buckingham Strategic Wealth, founded in 1994, is now part of Focus Partners Wealth. It offers an advisor-led wealth management and financial planning service for individuals and families who want ongoing planning, portfolio management, and advisor guidance.
Focus announced in January 2025 that The Buckingham Strategic Wealth would operate under the Focus Partners Wealth name.
Focus Partners Wealth is an SEC-registered investment adviser, and reports total regulatory assets under management of $95.89 billion as of December 31, 2024.
Key service:
- Investment planning and portfolio management
- Retirement planning
- Tax and estate planning
- Cash flow and wealth planning
- Education and college planning
- Philanthropic planning
- Risk management
- Business-related planning
Investment philosophy:
The firm uses a long-term, tax-aware, and fee-conscious portfolio approach. Its investment platform has an “enhanced open architecture,” meaning client portfolios may draw from a range of strategies and vehicles, including equity and fixed income strategies, mutual funds, ETFs, private funds, alternative investments, and third-party separate account managers where appropriate.
The service is structured as a customized, planning-led wealth management offering rather than a short-term trading strategy.
What are the pros and cons of Buckingham Strategic Wealth?
Here is a look at the pros and cons of Buckingham Strategic Wealth.
Pros of Buckingham Strategic Wealth:
- Advisor-led model: Clients work with a wealth advisor, and financial counseling is tailored to individual circumstances.
- Broad planning scope: The service can cover retirement, tax, estate, cash flow, philanthropy, education, and risk planning.
- Customized portfolios: Portfolios may use active or passive strategies, ETFs, mutual funds, fixed income, alternatives, private funds, and third-party managers.
Cons of Buckingham Strategic Wealth:
- Negotiated pricing: Investment management fees vary by client and are generally up to 1.25% of assets under management, which makes direct comparison harder.
- Layered expenses: Clients may also pay custody, brokerage, ETF, mutual fund, separate account manager, subadvisor, limited partnership, or other expenses.
- Complex menu: Alternatives, private funds, third-party managers, and held-away account advice can add flexibility but also make total costs and risks harder to evaluate.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth fees: How much does Buckingham Strategic Wealth cost?
For legacy Buckingham clients now served through Focus Partners Wealth, fees are set in the client’s advisory agreement and may vary based on assets managed, service scope, relationship history, and complexity.
Fee type | Cost |
|---|---|
Investment management fee for individuals | Up to 1.25% of assets under management |
Retirement plan services | Ranges from 0.20% to 1.00% per year |
Financial counseling | Generally annual/fixed, billed quarterly; sometimes hourly |
Investment consulting for individual clients | 0.10% to 0.25% per year, or a fixed fee |
Family office services | $95 to $275 per hour |
Practice integrated wealth management | $150 to $825 per month |
Third-party manager / SAM fees | Charged separately by the manager |
What is Buckingham Strategic Wealth’s minimum account size?
Buckingham Strategic Wealth, now part of Focus Partners Wealth, does not disclose a formal minimum account size for individual wealth management clients.
However, its investment management service generally requires a $3,000 minimum fee, although this fee may be waived.
Who should choose Buckingham Strategic Wealth?
Buckingham Strategic Wealth works well for:
- Clients who want planning plus portfolio management: The service integrates investment management with retirement, tax, estate, cash flow, education, and risk planning.
- Clients with more complex financial lives: The service may fit households with multiple account types, held-away assets, tax considerations, or broader planning needs.
- Clients who may benefit from a larger post-merger platform: After becoming part of Focus Partners Wealth, legacy Buckingham clients may have access to a broader advisory organization, larger investment research resources, and expanded planning infrastructure.
Who might not benefit as much:
- Legacy Buckingham clients who preferred the old firm structure: After the merger, existing clients may need to adjust to the Focus Partners Wealth brand, systems, client portals, and service model.
- Fee-sensitive investors: The service may be less attractive for clients mainly looking for low-cost portfolio management without ongoing planning support.
- DIY or digital-only investors: This is an advisor-led wealth management service, not a robo-advisor or self-directed investing platform.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Is it secure?
Buckingham Strategic Wealth, now operating as Focus Partners Wealth, has standard safeguards for an SEC-registered investment advisory service, but it is not risk-free. Focus Partners Wealth is registered with the SEC and acts as a fiduciary under its advisory agreements.
Client assets are not held directly by Focus Partners Wealth. Brokerage accounts are held at unaffiliated qualified custodians, including Schwab, Fidelity, and Pershing, which provide custody, trade execution, clearance, and settlement.
Focus Partners Wealth uses basic safeguards, including federally compliant security measures and secured files/buildings.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Customer service
The firm follows an advisor-led service model in which clients work with a wealth advisor and may communicate through meetings, calls, written correspondence, or email.
It also provides general contact options, including an online inquiry form, appointment scheduling, and access to local office contacts.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Mobile App
There is an official Focus Partners Wealth mobile app.
The app was developed by Focus Financial Partners, LLC, and it is a client portal for viewing accounts, messaging the advisory team, exchanging documents securely, managing tasks, and tracking long-term plan progress.
Is Buckingham Strategic Wealth worth it?
Buckingham Strategic Wealth, now operating as Focus Partners Wealth, may suit investors who want ongoing advisor guidance, portfolio management, and financial planning in one service.
Its strengths are customized advice, planning depth, tax-aware portfolio design, and access to the broader resources of a larger advisory platform after the merger.
However, legacy Buckingham clients may need to adjust to the Focus Partners Wealth brand, systems, client portal, and broader operating structure. New clients may find the negotiated fee model and potential third-party costs harder to compare upfront.
Overall, the service appears better suited to clients who value ongoing advisor guidance and integrated planning than to investors mainly seeking simple, low-cost portfolio management.
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