Greenspring Advisors delivers three core lines of business: wealth management, corporate retirement, and endowments and foundations.
Wealth management
Ongoing investment advice and portfolio management based on a client’s objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, and liquidity needs; accounts may be managed on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis, and clients can request reasonable investment restrictions.
Financial Planning
Tax Advisory
Discretionary portfolio management
Philanthropic services
Estate and legacy planning
Comprehensive performance reporting
Family CFO
Fiduciary and trustee services
Corporate retirement
Greenspring’s corporate retirement offering is designed for employers and non-profits that sponsor retirement plans, combining plan management support, fiduciary-focused guidance, and employee financial wellness resources.
For companies: Includes strategic plan management, fiduciary support, investment selection & monitoring, fee analysis, benchmarking, and vendor management.
For employees: Offers advice from CFP® professionals, risk analysis related to retirement readiness, ongoing communication, and pre-retirement financial planning support.
Endowments and foundations
This is designed for nonprofit organizations, foundations, and similar institutions seeking fiduciary-focused investment oversight and long-term portfolio stewardship.
The services emphasize governance support, disciplined investment processes, and alignment with each organization’s mission and spending needs.
Investment consulting: Ongoing advisory support around long-term capital intended to help institutions make portfolio decisions consistent with mission and objectives.
Fiduciary governance support: A governance-oriented approach that incorporates a broader risk lens (including areas like portfolio management, cash-flow modeling, data security, and vendor relationships).
Support across key nonprofit challenges: Coverage framed around common institutional needs spanning investment, spending, governance, and fundraising.
Main Clients
Greenspring works with a diverse range of clients, including:
High-net-worth individuals and families: Those with complex financial situations requiring holistic planning.
Corporations and non-profits: Entities needing professional management of their retirement and pension plans.
Endowments and foundations: Charitable organizations seeking long-term investment stewardship.
What are the pros and cons of Greenspring Advisors?
Greenspring Advisors provides advisor-led investment and planning services to private investors and to institutional clients, including retirement plan sponsors and nonprofit organizations.
Its main strengths are the breadth of services across these client types, the ability to deliver discretionary or non-discretionary portfolio management, and the availability of planning support alongside ongoing advice.
However, some limitations may matter for cost-sensitive investors or smaller accounts.
Here’s a breakdown of the key pros and cons to help you make a decision.
Pros of Greenspring Advisors:
Advisor-led portfolio management with flexibility: Client accounts may be managed on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis, and clients can set reasonable restrictions on certain securities, sectors, or investment types.
Planning integrated into comprehensive wealth management: Comprehensive wealth management includes financial planning that may cover retirement, estate, cash-flow, and tax planning. Standalone financial planning is also offered.
Retirement plan fiduciary capabilities: Services include plan-level and participant-level support, including non-discretionary advice (3(21)) and discretionary investment management (3(38)), depending on the engagement scope.
Endowment and foundation consulting: This offering is positioned around fiduciary-oriented consulting and governance support, with a broader risk lens that includes portfolio management, cash flow modeling, data security, and vendor relationships.
Women and wealth focus: The firm offers a women & wealth employee resource group centered on mentorship and development. It provides strategies and resources for women on personal wealth management journeys, alongside community service efforts.
Cons of Greenspring Advisors:
Wealth management has a stated minimum annual fee: Wealth Management Services are charged as an asset-based fee (not to exceed 1.32% annually) and include a $5,000 minimum annual fee; if assets don’t generate $5,000 in fees, clients can pay the difference to meet the minimum.
Some institutional services have minimum annual fees as well: Retirement plan consulting services generally require a $10,000 minimum annual fee (with potential exceptions at the firm’s discretion).
Layered costs can apply: Brokerage transaction fees or commissions and underlying fund expenses can be used in addition to the firm’s advisory fees.
Greenspring Advisors fees: How much does Greenspring Advisors cost?
Greenspring Advisors’ pricing varies by service but is generally built around asset-based advisory fees, with additional fixed or hourly charges for certain planning and institutional engagements.
Here is a breakdown of costs.
Wealth management services:
Asset-based advisory fee: Charged as a percentage of assets under management (AUM), not to exceed 1.32% annually.
Administrative services fee: 0.10% for administrative services related to certain positions not included in model portfolios.
Billing and refunds: Fees are billed quarterly (in advance or arrears). If fees are billed in advance and services terminate mid-period, charges are prorated, and unearned fees are refunded.
Financial planning:
Fixed-fee planning: Typically ranges from $2,000 to $150,000, depending on the scope of work.
Hourly planning: Typically ranges from $150 to $750 per hour.
Payment timing: Requires one-half of the negotiated fee at the outset, with the balance due upon completion.
Billing: Planning clients may be billed quarterly in advance based on estimated fees, or quarterly in arrears based on actual hours accrued (depending on the arrangement).
Retirement planning:
Asset-based consulting fee: Generally, not to exceed 0.50% annually of assets under advisement (based on services provided and the client agreement).
Alternative annual fee option: May charge a yearly fee generally ranging from $20,000 to $100,000, depending on services and plan size.
Billing: Generally billed quarterly in advance unless the provider requires arrears. If terminated mid-period, fees are prorated and unearned fees refunded for fees billed in advance.
Endowments and foundations:
Fee structure: Charged as a flat fee, flat fee with cost of living adjustment (COLA), flat fee plus an asset-based charge, or a percentage of AUM, based on the client agreement.
Billing and refunds: Advisory fees are billed quarterly (in advance or arrears). If billed in advance and terminated mid-period, fees are prorated and unearned fees refunded.
ERISA 3(38) plan-level discretionary investment management fee schedule (tiered):
For plan-level discretionary investment management under ERISA Section 3(38), fees may be charged as a flat fee with COLA or an annual percentage fee, generally using this tiered schedule:
0.05% on the first $100 million of included assets
0.03% on assets between $100 million and $250 million
0.01% on assets exceeding $250 million
Other costs:
Fund expenses: Mutual funds/ETFs used in a portfolio have their own internal fees, separate from Greenspring’s advisory fee.
Trading costs: Custodian/broker transaction fees or commissions can apply in addition to advisory fees.
What is Greenspring Advisors’ minimum account size?
Greenspring Advisors works with a range of clients, including individuals, trusts and estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, non-profit and charitable organizations, and corporations and other businesses.
As these relationships can look very different, Greenspring Advisors does not list a universal minimum investment balance for every client type.
Instead, minimums are typically set through minimum annual fee requirements for certain ongoing advisory services.
Minimums by service
| Service | Minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| Wealth management services | $5,000 minimum annual fee |
| Retirement planning | $10,000 minimum annual fee |
| Endowments and foundations | $10,000 minimum annual fee |
Who should choose Greenspring Advisors?
Greenspring Advisors is best suited for investors and organizations that want an advisor-led relationship with ongoing portfolio oversight and planning, rather than a self-directed or automated investing experience.
The service is structured around personalized advice, fiduciary support, and multi-year engagement across private wealth and institutional needs.
Greenspring Advisors works well for:
Investors who value ongoing human advice: Individuals and families who prefer working directly with an advisor for portfolio management and financial planning, rather than relying on automated tools alone.
Clients seeking integrated wealth management: Those who want investment management combined with planning support across areas such as retirement, cash-flow planning, insurance review, estate planning coordination, and tax-aware considerations (as part of comprehensive wealth management).
Retirement plan sponsors and employers: Organizations that sponsor workplace retirement plans and want fiduciary-focused consulting, plan oversight support, and employee financial wellness resources.
Nonprofits, endowments, and foundations: Institutions looking for investment consulting and governance-oriented support around long-term pools of capital, spending needs, and fiduciary responsibilities.
Long-term, relationship-based clients: Investors and institutions that are comfortable with an ongoing advisory relationship where fees are tied to assets managed or the scope of services provided.
Who might not benefit as much:
Self-directed or app-first investors: Those looking for a digital-only platform with automated portfolio construction and minimal advisor interaction may find the advisor-led model less aligned with their preferences.
Cost-sensitive investors with smaller accounts: Clients who want very low minimums or entry-level pricing may find the service structure less accessible than robo-advisors or self-managed platforms.
Active traders or stock pickers: The service focuses on long-term portfolio management and planning, not on frequent trading or self-directed security selection.
Investors seeking a single, standardized solution: Those who prefer a one-size-fits-all investment product rather than a customized advisory engagement may not fully utilize the firm’s service model.
Greenspring Advisors: Is it secure?
Greenspring Advisors operates as an SEC-registered investment advisory firm and uses third-party custodians for client assets. It also applies firm-wide privacy and information safeguards for nonpublic personal information.
On the privacy and information-protection side, Greenspring outlines several core controls:
Limited access: Client information is limited to employees who need it to service accounts.
Safeguards: Physical, electronic, and procedural protections are in place to meet applicable standards.
Limited sharing: Information is shared only to provide authorized services, support compliance reviews, work with professional service providers, or when legally required/permitted.
Mobile data: Mobile information isn’t shared for marketing/promotional purposes, and text-message opt-in/consent data isn’t shared with third parties.
Greenspring Advisors: Customer service
Greenspring Advisors’ customer service is structured around a relationship-based, advisor-led model, rather than a centralized call center or 24/7 support platform.
Clients primarily interact with the firm through their assigned advisor and advisory team as part of an ongoing engagement.
Greenspring Advisors does not offer round-the-clock customer support, live chat, or app-based help desks.
Greenspring Advisors: Mobile app
Greenspring Advisors offers a dedicated mobile app for clients, providing centralized, on-the-go visibility into their financial accounts and related information.
The Greenspring Advisors mobile app focuses on account visibility and information management, rather than self-directed trading.
Key functions shown include:
Financial dashboard
Performance reporting
Account-level detail
Document vault
Reports and budgeting tools
Is Greenspring Advisors worth it?
Whether Greenspring Advisors is worth it depends on what a client wants from an advisory relationship.
For investors and organizations that prefer advisor-led portfolio management, with planning support and institutional capabilities across private wealth, corporate retirement, and endowments/foundations, it can be a strong fit for a long-term, relationship-based engagement.
Greenspring may be less compelling for investors who want a low-cost, self-directed or automated platform experience, or who prioritize app-first investing tools over ongoing advisor interaction. In those cases, alternatives that emphasize automation or self-directed investing may feel more aligned with what they’re looking for.
Overall, Greenspring Advisors tends to be “worth it” when clients are specifically seeking ongoing professional oversight, depth of planning, and an advisor-led experience, and less so when the goal is the lowest-cost, do-it-yourself, or automated investing approach.
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