What does The Colony Group do?
Focus Partners Wealth, LLC is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm organized in Delaware and an indirect subsidiary of Focus Financial Partners. The entity was formerly known as The Colony Group, LLC, which was founded in Boston in 1986.
It is a wealth management service led by an advisor, designed for people who want a personalized investment portfolio connected to their wider financial goals, rather than managing investments on their own.
The firm serves a wide range of clients, including individuals, high-net-worth individuals, family offices, trusts, institutions, charities, businesses, and retirement plans. It reported $181.862 billion in total regulatory assets under management as of December 31, 2025.
Key services include:
- Customized portfolio management: Portfolios are built around each client’s goals, risk tolerance, tax position, liquidity needs, and time horizon.
- Multi-asset investment implementation: Portfolios can use stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, alternative investments, private funds, and third-party separate account managers.
- Financial counseling: The service extends beyond portfolio management into retirement, tax, estate, cash flow, philanthropic, education, and risk planning.
- Family office services for certain clients: Support for high-net-worth families across strategy, investment coordination, legacy planning, and governance-related needs.
Beyond the core wealth management offering, the firm also lists other services such as investment consulting, business management, tax-related services, and other ancillary offerings.
Investment Philosophy：
The investment approach is long-term and built around each client’s risk profile, liquidity needs, tax position, and broader objectives. In practice, the firm combines strategic asset allocation with tactical adjustments based on valuation, growth, and relative price strength, then uses quantitative screening and fundamental analysis to evaluate investments.
Its equity approach is grounded in a value-oriented discipline that looks for companies trading below estimated intrinsic value, while its fixed-income approach emphasizes capital preservation and generally reflects a hold-to-maturity mindset.
What are the pros and cons of The Colony Group?
The firm's primary strengths lie in the customization and depth of its service model. The trade-offs are mostly around pricing opacity, possible fee layering, and a service structure that can feel more complex than a simpler low-cost advisory model.
Here’s a summary of the key advantages and disadvantages to guide your choice.
Pros of The Colony Group:
- Custom portfolio design: The service is built around each client’s goals, tax position, time horizon, and risk tolerance rather than a one-size-fits-all model.
- Flexible implementation: Portfolios can use active or passive strategies, funds, alternatives, private offerings, and outside managers when appropriate.
- Family office services for certain high-net-worth families: A more complex service layer that can cover strategy, investment coordination, legacy planning, and governance-related support across generations.
- Planning-connected approach: The service extends beyond portfolio management into broader financial planning, including retirement, tax, estate, cash flow, and risk-related issues.
Cons of The Colony Group:
- Pricing is not transparent upfront: Standard wealth management fees are negotiable and set in the client agreement, so there is no published rate card for easy comparison.
- Total cost can rise above the advisory fee: Clients may also pay custodian, fund, ETF, separate-account-manager, and other investment expenses.
- Smaller accounts may be a weak fit: While no formal standard asset minimum is disclosed for the service, the typical $5,000 minimum fee creates a meaningful practical hurdle.
The Colony Group fees: How much does The Colony Group cost?
Investment management fees are generally asset-based, negotiable, and set in the client agreement. The minimum fee for investment management clients is typically $5,000 annually and are generally billed quarterly in advance.
Planning-related services may be priced separately, with billing structured as fixed, project-based, monthly, quarterly, or hourly fees depending on the service.
| Service/offering | Fee |
|---|---|
| Options Income Overlay (OIO) strategy | 0.75% annually |
| TrendWise strategy | +0.20% annually |
Other disclosed fees and thresholds for separate services
| Service/offering | Fee |
|---|---|
| Non-sponsored wrap programs | Up to 0.80% annually |
| Employee benefit retirement plan services | 0.10% to 1.00% annually |
| Institutional Consulting | Minimum annual fee of $62,500; generally $25 million minimum relationship size |
| Institutional OCIO | Minimum relationship size is generally $50 million |
| Family office services | $95 to $275 per hour |
| Practice Integrated Wealth Management | $150 to $825 per month |
| Business management services | $80 to $375 per hour |
| Dispute resolution services | Generally, $300 per hour |
Clients also pay separate investment and account costs such as custodian, brokerage, fund, ETF, limited partnership, and separate account manager expenses, where applicable.
What is The Colony Group’s minimum account size?
No formal published minimum account size for the standard wealth management service. Instead, clients using investment management services are typically subject to a minimum annual fee.
- Standard wealth management: Clients are typically subject to a minimum annual fee of $5,000.
- Institutional Consulting: Generally, a $25 million minimum relationship size and a $62,500 minimum annual advisory fee.
- Institutional OCIO: Generally, a $50 million minimum relationship size; some clients may also be subject to a minimum annual fee, but no standard amount is disclosed here.
- Alternative investments / private offerings / third-party separate accounts: Minimums vary by manager, vehicle, and platform.
Who should choose The Colony Group?
This service fits best for investors who want a human advisor, a customized portfolio, and planning-connected wealth management rather than a stripped-down low-cost model.
The Colony Group works well for:
- High-net-worth households: Individuals and families who want investment management combined with broader planning around taxes, estate matters, and long-term financial decisions, with family office support available for more complex multigenerational needs.
- Business owners and specialized-planning clients: Corporate executives, business owners, professionals, and certain niche client groups who need wealth management alongside more specialized planning.
- Planning-led clients: People who want a service that goes beyond portfolio management and connects investments with retirement, tax, estate, cash flow, and other financial planning decisions.
- Customization-focused investors: Clients who are comfortable with an advisor-led relationship and individually tailored portfolios rather than a rules-based or algorithm-driven model.
Who might not benefit as much:
- Smaller investors: The typical $5,000 minimum annual fee can create a meaningful practical entry hurdle for smaller portfolios.
- Investors looking for a low-cost, simplified model: The service is built around a more customized advisory relationship, not a stripped-down low-cost offering.
- Clients who want simpler pricing: The service can involve layered costs, including outside manager fees, transaction costs, and optional strategy surcharges.
- Clients who want public fee transparency: Standard wealth management fees are negotiable and set in the advisory agreement rather than published in a public fee schedule.
The Colony Group: Is it secure?
Yes, Focus Partners Wealth is registered with the SEC and operates as a fiduciary advisor under federal and state securities laws.
Client brokerage accounts are held with independent qualified custodians, primarily Charles Schwab & Co., Fidelity Brokerage Services, National Financial Services, and Pershing Advisor Solutions. , all of which are FINRA members and Qualified Custodians under Rule 206(4)-2.
The firm also discloses cybersecurity risks, noting that its systems employ protections against unauthorized access, viruses, and network failures, though it acknowledges no system can be guaranteed against breach.
The Colony Group: Customer service
The firm operates an advisor-led support model.
Each portfolio is managed by one or more advisory personnel, including portfolio managers and wealth advisors, and a client’s wealth advisor is responsible for reviewing goals, suitability, and account consistency over time. Advisors generally communicate through in-person meetings, phone calls, letters, and email. Clients also get ongoing reporting.
Focus Partners also maintains offices in most states.
The Colony Group: Mobile app
There is an official Focus Partners Wealth client portal app.
It is built for existing wealth management clients rather than self-directed trading. Core functions include account viewing, direct messaging with the advisory team, secure document exchange, shared tasks and reminders, market news and insights, and goal-progress tracking.
Is The Colony Group worth it?
For investors who want advisor-led, customized wealth management with room for broader planning and a flexible portfolio toolkit, this service has substance.
The main trade-offs are that pricing is individualized rather than transparent, total costs can extend beyond the core advisory fee, and the overall structure is more complex than a simple low-cost advisory model.
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