Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services review

What does Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services do?

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC (WEAS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wealth Enhancement Group, LLC. 

The Minnesota-based firm has operated as an investment adviser since December 21, 2001.

It is an advisor-led wealth management service built around a team-based model known as  the "Roundtable.” This is a group of specialists and advisors that can contribute across financial planning, retirement income planning, tax strategies, investment management, estate planning, and insurance, so a client’s plan can be reviewed from multiple perspectives.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services has a vast array of clients, generally providing its services to individuals and high-net-worth individuals, as well as trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations and other businesses, and pension and profit-sharing plans.

Investment philosophy

The service’s portfolio approach is guided by four stated principles: effective diversification, active management, cost efficiency, and tax efficiency. 

These principles shape how portfolios are built and managed over time.

Core advisory services

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services offers a broad set of advisory services, including:

• Financial planning: This includes goal setting and planning across investments, tax planning, asset allocation, risk management/insurance, and retirement planning. 
• Investment management: This includes portfolio recommendations and ongoing management aligned with a client’s objectives, risk tolerance, and financial circumstances; generally managed on a discretionary basis, with non-discretionary management available in some cases. 
• Third-party money management: This is via separately managed accounts (SMAs).
• Portfolio rebalancing: This includes periodic rebalancing and allocation adjustments to maintain or update target allocations.
• Security analysis and portfolio construction methods: This includes quantitative, momentum, and fundamental analysis; portfolios may use mutual funds, ETFs, equities, fixed income, options, and other securities.
• Retirement plan consulting services. This includes advisory and consulting services for employer-sponsored retirement plans, including non-discretionary or discretionary fiduciary services, depending on engagement structure. 

Investment programs 

Within the broader advisory relationship, it also offers multiple investment programs, each with its own structures and implementation details, including:

• WEAS No Transaction Fee (NTF) Program 
• WEAS Managed ETF Program (MEP) 
• WEAS Institutional Program 
• WEAS Total ETF Portfolio Solutions (TEPS)
• Asset location services 
• WEAS Managed Variable Annuities (MVA)

What are the pros and cons of Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services?

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services is positioned as an advisor-led service that combines financial planning with ongoing portfolio management, supported by a team-based specialist model. 

However, when choosing an advisory firm, it’s wise to weigh up all the pros and cons associated with that firm. Here are a few to get you started.

Pros of Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services:

• Team-based advice through the "Roundtable": This model brings specialist perspectives across financial planning, retirement income planning, tax strategies, investment management, estate planning, and insurance to inform and analyze a client’s plan.
• Plan-led investing with active monitoring: Portfolios are actively managed and monitored using central strategies designed to support each client’s goals and risk profile.
• Tax efficiency as part of ongoing portfolio refinement: Portfolios are monitored, managed, and refined with tax efficiency in mind.
• Transparent guidance: The client experience is positioned around keeping clients informed, including performance updates and proactive planning conversations, so clients understand where they stand and why decisions are made.
• Financial planning services are available: Financial planning focuses on a client’s overall financial situation and long-term objectives and may include investments, tax planning, asset allocation, risk management (insurance), retirement planning, and other areas.
• Personalized service model: The firm positions its client experience around consistency and long-term relationships, supported by a broad presence that pairs scale with personalized service.

Cons of Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services:

• Certain high minimums: When clients are referred to separately managed account (SMA) investment managers, those third parties set minimum account sizes ranging from $50,000 to $5,000,000. This may be too high for some clients. 
• Varying pricing: Clients may pay in multiple ways, including different program structures and, in some cases, program-specific trading/custody charges. Additionally, financial planning pricing can be asset-based, fixed-fee, or hourly. This can make it less straightforward to compare total cost unless the exact service mix and program structure are clear.
• Some accounts involve additional parties: Depending on the structure, portfolios may be implemented using unaffiliated SMA managers managed through a separate platform.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services fees: How much does Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services cost?

Fees vary depending on which Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services offering you use. Here is a breakdown of the costs associated with each service:

Clients may also pay other fees, including underlying fund and product expenses and custodian trading costs.

While WEAS’s own advisory fee is capped, total costs may increase when SMA manager fees, platform fees, custodian trading charges (ABF or transaction fees), and underlying fund expenses are layered together. 

In addition, the availability of standalone planning and consulting fees (flat or hourly) means pricing is not always expressed as a single percentage. 

As a result, understanding the full cost typically requires reviewing the specific program structure and services outlined in the client’s WEAS Services Agreement rather than relying on a single headline fee.

What is Wealth Enhancement Advisory Service’s minimum account size?

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services does not set a single firm-wide minimum for all clients. 

Instead, minimums depend on the program and manager used. Accounts below stated minimums may be accepted on a case-by-case basis at the manager’s discretion.

SMA investment managers generally have a minimum ranging from $50,000 to $5,000,000.

There is no universal minimum to become a WEAS client, but practical access to certain strategies can require substantial assets, sometimes well into seven figures. 

Clients using non-SMA arrangements or planning-only services may face different or unspecified minimums, making the applicable threshold dependent on the specific program and services agreement.

Who should choose Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services?

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services is best suited for investors who want ongoing, personalized wealth management delivered through a dedicated financial advisor, rather than automated or self-directed investing. 

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services works well for:

• High-net-worth and complex households: Clients with sizable or multi-account portfolios who may benefit from coordinated investment management, tax-aware strategies, and access to SMA managers or ETF-based programs.
• Investors seeking comprehensive, plan-led advice: The firm emphasizes financial planning as a foundation for investment decisions, making it suitable for those who want portfolios aligned with long-term goals rather than standalone asset allocation.
• Clients who value ongoing human advice: Investors who prefer regular conversations with a financial advisor, periodic reviews, and discretionary portfolio management rather than managing investments themselves.
• Households with multiple account types: Those managing taxable accounts, retirement accounts, trusts, estates, or held-away assets (such as employer retirement plans) under a unified advisory approach.
• Businesses and retirement plans: Corporations, pension plans, and profit-sharing plans seeking fiduciary investment advisory or consulting services.

Who might not benefit as much:

• Cost-focused, do-it-yourself investors: Those primarily looking for the lowest possible fees or a robo-advisor-style experience may find Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services (WEAS’s) advisory structure more involved and potentially more expensive.
• Investors with smaller balances seeking SMA strategies: Certain SMA options may require relatively high minimum investments, which may limit access for smaller portfolios.
• Active traders or short-term investors: The service is designed for long-term planning and portfolio management rather than frequent trading or tactical speculation.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services: Is it secure?

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services is generally considered secure, based on its security controls and the fact that client assets are typically held at third-party custodians rather than directly by the adviser. 

The firm operates as an SEC-registered investment adviser and delivers advisory services under a fiduciary framework, meaning it is legally obligated to act in the client’s best interests. 

Additional security measures Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services uses include:

• Client Portal: Two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Employee logins: 2FA/MFA for core systems
• Limited-access controls for client data (need-to-know access)
• Client PII: Encrypted or protected with compensating controls
• Regular vulnerability assessments
• Annual mandatory cybersecurity training and ongoing awareness reminders
• Custodian communications: TLS encryption

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services: Customer service

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services’ customer service is best understood as relationship-based support. 

A client of the firm has an ongoing relationship with an assigned advisor team, with guidance provided through scheduled conversations and follow-up communication.

In addition, support is reinforced by a secure client portal that enables secure messaging and file sharing and uses two-factor authentication, which can be useful when exchanging documents or follow-up notes outside meetings. 

For ongoing portfolio management, the service includes periodic review discussions at least annually to revisit performance and adjust for changes in objectives or financial circumstances. 

Taken together, this service model is better aligned with clients who value ongoing access to an advisory team rather than on-demand, transaction-based support.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services: Mobile app

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services does not offer a dedicated mobile app. Instead, clients access their accounts through an online client portal, which can be used on mobile devices via a browser.

Is Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services worth it?

Whether Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services is worth it depends on what an investor is looking for from a wealth management relationship. 

For investors who value ongoing, advisor-led guidance and a planning-first approach, the service could be a strong fit, particularly for those with more complex finances or higher balances.

However, the service may be less compelling for investors who prioritize simplicity or the lowest possible cost. 

Fees can vary by program and may involve multiple layers, such as advisory fees, third-party manager fees, platform or custodian charges, and underlying fund expenses, making the total cost less straightforward than a single all-in percentage. 

In addition, some investment options require relatively high minimums, which may limit access for smaller accounts.

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