Wealth Management in Cleveland

If you’re like many investors in Cleveland you probably want the “best” wealth management experience, but the right wealth management services for you can look different from other investors. Cleveland offers a diverse array of wealth management professionals, from independent advisers and broker-dealers to large institutional firms—each with their own approaches, specialties and fee structures. Whether you’re new to wealth management or reassessing your current strategy, taking a thoughtful, informed look at the services available to you can help you find a trusted partner in Cleveland to help navigate complex financial markets and support your long-term goals with confidence and clarity.

Wealth Management Services and Offerings in Cleveland

Cleveland is a city full of rich history and diverse backgrounds, and the wealth management industry here is no exception. Over time, the wealth management industry in Cleveland has evolved to include a wide range of professionals—from local advisers to some of the biggest wealth management brands in the world. With so many options, it can make finding the right financial partner more challenging.

One key distinction investors in Cleveland should consider when choosing the best wealth management team for their situation is whether their financial professional is a broker-dealer or a financial adviser. Broker-dealers primarily buy and sell securities, typically earning commissions or markups—including on proprietary financial products. As the regulatory landscape has evolved in recent years, broker-dealers are held to a higher standard of care than in the past. Broker-dealers, who previously were only required to recommend investments that were “suitable” for a client, must now provide recommendations they believe are in a client’s best interest. However, this standard of care only applies at the time of the recommendation.

By contrast, investments advisers have long been held to a fidfuciary standard, which is the highest legal standard of care. Fiduciary investment advisers provide ongoing guidance and financial advice and their fiduciary duty legally requires them to always uphold their fiduciary duty. This means investment advisers act in the interests of clients for the duration of the relationship, not just at the time of an investment recommendation. Unless advisers are dual-registered as broker-dealers, they also don’t typically custody assets and aren’t incentivized to sell proprietary products. This higher legal accountability and the potential for fewer conflict of interest are why it may benefit investors to choose fiduciary investment advisers. For more on the differences between fiduciary advisers and other financial professionals, please visit our fiduciary-focused website.

The Cost and Value of Hiring a Wealth Manager

As with any service or good, the “cost” and “value” of wealth management in Cleveland can mean different things to different people. Costs are easier to identify. Broker-dealers typically have transaction-based fees—often in the form of commissions or product markups. Fiduciary advisers are typically fee-only and paid directly by clients. If an adviser says they are "fee-based," then it’s possible the adviser is dual-registered as both an adviser and a broker-dealer, which can make it difficult to understand which role they are acting in at any given time. If you’re not sure, you simply can ask the adviser whether they are acting as a fiduciary for you. Transparent pricing and a clear explanation of services can help you compare wealth management options and better understand the role of your financial professional.

Value, however, is more difficult to define. While value can mean different things to different people, we think investors should consider how a wealth manager’s holistic offering can help them achieve their long-term goals. The wealth manager you choose should provide more than just investment recommendations— they should deliver a comprehensive approach to wealth management with personalized investment strategies and a long-term perspective designed to help preserve and grow your wealth through changing market conditions.

It's also important to evaluate a wealth manager’s investment philosophy, process and track record of success. We believe a strong wealth manager should follow a consistent, research-driven approach and be able to explain how their strategy is designed to manage risk, respond to market volatility and support your long-term goals. While past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, understanding how a wealth manager has helped clients in a variety of market environments can help you better evaluate  your potential experience.

Finally, consider the quality of communication and service. The right wealth management professional takes time to understand your situation, explains complex topics in straightforward terms and keeps you informed with regular updates and ongoing guidance. Trust, clarity, and alignment are essential. In our view, the best wealth manager should act as a long-term partner—helping you make informed decisions and stay focused on what matters most for your financial future.

Financial Planning and Investment Strategies

We believe a hallmark of the best wealth management relationships is having an individually curated, long-term financial plan. While financial planning extends beyond simply selecting the right investment strategy, understanding the types of returns you can expect is critical. Many wealth managers in Cleveland take a one-size-fits-all approach, using age and risk tolerance as the primary drivers of an investment recommendation. While an investor’s ability to stay disciplined during market volatility is important, overemphasizing an investor’s comfort with short-term market fluctuations can lead to overly conservative investment strategies—particularly as investors age. Whether it’s ignoring how inflation erodes an investor’s purchasing power over time, underestimating longevity or making unrealistic assumptions about retirement spending, many investors misjudge how long their assets need to last and how much growth they’ll need to support their goals.

To support long-term growth needs, investors may consider a wealth manager that allocates a higher percentage of their assets to a well-diversified portfolio of stocks. Historically, stocks have delivered superior long-term, inflation-adjusted returns compared to other asset classes such as bonds and cash. While the volatility associated with stocks can feel concerning, most stock market declines have been temporary. Therefore, the risk typically isn’t the volatility itself, but in emotional reactions to short-term market movements.

Ultimately, managing an investment strategy in retirement isn’t about avoiding risk altogether, but about helping to ensure your financial plan balances investment-related risks with the risk of not achieving your financial goals. These risks change over time, so ongoing monitoring and adjustments can help investors feel confident about their financial circumstances throughout their retirement journey.

Estate and Trust Planning

Depending on where you are on your financial journey, it may also be worth considering whether you want a wealth management team in Cleveland that can help you with legacy planning. While estate planning needs vary by individual circumstances, a well-structured estate plan can help ensure assets are transferred efficiently and according to your wishes.

Wills help clarify how assets should be distributed to heirs and can reduce uncertainty or potential delays. However, just a will alone may not be enough. Trusts are often used to provide greater control over asset dispersals by avoiding probate—a time-consuming and costly process—and can even be an effective way to reduce estate taxes. For more information, you can read our article on wills and trusts.  

Effective estate plans extend beyond ensuring assets are transferred to the right people. They seek to optimize tax efficiencies in federal, state and local tax codes, and establish financial and medical power of attorneys under pre-described conditions. When appropriate, strategies such as gift giving to heirs or charitable organizations can help reduce the size of your taxable estate and help preserve wealth for future generations.

Like a good wealth management plan, however, estate plans are not static. Changes in tax law, personal circumstances and market conditions can happen quickly. Even after you’ve established an estate plan, it’s important to review that plan regularly with qualified financial and legal professionals to help ensure it continues to support a retiree’s broader wealth management strategy.

How Fisher Investments Can Help

Fisher Investments is an independent, fee-only investment adviser. Fisher Investments and its affiliates manage over $386 billion in assets under management, serving over 195,000 individuals, families, businesses and institutions around the world.*

With decades of experience, Fisher Investments specializes in helping retirees achieve their long-term financial goals. What sets us apart? We don’t offer one-size-fits-all solutions. We take the time to get to know our clients personally and help tailor a wealth management plan that helps guide them wherever they are on their financial journey.

Unlike some options available to investors in Cleveland, where advisers may juggle everything from sales and portfolio management to administrative tasks and client service, our professionals serve clients within their areas of specialization. That way, Fisher Investments clients can feel confident they are receiving advice and service from someone dedicated to, and focused on, their needs.

We believe you deserve simplicity and transparency when it comes to the fees you pay. We also believe an investment adviser’s interests should align with their clients’. That’s why we offer a simple, transparent advisory fee based on the size of your portfolio.

We invite you to contact us and learn more about how our client-first culture, time-tested investment process and suite of services can help investors in Cleveland like you take control of your financial future.

Learn More About Our Services Here

*As of 12/31/2025. Includes Fisher Investments and its affiliates.