Earnest Partners LLC (Atlanta)


Earnest Partners LLC is a large advisory firm based in Atlanta. It manages $21.61 billion of regulatory assets for 4,457 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2001 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and 48 other states.

Earnest Partners provides portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for investment companies, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, and portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Earnest Partners: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Earnest Partners LLC is $21.61 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 1549% since the beginning of its operation, and $751.32 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $21.55 billion in discretionary accounts and $54.67 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $4.84 million each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $54.67 million.
Earnest Partners has custody of $676.64 million in cash and securities for 4 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 59% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is government bonds, which make up 27% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in cash and cash equivalents form 3% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Earnest Partners LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and performance-based fees. The adviser charges an additional fee when a set benchmark is outperformed. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Beckybich Ngoc Do serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, insurance companies, investment companies, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, corporations or other businesses, pension and profit sharing plans, state or municipal government entities, and sovereign wealth funds and foreign official institutions. The largest group of clients of Beckybich Ngoc Do is state or municipal government entities with 67 clients and $8 billion of assets under management. Among the 6 most similar advisory firms, Earnest Partners has the highest percentage of state or municipal government entities out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $20.67 billion for 4,452 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. 1% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Earnest Partners also advises several private funds. Namely, four other private funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $1,000,000 for each fund.

Careers at Earnest Partners LLC

The company employs 45 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 33 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. Only one employee is registered as an investment adviser representative with the state securities authorities.

There are 2 people with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Beckybich Ngoc Do has been acting as President since 1 Sep 1999. Carsten Joachim Fiege joined the executive team most recently as the General Counsel.

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Paul Ernest Viera Ceo/manager 1 Dec 1997 Other 1190111
Llc Westchester Limited Member 1 Dec 1997 75% - 100% 58-2428632
Llc Earnest Holdings 100% equity holder 1 Dec 1997 75% - 100% 58-2428632
Matthew Bronfman Director 1 Oct 1998 Other 4782694
Ruthann N/A Moore Director of operations 1 May 1999 Other 4380166
Beckybich Ngoc Do Director 1 Sep 1999 Other 1941891
James Macon Wilson Chief compliance officer 1 Jul 2001 Other 4379265
John George Whitmore Chief operating officer 1 Jun 2005 Other 5124339
Llc Ep Partner Pool Member 1 Jan 2007 Other 20-0314445
Carsten Joachim Fiege General counsel 1 May 2015 Other 5985917

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 6 indirect owners.

Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Lp Bronfman Associates Iii 24% ownership of ehl 1 Dec 1997 Other 13-4038685
Lp Bronfman Associates Ii 24% ownership of ehl 1 Dec 1997 Other 13-4038685
Llc Earnest Partners Management Pool Member - 19% common 1 Dec 1997 Other 13-4038685
Paul Ernest Viera Manager 1 Jan 2007 Other 1190111
Paul Ernest Viera Trustee 1 Apr 2014 Other 1190111
Pev Trust Member 1 Apr 2014 75% - 100% 47-6917065

Based in Atlanta

The principal office where Earnest Partners LLC performs its advisory services is located at 1180 Peachtree Street, Ne, Atlanta, GA 30309, which is also the mailing address of the firm. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 404-815-8772 or by fax 404-815-8948. The normal business hours are 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at earnestpartners.com.