ALPha Architect, LLC (Broomall)


ALPha Architect, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Broomall. It manages $468.77 million of regulatory assets for 258 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2015 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California, Illinois, Indiana, and 7 other states.

ALPha Architect provides portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, and quantitative index licensing, etf servicing. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

ALPha Architect: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of ALPha Architect, LLC is $468.77 million, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 182% since the beginning of its operation, and $2.38 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $468.77 million in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $1.82 million each.
ALPha Architect has custody of $5.81 million in cash and securities for 1 client in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in non-exchange traded securities the most. They account for 70% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is exchange traded securities, which make up 30% of the firm’s portfolio.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay ALPha Architect, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, fixed fees, and performance-based fees. Hourly charges are usually charged for consulting work and special projects. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients ALPha Architect serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, corporations or other businesses, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of ALPha Architect is corporations or other businesses with 12 clients and $242.88 million of assets under management. Among the 9 most similar advisory firms, ALPha Architect has the highest percentage of corporations or other businesses out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $468.77 million for 258 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. 4% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

ALPha Architect also advises several private funds. Namely, one hedge fund. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $1,000,000 for each fund.

Careers at ALPha Architect, LLC

The company employs 8 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 100 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 8 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There’s a single person with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm compensates employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Wesley Robert Gray Executive managing member 1 Jul 2010 25% - 50% 4233964
Carlton Harrington Kanner Managing member 1 Jul 2010 Other 5806244
John Robert Vogel Managing member 1 Mar 2012 Other 5572973
David Pardee Foulke Managing member 1 Sep 2012 Other 2721529
Tao Wang Managing member 1 Sep 2013 Other 6138867
Yang Xu Managing member 1 Sep 2013 Other 6316689
Llc Empirical Finance Member 1 Apr 2014 75% - 100% 27-3001230
Patrick Russell Cleary Managing member / cco 1 Oct 2014 Other 6394372
Xin Song Managing member 1 Jan 2015 Other 6451012
Brandon Dale Koepke Director, t&e 1 Oct 2018 Other 6874690

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 3 indirect owners.

Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Babulak Family Trust Member 1 Jan 2017 Other xxx-xx-xxxx
Lien Babulak Trustee 1 Jan 2017 Other 6745377
David Michael Babulak Trustee 1 Jan 2017 Other 4975856

Based in Broomall

The principal office where ALPha Architect, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 213 Foxcroft Road, Broomall, PA 19008, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Austin, TX. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number +1.215.882.9983 or by fax +1.216.245.3686. The normal business hours are 9 am to 5 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at alphaarchitect.com.