How Do the Top Massachusetts Wealth Managers Compare on Fees?
The wealth management firms headquartered in Massachusetts that publish their advisory fees are a mix of long-established Boston-area institutions and newer firms, all serving high-net-worth families. The list below ranks every Massachusetts-based firm meeting our quality bar — at least 50 high-net-worth clients, $500 million or more in high-net-worth assets, and a transparent fee schedule.
Fees come directly from each firm's most recent SEC Form ADV Part 2A regulatory filing. For each firm we apply their published tier schedule to a $10 million portfolio and compute both the annual dollar fee and the blended rate. Firms whose disclosed minimum account size exceeds $10 million, and ultra-high-net-worth shops whose average client AUM is above $75 million (and so are unlikely to accept a $75M account), are excluded.
Methodology
- Universe: RIAs headquartered in Massachusetts
- Portfolio size: $10 million
- Fee calculation: Blended rate across all disclosed fee tiers, applied to a $10 million portfolio
- Minimum clients: 50+ high-net-worth clients
- Avg client portfolio: $3 million to $75 million (ultra-high-net-worth shops excluded — unlikely to accept a $10M account)
- Minimum high-net-worth assets: $500 million across all high-net-worth clients
- High-net-worth focus: High-net-worth assets at least 30% of total firm assets
- Exclusions: Firms with negotiable-only fee rates, and firms with a disclosed minimum account size above $10 million
- Source: SEC Form ADV Part 2A regulatory filings, filed within the last 18 months
Pinney & Scofield, Inc.
The history of Pinney & Scofield goes back to 2003. The firm offers financial planning and investment management to individuals and families, trusts, charitable organizations. Client assets are primarily invested in passive investment funds. Fees on passive funds are generally lower than active money mangers and a typical Pinney & Scofield client pays about 0.36% in fund fees (in addition to fees Pinney & Scofield).
Safford Nicholas H & Co. Inc.
Nicholas H. Safford & Co. was founded as a sole proprietorship in 1979 and incorporated in 1983; it also operates as Safford Investment Counsel. The firm directly selects securities through its own fundamental research, favoring high-quality companies with long histories of paying and raising dividends, and includes individual common stocks of companies based outside the U.S. for added diversification. Most client accounts are managed on a non-discretionary basis, and clients direct their own brokerage, meaning the firm may not always achieve the most favorable execution.
Howland Capital Management LLC
Howland Capital Management traces its roots to 1967, when it was founded as Blackstone Management Corporation; it took the Howland name in 1994 and is owned by its partners. The firm pairs investment management with financial and estate planning, private trustee services, and tax return preparation for individuals and families, trusts, estates, foundations, endowments, and retirement accounts. Howland directly manages separate accounts of publicly and privately traded securities through in-house research, supplemented by mutual funds, ETFs, and its own funds-of-funds. Client assets invested in the fund-of-funds are charged an additional advisory fee. Howland offers additional services for an extra charge, including tax preparation, foundation services, investment consulting, and estate and trust fees.
Stage Harbor Financial
Founded in 2018, Stage Harbor offers financial planning, consulting, and investment management services to high net worth individuals, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement plans. Stage Harbor primarily invests client portfolios in external money managers (mutual funds, ETFs).
Minot Deblois Advisors LLC
Minot DeBlois Advisors is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rice, Heard & Bigelow, a Boston-based firm of private trustees. Minot DeBlois provides investment advisory services to trust and non-trust assets of Rice, Heard & Bigelow’s clients. Clients include high net worth individuals and charitable organizations. In addition to managing and administering funded trusts, the firm also prepares income tax returns and offers wealth, tax, estate and philanthropic planning.
Flagship Wealth Advisors, Llc.
Founded in 1998 and based in Wakefield, MA, Flagship Wealth Advisors is owned by Paul Ryan and provides investment management and financial planning to individuals, trusts, estates, businesses, and retirement accounts. Flagship favors a long-term, buy-and-hold approach built primarily on mutual funds and ETFs, and also offers model-portfolio and third-party manager programs. Flagship advisors are separately registered as representatives of broker-dealer Osaic Wealth and as licensed insurance agents, and may earn commissions on securities and insurance products sold in that capacity, in addition to advisory fees.
Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors was created in 1994 to allow the professional trustees of the Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Office to provide investment management and advisory services to retirement accounts and other accounts for which they do not serve as trustees. Client portfolios have a strong bias toward publicly traded equities, though may also include bonds or mutual funds. Note that in addition to regular fees on principal, Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors charges an additional 5.0% on dividends and interest income.
Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP
Nichols & Pratt Advisers was founded in 1994 as an outgrowth of Nichols & Pratt, LLP, a private trustee office established in 1977, and the two firms share the same six partners. The firm primarily advises trustees of private trusts, IRA owners, and individuals, directly selecting securities from an approved list of fewer than 75 publicly traded companies along with select funds and high-grade bonds. The advisory fee covers customary custodian fees, so clients are not billed separately for safekeeping and recordkeeping. Tax preparation services are billed by the affiliated Nichols & Pratt, LLP, and two partners separately operate an affiliated law firm to which clients may be referred for estate matters.
J.M. Forbes & Co. LLP
Founded in 1838, J.M. Forbes & Co. is one of the oldest investment firms in the country, and its partners serve as private trustees in addition to acting as investment advisers. The firm directly selects securities, building client portfolios around a core equity portfolio of 40-50 names chosen through fundamental research, supplemented by fixed income holdings. Trust and estate management, financial planning, real estate management, and tax preparation are generally covered within the management fee, and up to roughly 40% of the firm's time is devoted to these services. Custody fees are paid by the firm rather than passed on to clients.
Florek Financial, LLC
Founded in 2009, Florek Financial is owned by Robert Florek, a CPA who also provides tax planning and compliance services to clients. The firm builds portfolios primarily from index and actively managed mutual funds, ETFs, and separate account managers rather than directly picking individual securities. The majority of client assets are managed on a non-discretionary basis. Comprehensive wealth management and tax advisory services are offered for a negotiated fee.
O'Brien Wealth Partners LLC
Established in 1986, O'Brien Wealth Partners is a fee-only firm offering investment management and financial planning to individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits. O'Brien builds portfolios primarily from mutual funds and ETFs and may allocate a portion to independent third-party managers for specialized strategies. In June 2025, O'Brien was acquired by Mercer Global Advisors, which now owns the firm; O'Brien has stated it intends to wind down its separate SEC registration as client accounts transition to Mercer.
Middleton & Company Inc.
Middleton & Company has advised clients since 1984 and is exclusively employee-owned through an employee stock ownership trust. The firm serves individuals, families, trusts, endowments, foundations, and retirement plans. Middleton directly selects US stocks and investment-grade bonds through fundamental research across a framework of five strategies, using ETFs for its asset-allocation mandates. As a matter of policy, the firm avoids alcohol, tobacco, and gaming stocks.
Heritage Financial Services
Heritage Financial Services was founded by Charles S. Bean III in 1996 and became an LLC in 2014; it is majority owned by Heritage Financial Services, Inc., of which Bean is the sole owner. The firm builds portfolios primarily from mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end interval funds, separately managed accounts, and limited partnerships rather than directly picking individual securities, and may also place client assets with independent money managers. For younger family members of clients, Heritage offers the Heritage Generations Group, delivered through the Betterment platform at a 0.75% fee. Heritage pays referral fees to promoters, including SmartAsset, though these do not increase client costs.
Northeast Investment Management Inc.
Northeast Investment Management traces its origins to 1984 as Guild, Monrad and Oates and reorganized under its current name in 1987; it is owned in equal shares by its five principals. The firm directly selects securities, generating investment ideas internally through its investment committee and implementing them through portfolio managers. In addition to investment management, portfolio managers may provide estate planning and serve as personal trustees at no extra charge, while ancillary services such as tax preparation, estate settlement, and bill paying are billed separately. The firm also manages a small number of accounts through RBC's wrap fee program.
Boston Standard Wealth Management, LLC
In business since 2011 and Boston Standard Wealth Management is owned by Robert Tafuri, Lee Eudy, and Zachary Bouchard. The firm pairs financial planning with discretionary portfolio management for individuals, trusts, estates, and retirement plans, building portfolios mainly from ETFs alongside some mutual funds and occasional individual stocks and bonds. It sets no account minimum. Clients pay a separate annual financial planning fee, which is waived once a portfolio exceeds .75 million; some principals are also licensed insurance agents who may earn commissions on insurance sold, though never on assets that also carry the advisory fee.
Founded in 1988 by Eugene Clapp III and Douglas Hart, Penobscot Investment Management provides investment management to individuals, trusts, retirement plans, estates, charitable organizations, and corporations. Penobscot directly manages broadly diversified portfolios centered on financially strong, dividend-growing companies, shifting toward cash and fixed income when it considers equities overvalued. The firm imposes no account minimum. Penobscot also serves as trustee for some clients, charging 0.25% above its standard schedule across all tiers in those cases.
West Branch Capital LLC
Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC
Founded in 2007, Birch Hill Investment Advisors is owned by its principals and based in Boston. The firm provides portfolio management, financial planning, and wealth management to individuals, trusts, retirement accounts, endowments, and foundations, building portfolios primarily from individual stocks and bonds with a long-term, tax-sensitive focus on high-quality growth companies, and using mutual funds and ETFs for certain asset classes. Birch Hill integrates ESG considerations into both its security selection and proxy voting, and its principals occasionally serve as trustee for client trusts, for which the firm may charge an additional 0.25% of account value. A 0,000 minimum annual fee applies, which makes the firm most economical for larger portfolios (roughly million and up).
Monument Group Wealth Advisors, LLC
S & Co., Inc.
S & Co is an affiliate of Salton & Co, a firm of private trustees and executors. S & Co provides investment advice to individuals, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations, with a focus on assisting in the management of trust assets. The firm can trace its history to 1922. Note that in addition to a 0.70% fee on principal, S & Co charges a 5.5% fee on any income generated by the assets they manage.
Welch & Forbes LLC
In business since 1838, Welch & Forbes provides investment management along with personal trust, estate administration, and tax services to individuals, trusts, retirement plans, estates, and charitable organizations. Officers of the firm frequently serve as trustee or co-trustee for client accounts. Welch & Forbes builds customized portfolios of individual stocks and bonds through in-house fundamental research, using mutual funds and ETFs for added diversification and outside specialists for alternative investments. The firm is majority-owned by Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG), with the remaining equity held by its employees.
Washington Trust Advisors
Washington Trust Advisors offers wealth management and holistic financial planning services and has been registered with the SEC since 1983. Washington Trust Advisors invests clients portfolios in a Focused Thematic Growth equity strategy managed directly by Washington Trust Advisors, as well fixed income and other investment products managed externally. Offices in Wellesley, MA, New Haven, CT and Westerly, RI. Prepares individual income tax returns at no charge for clients who meet established asset minimums.
RPg Family Wealth Advisory
Risk Paradigm Group (RPg) offers ETF investment strategies for financial intermediaries (broker-dealers, registered investment advisors) as well as individual clients.
SCS Capital Management LLC
Founded in 2002, SCS Capital Management serves high net worth families and institutions. SCS is an indirect subsidiary of Focus Financial Partners, which is majority-owned by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), with Stone Point Capital also an indirect owner. Client portfolios are invested primarily through external managers and SCS-managed private funds spanning private equity, credit, real assets, and hedge funds, with some securities held directly. Fees charged by external managers and underlying funds are separate from and in addition to SCS’s advisory fee, though SCS does not layer its own management or performance fees on its private funds for wealth management clients. SCS expanded in 2025 by merging in Edge Capital Group and Lake Street Advisors.
Wilkins Investment Counsel, Inc.
Wilkins Investment Counsel manages investment portfolios for high-net-worth individuals, families, foundations, endowments and other charitable institutions. They employ fundamental investment research to construct tailored portfolio of stocks and bonds for each client. Founded in 1989.
Woodstock Corporation
RWA Wealth Partners
RWA Wealth Partners was formed in 2023 through the merger of Adviser Investments, Polaris Wealth Advisory Group, and Ropes Wealth Advisors, and is principally owned by investment vehicles advised by private equity firm Summit Partners. The firm operates through its RWA Family Office and RWA Private Wealth divisions and emphasizes asset allocation, using an open-architecture mix of mutual funds, ETFs, third-party separate-account managers, and private funds, alongside internally managed strategies (branded RWA Capital) and in-house customized fixed income. RWA advisors frequently serve as professional trustees and executors for client families, offering an alternative to corporate trustees, and the firm coordinates integrated estate, tax, and legal planning. Third-party manager fees, estate settlement, and tax preparation through subsidiary RWA Tax Solutions are charged in addition to RWA’s investment management fee; RWA charges no performance fees.
Boston Family Office LLC
Founded in 1996, Boston Family Office is a privately held, partner-owned firm serving individuals, family groups, trusts, and charitable organizations, most of them taxable, with tax consequences factored into investment decisions. The firm builds diversified, individually managed portfolios of stocks and government, corporate, and municipal bonds through fundamental, sector-based research, adding mutual funds, ETFs, or alternatives such as private equity and hedge funds where appropriate. Portfolios are managed directly by in-house portfolio managers rather than outside managers. Boston Family Office generally requires million to open an account.
Anchor Capital Advisors LLC
Mg Financial LLC
Northstar Asset Management Inc.
New England Private Wealth Advisors, LLC
F.L.Putnam Investment Management Co.
Baldwin Wealth Partners, LLC
Boston Research and Management, Inc.
Ballentine Partners
Siharum Advisors, LLC
Stablepoint Partners, LLC
SVB Wealth
Beaumont Financial Partners
Beaumont Financial Partners traces its history to 1999 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Focus Financial Partners, which is majority-owned by investment vehicles affiliated with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, with Stone Point Capital also an indirect owner. Based in Needham, MA, Beaumont offers wealth management and family-office services, including in-house tax preparation and financial planning, and its advisors sometimes serve as trustee for client trusts. Beaumont builds portfolios from individual stocks and bonds together with low-cost index mutual funds and ETFs, and may add outside managers or alternative investments for certain allocations. Its standard fee is 1% on diversified accounts, with bond-ladder and other non-diversified accounts generally charged about 0.50%.
Crestwood Advisors
Crestwood Advisors Group is part of Focus Financial Partners and through Focus have investment partnerships with SCS, CD&R, and Stone Point. Crestwood is headquartered in Boston, MA and has additional location in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Colorado. The history of Crestwood goes back to 2003. Crestwood allocates client investments among stocks, bonds, ETFs, ETNS, mutual funds, options, and private investment funds.