Empirical Financial Services, LLC (Seattle)

Name: Empirical Financial Services, LLC
Address: 1420 5 Th Ave, Seattle, WA, 98101
Telephone: 206-923-3474

Empirical Financial Services, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Seattle. It manages $1.98 billion of regulatory assets for 4,563 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2011 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, and 21 other states.

Empirical Financial Services provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, pension consulting services, selection of other advisers, publication of newsletters, educational seminars and workshops, and tax preparation and insurance services. It prepares financial plans for approximately 1,000 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Empirical Financial Services: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Empirical Financial Services, LLC is $1.98 billion, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 580% since the beginning of its operation, and $8.15 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $1.98 billion in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $433.59 thousand each.

Empirical Financial Services has custody of $929.36 million in cash and securities for 818 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 85% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is state and local bonds, which make up 8% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in cash and cash equivalents form 5% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Empirical Financial Services, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, fixed fees, 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 Jack Donald Monteith serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, corporations or other businesses, pension and profit sharing plans, and state or municipal government entities. The largest group of clients of Jack Donald Monteith is high net worth individuals with 636 clients and $1.64 billion of assets under management. Among the 11 most similar advisory firms, Empirical Financial Services has the highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $1.98 billion for 1,257 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.

Empirical Financial Services also advises several private funds. Namely, one other private fund and one venture capital fund. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $250,000 for each fund.

Careers at Empirical Financial Services, LLC

The company employs 34 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 74 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 25 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.

Jack Donald Monteith has been acting as President since 1 Jan 2013. Michael Patrick Kelly has served as the Chief Investment Officer since 1 Nov 2015 and Kenneth Robert Smith is the Chief Executive Officer of Empirical Financial Services, LLC family office. James Allen Jones joined the executive team most recently as the Director Of Tax And Wealth Transfer & Member.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Kenneth Robert Smith	Managing member	1 Jul 2006	75% - 100%	2598986
Jaime Chelan Christina Holderman	Chief compliance officer	1 Nov 2009	Other	5738075
Kenneth Robert Smith	Chief executive officer	1 Oct 2010	50% - 75%	2598986
Ethan Andrew Broga	Principal	1 Oct 2010	Other	4272080
Michael Scott Van Sant	Principal	1 Oct 2010	Other	2683791
Jack Donald Monteith	President	1 Jan 2013	Other	2279282
Jaime Chelan Christina White	Chief operations officer	1 Apr 2013	Other	5738075
Shannon Marie Contreras	Chief compliance officer	1 Apr 2013	Other	6148625
Jaime Chelan Christina Holderman	Chief operations officer	1 Apr 2013	Other	5738075
Lorne David Enquist	Principal	1 Oct 2013	Other	5270619
Jaime Chelan Christina Holderman	Chief compliance officer	1 Oct 2014	Other	5738075
Julia Balitsky Sipple	Chief compliance officer	1 Dec 2014	Other	5598380
Michael Patrick Kelly	Chief investment officer	1 Nov 2015	Other	4223175
Hwa Chong Park	Chief operating officer	1 Feb 2016	Other	3108228
Hwa Chong Park	Chief operating officer & member	1 Jul 2016	Other	3108228
James Allen Jones	Chief compliance officer	1 Sep 2016	Other	6699732
Michael Patrick Kelly	Chief investment officer & member	1 Jun 2017	Other	4223175
Lindsay Marie Farnsworth	Chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2018	Other	6521513
Jaime Chelan Christina White	Chief operating officer	1 Jul 2018	Other	5738075
James Allen Jones	Director of tax and wealth transfer & member	1 Dec 2018	Other	6699732
Simon Joshua Liu	Chief marketing technology officer & member	1 Dec 2018	Other	5635019
Shan Zubair	Financial advisor & member	1 Dec 2018	Other	5594403

Based in Seattle

The principal office where Empirical Financial Services, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 1420 5 Th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Bellevue, WA. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 206-923-3474 or by fax 206-923-3484. The normal business hours are 8:00 am - 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at empirical.net.