Planning Alternatives Ltd (Bloomfield Hills)

Name: Planning Alternatives Ltd
Address: 36800 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, MI, 48304 0936
Telephone: 248-645-1520

Planning Alternatives Ltd is a large advisory firm based in Bloomfield Hills. It manages $1.02 billion of regulatory assets for 2,091 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2001 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California, Colorado, Florida, and 8 other states.

Planning Alternatives provides financial planning services and portfolio management for individuals and small businesses. It prepares financial plans for more than 50 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Planning Alternatives: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Planning Alternatives Ltd is $1.02 billion, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 362% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $1.02 billion in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $486.42 thousand each.

Planning Alternatives has custody of $522.43 million in cash and securities for 474 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in investment and business development companies the most. They account for 87% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is cash and cash equivalents, which make up 8% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in exchange traded securities form 5% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Planning Alternatives Ltd for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, and fixed fees. Flat-fee based compensation is the most transparent and the one you can safely predict in advance. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Edwin Baker Shaw serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, corporations or other businesses, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Edwin Baker Shaw is high net worth individuals with 271 clients and $746.41 million of assets under management. Among the 9 most similar advisory firms, Planning Alternatives has the 4th highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $1.02 billion for 816 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Planning Alternatives doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Planning Alternatives Ltd

The company employs 24 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 50 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 16 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.

Edwin Baker Shaw has been acting as President since 1 Nov 1982. Florence Anne Affatato joined the executive team most recently as the Secretary.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Edwin Baker Shaw	President	1 Nov 1982	50% - 75%	420502
William Henry Vanover	Secretary	1 Nov 1982	50% - 75%	818351
Edwin Baker Shaw	Vice president/treasurer	1 Apr 2009	25% - 50%	420502
William Henry Vanover	Chief compliance officer/vice president/secretary	1 Apr 2009	25% - 50%	818351
Nathan Mark Mersereau	President	1 Apr 2009	25% - 50%	2451746
Daniel Eugene Cook	Chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2012	Other	5763736
Edwin Baker Shaw	Secretary	1 Jan 2012	50% - 75%	420502
Nathan Mark Mersereau	Treasurer	1 Jan 2012	50% - 75%	2451746
Edwin Baker Shaw	Secretary	1 May 2013	Other	420502
Nathan Mark Mersereau	President & treasurer	1 May 2013	75% - 100%	2451746
Edwin Baker Shaw	Vice president	1 Oct 2013	Other	420502
Marilyn Capelli Dimitroff	Vice president	1 Oct 2013	Other	836838
Stacey Marie Gomez	Treasurer	1 Jan 2016	Other	2883903
Daniel Eugene Cook	Secretary	1 Jan 2016	Other	5763736
Daniel Eugene Cook	Chief operating officer	1 Dec 2018	Other	5763736
Florence Anne Affatato	Chief legal officer/chief compliance officer	1 Dec 2018	Other	6576635
Florence Anne Affatato	Secretary	1 May 2019	Other	6576635
Michael D Schmidtke	Chief operating officer/treasurer	1 May 2019	Other	5356594

Based in Bloomfield Hills

The principal office where Planning Alternatives Ltd performs its advisory services is located at 36800 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 0936, 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 248-645-1520 or by fax 248-645-2661. The normal business hours are 8:30am to 5:00pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at planningalt.com.