Know Your Options LLC (Chicago)

Name: Know Your Options LLC
Address: 405 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL, 60654
Telephone: 866-903-1822

Know Your Options LLC is a large advisory firm based in Chicago. It manages $185.7 million of regulatory assets for 700 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2015 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, and Texas.

Know Your Options provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, and educational seminars and workshops. It prepares financial plans for more than 250 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Know Your Options: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Know Your Options LLC is $185.7 million. The firm's AUM has grown by 41% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $60 million in discretionary accounts and $125.7 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $150 thousand each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $419 thousand.

Investments

The firm invests in investment and business development companies the most. They account for 50% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is exchange traded securities, which make up 25% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in investment grade corporate bonds form 10% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Know Your Options LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, and fixed fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Know Your Options serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, high net worth individuals, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Know Your Options is pension and profit sharing plans with 43 clients and $112 million of assets under management. Among the 12 most similar advisory firms, Know Your Options has the 2nd highest percentage of pension and profit sharing plans out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $185.7 million for 443 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.

Know Your Options doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Know Your Options LLC

The company employs 10 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 80 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 8 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives 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 compensates employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Michael Alan Cavanaugh	Ceo	1 Oct 2006	25% - 50%	4794844
Robert Schwartz	Member	1 Dec 2012	25% - 50%	6146837
Timothy M Webb	Cio, cco	1 Jun 2013	25% - 50%	4735714

Based in Chicago

The principal office where Know Your Options LLC performs its advisory services is located at 405 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60654, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Itasca, IL. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 866-903-1822 or by fax 312-277-7180. The normal business hours are 8:30am-5pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at rcmwealthadvisors.com.