Msa Advisors, LLC (Santa Monica)

Msa Advisors, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Santa Monica. It manages $4.78 billion of regulatory assets for 112 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2019 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California and Texas.

Msa Advisors provides portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, and selection of other advisers. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Msa Advisors: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Msa Advisors, LLC is $4.78 billion. $200.87 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $2.87 billion in discretionary accounts and $1.91 billion in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $37.78 million each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $52.92 million.

Msa Advisors has custody of $2.87 billion in cash and securities for 76 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in pooled investment vehicles the most. They account for 37% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is non-exchange traded securities, which make up 34% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in government bonds form 12% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Msa Advisors, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and performance-based 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 Paul David Wachter serves?

The firm provides services to high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, and state or municipal government entities. The largest group of clients of Paul David Wachter is high net worth individuals with 36 clients and $3.22 billion of assets under management. Among the 10 most similar advisory firms, Msa Advisors has the highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $4.78 billion for 94 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. 5% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Msa Advisors also advises several private funds. Namely, fourteen real estate funds, seven other private funds, twenty four private equity funds, and nineteen venture capital funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons ranges from $0 to $250,000,000.

Careers at Msa Advisors, LLC

The company employs 14 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 86 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 2 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Paul David Wachter has been acting as President since 1 Feb 1997. Todd J Rosen joined the executive team most recently as the Chief Compliance Officer.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Paul David Wachter	President	1 Feb 1997	75% - 100%	2183412
Todd J Rosen	Chief compliance officer	1 Oct 2018	Other	7090551
Alexandre David Cohen	Managing director	1 Oct 2018	Other	4813412

Based in Santa Monica

The principal office where Msa Advisors, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 3110 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405, 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 310-392-7607 or by fax 310-392-3541. The normal business hours are 8 am - 6:30 pm on Monday - Friday.