Beard Investment Services, Inc. (Youngstown)

Beard Investment Services, Inc. is a large advisory firm based in Youngstown. It manages $210.28 million of regulatory assets for 561 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2002 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and 3 other states.

Beard Investment Services provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, pension consulting services, and selection of other advisers. It prepares financial plans for less than 10 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Beard Investment Services: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Beard Investment Services, Inc. is $210.28 million. The company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

Investments

The firm invests in investment and business development companies the most. They account for 88% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is cash and cash equivalents, which make up 7% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in exchange traded securities form 4% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has a single stream of revenue. Clients pay Beard Investment Services, Inc. for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management. 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 James Rafoth 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 James Rafoth is pension and profit sharing plans with 54 clients and $89.39 million of assets under management. Among the 13 most similar advisory firms, Beard Investment Services has the highest percentage of pension and profit sharing plans out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $210.28 million for 363 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.

Beard Investment Services doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Beard Investment Services, Inc.

The company employs 5 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 100 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 5 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.

James Rafoth has been acting as President since 1 Jan 2013. Robert L Smallwood joined the executive team most recently as the Treasurer.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Bruce James Beard	President	1 Oct 1990	75% - 100%	723903
James Rafoth	President	1 Jan 2013	25% - 50%	2243194
Robert L Smallwood	Treasurer	1 Jan 2013	25% - 50%	4838140
Bradley Alan Walker	Chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2013	25% - 50%	3146727
William Brian Berlin	Secretary	1 Jan 2013	25% - 50%	3129851

Based in Youngstown

The principal office where Beard Investment Services, Inc. performs its advisory services is located at 108 W Western Reserve Road, Youngstown, OH 44514, 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 330-758-0575 or by fax 330-758-8375. The normal business hours are 8:15a.m. - 4:30p.m. on Monday - Friday.