Gardner Russo & Gardner LLC (Lancaster)

Gardner Russo & Gardner LLC is a large advisory firm based in Lancaster. It manages $12.35 billion of regulatory assets for 2,196 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2014 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and 45 other states.

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

Gardner Russo & Gardner: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Gardner Russo & Gardner LLC is $12.35 billion, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 19% since the beginning of its operation, and $521 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $12.35 billion in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $5.62 million each.

Gardner Russo & Gardner has custody of $4.21 billion in cash and securities for 157 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 89% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is non-exchange traded securities, which make up 9% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in cash and cash equivalents form 2% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Gardner Russo & Gardner LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management 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 Gardner Russo & Gardner serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, corporations or other businesses, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Gardner Russo & Gardner is pooled investment vehicles with 28 clients and $3.73 billion of assets under management. Among the 10 most similar advisory firms, Gardner Russo & Gardner has the 4th lowest percentage of pooled investment vehicles out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $10.46 billion for 1,943 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. 3% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Gardner Russo & Gardner also advises several private funds. Namely, three other private funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons ranges from $500,000 to $1,000,000.

Careers at Gardner Russo & Gardner LLC

The company employs 42 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 12 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. No 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.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Eugene Herr Gardner	Member/managing director emeritus	1 Apr 2014	Other	2500620
Thomas Adrian Russo	Managing member	1 Apr 2014	75% - 100%	871610
Jr. Eugene Herr Gardner	Member/managing director	1 Apr 2014	Other	4356052
Anne Downey Gardner	Chief compliance officer/chief administrative officer	1 Apr 2014	Other	4925219
Timothy Charles Quinn	Special member/managing director	1 Apr 2014	Other	6322865

Based in Lancaster

The principal office where Gardner Russo & Gardner LLC performs its advisory services is located at 223 East Chestnut Street, Lancaster, PA 17602, 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 717.299.1385 or by fax 717.399.3170. The normal business hours are 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday.