Financial Empowerment

Barry Ritholtz serves as Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, setting the firm's overall investment philosophy and macro views. Day-to-day portfolio construction is handled by a committee of advisors, with each client receiving a tailored allocation of ETFs, individual equities, and fixed income aligned with the firm's evidence-based model. The firm does not run a centralized model portfolio that all clients must follow without deviation.

The firm sources clients almost entirely through its founders' media presence, including the Masters in Business podcast, The Compound and Friends YouTube show, Ritholtz's Bloomberg column, and Josh Brown's appearances on CNBC. It does not cold-call, purchase leads, or run traditional advertising. The firm's advisors also write regularly on the Ritholtz Wealth blog network, which drives organic search traffic from individuals researching financial planning topics.

No. The firm stays entirely within liquid public markets, using ETFs, individual stocks, and bonds. Barry Ritholtz has publicly stated that the firm avoids private equity, venture capital, and hedge fund allocations because of their illiquidity, high fees, and lack of transparency. This distinguishes Ritholtz from many competing New York-based RIAs that offer private-market feeder funds to their wealth management clients.

Ritholtz Wealth charges a flat percentage of assets under management, with fee schedules that decline at higher asset tiers. The firm does not sell proprietary products, charge commissions, or accept payments from fund companies for shelf space. The founders have been vocal critics of wrap-fee structures that embed hidden costs, and they publish their fee schedule publicly on the firm's website.

The firm is entirely owned by its founders, Barry Ritholtz and Josh Brown, along with a small group of senior advisors who have been granted equity stakes over time. It has not taken outside private equity capital, unlike many rival RIAs that have been acquired by consolidators like Focus Financial or CI Financial. The founders have stated publicly that they intend to transfer ownership internally to the next generation of advisors rather than selling to an aggregator.

Ritholtz is headquartered in New York City, with advisors also based in Los Angeles, Lake Oswego (Oregon), Austin, and several other cities across the United States. The firm adopted a remote-work posture early, with many client relationships managed virtually. This distributed model allows it to serve clients in every US state without maintaining expensive real estate in high-cost urban centers.

The podcasts, blogs, and video content are produced by Ritholtz Media, a separate legal entity from the registered investment advisor. This separation ensures that the media properties' editorial output is not regulated as investment advice. The firm's compliance team reviews content to avoid conflicts, but the media arm does not charge subscriptions or manage money, keeping a bright line between content and client assets.