Bank / Wealth / TrustRIA · CRD 23224SEC-Registered

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Madison Avenue Securities

Madison Avenue Securities was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. The firm is registered with the SEC as both a broker-dealer and a...

Madison Avenue Securities logo

Madison Avenue Securities

Madison Avenue Securities was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. The firm is registered with the SEC as both a broker-dealer and a registered investment advisor (RIA), a dual-registration model that allows it to offer both transactional brokerage services and ongoing fee-based advisory relationships. This hybrid structure is common among large wirehouses but less typical for an independent firm of this size. The firm serves a mix of individual retail investors, high-net-worth families, and small to mid-sized institutional clients, including corporate retirement plans. The firm's core investment approach relies on third-party asset management rather than in-house portfolio construction. Advisors at Madison Avenue Securities build client portfolios using mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, variable annuities, and separately managed accounts from external managers. The firm does not operate proprietary investment funds. Retirement planning represents a significant portion of the practice, with advisors structuring 401(k) rollovers, IRA strategies, and income-distribution plans for pre-retirees and retirees. The firm also provides basic financial planning services covering tax considerations, estate planning coordination, and insurance product review. Client assets are custodied at major clearing firms, a standard arrangement for independent broker-dealers of this profile. As an independent broker-dealer, Madison Avenue Securities supports a network of affiliated financial advisors operating under its regulatory umbrella. The total number of producing advisors is not publicly disclosed. The firm maintains a single office in San Diego and does not list additional locations. No separate venture arm, philanthropic foundation, or real-asset subsidiary is associated with the firm based on public record. The firm's most recent Form ADV filing and regulatory disclosures remain the primary source for operational detail, though specific assets-under-administration figures and advisor headcount are not separately broken out in publicly aggregated data as of early 2025. The firm's structural distinction lies in maintaining both a broker-dealer and an RIA under the same ownership in the competitive Southern California wealth management market, where many independent advisors have migrated to fee-only-only models. This dual-registration posture allows advisor-affiliates to serve clients on either a transactional or ongoing advisory basis, which shapes the client mix toward households that value flexibility in how they pay for financial advice. The firm has no known institutional co-investment programs or alternative asset platforms, positioning it squarely in the traditional retail wealth advisory segment.

General information

Firm type

Bank / Wealth / Trust

Year founded

2005

AUM

Less than $500M (Altss estimate)

Location

Region

North America

Country

United States

City

San Diego

Corporate office

San Diego, CA, United States

Frequently asked questions

Is Madison Avenue Securities a single family office or a wealth management firm?

Madison Avenue Securities is a wealth management firm, not a single family office. It operates as a dual-registered broker-dealer and registered investment advisor (RIA) serving multiple individual and institutional clients. The firm's revenue model combines commissions from brokerage transactions with fees from advisory relationships, a structure distinct from single-family offices, which typically manage one family's capital on a cost-center basis.

Who runs investment decisions at Madison Avenue Securities?

Investment decisions at Madison Avenue Securities are made at the advisor level, not by a central investment committee allocating to proprietary funds. Individual advisors construct client portfolios using third-party products — mutual funds, ETFs, variable annuities, and separately managed accounts. The firm does not disclose a chief investment officer or centralized investment office, which is consistent with independent broker-dealers that operate as platforms for affiliated advisors rather than asset managers.

Does Madison Avenue Securities manage proprietary funds or direct deals?

No. Based on its regulatory filings and public disclosures, Madison Avenue Securities does not operate proprietary investment funds, direct private equity or venture capital programs, or in-house separately managed accounts. All client portfolios are built from externally managed products. The firm's role is distribution and advisory, not asset management.

What investment stages or asset classes does the firm focus on?

The firm's client portfolios are concentrated in traditional public-market asset classes accessed through packaged products — equities, fixed income, and balanced strategies via mutual funds and ETFs. The firm also utilizes variable annuities and insurance-based products, particularly for retirement-income planning. There is no public evidence of dedicated alternative investment programs, private credit access, or direct real estate offerings.

How are client assets custodied, and what does that mean for an allocator evaluating the firm?

Madison Avenue Securities uses third-party clearing firms to custody client assets, a standard arrangement for independent broker-dealers. Client funds and securities are held away from the firm's own balance sheet at custodians such as Pershing or similar clearing platforms. For an institutional allocator evaluating the firm as a potential service provider rather than an investment vehicle, this means Madison Avenue Securities does not have direct custody risk but also does not control the underlying investment infrastructure.

Profile maintained by using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.

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