# Schaper Benz & Wise Schaper Benz & Wise is a Bank / Wealth / Trust based in Neenah, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Bank / Wealth / Trust - **Headquarters:** Neenah, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** 40 Jewelers Park Drive, Suite 200, Neenah, WI 54956, United States - **Founded:** 1994 - **Assets under management:** $1.7 billion (per firm website, 2025) - **Website:** sbw-invest.com - **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/schaper-benz-&-wise-investment-counsel-inc ## About Schaper Benz & Wise opened in Neenah, Wisconsin in 1992, founded by Jerry Schaper. Bradley Benz joined as a partner in 1994, and the firm today is led by a four-person principal group: Benz, Thomas Rippl, Christi Salm, and President Anthony Seashore. The firm discloses no single-family wealth origin; it grew as an independent registered investment adviser serving a multi-generational client base across the United States from a single office in the Fox Valley. The firm runs concentrated equity portfolios built through in-house fundamental research. Its investment officers — six of whom hold the CFA charter — conduct bottom-up analysis on a working list of companies, managing assets across public equities and fixed income for private clients, charitable foundations, and operating businesses. The firm does not disclose individual portfolio holdings or sector allocations. A dedicated Family Wealth Counsel division, staffed by attorneys and a CPA, layers estate planning, tax strategy, trust administration, and retirement planning onto the investment management relationship. Schaper Benz & Wise reports over $1.7 billion under management and a 13-person team from one office at 40 Jewelers Park Drive. The Family Wealth Counsel, founded by attorney Laura Guy and now led by Yale Law graduate Kimberly Petersen, functions as an adjacent professional-services practice rather than a separate legal entity. The firm added two investment analysts since 2019, both recruited from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Applied Investment Program. In 2023, the firm hired analyst Shane Wiegert, a UW-Milwaukee MBA graduate who previously interned at Principal Asset Management, signaling a continued pipeline focus on in-state talent. The firm’s architecture sets it apart from the bank-trust departments where several of its professionals started their careers. Schaper Benz & Wise is 100% owned by its investment advisors, operates without a broker-dealer affiliation, and derives every dollar of revenue from client-paid fees. That structure eliminates product-distribution incentives and aligns the firm’s succession incentives with the next generation of internal principals — a contrast to the roll-up and consolidation model that has absorbed many Wisconsin-based RIAs over the past decade. ## Sectors - Financial Services ## People - Anthony J. Seashore — President, Investment Officer, Principal, Director - Bradley E. Benz — Chairman, Investment Officer, Principal - Thomas H. Rippl — Vice President, Investment Officer, Principal, Managing Director - Christi L. Salm — Vice President, Investment Officer, Principal, Managing Director - Laura A. Guy — Founder and Vice President, Family Wealth Counsel - Kimberly A. Petersen — President, Family Wealth Counsel ## Questions ### Who makes investment decisions at Schaper Benz & Wise? The firm's four principals — Bradley Benz, Thomas Rippl, Christi Salm, and Anthony Seashore — share portfolio-management and research duties. Each manages client relationships and contributes to the firm's fundamental equity research process. An additional three CFA charterholders serve as portfolio managers or analysts, but the principal group controls investment and strategic decisions. ### Does the firm accept fund commitments or invest in private markets? The firm's public disclosures describe only direct equity research and portfolio management for public securities and fixed income. There is no mention of venture capital, private equity, hedge fund commitments, or direct private-company investments on its website or in its Form ADV summary. ### How is Schaper Benz & Wise compensated? Revenue comes entirely from client-generated advisory fees. The firm states it has no affiliations with organizations that sell investment products or participate in investment banking, and it does not earn commissions or distribution fees. Its Form ADV Part 2A, available on the firm's website, details the fee schedule. ### Who owns Schaper Benz & Wise? The firm is 100% owned by its investment advisors, according to its website. This employee-ownership structure means the principals who run client portfolios also hold the equity in the management company, a setup that ties long-term succession to internal professionals rather than outside acquirers. ### Where does the firm recruit its investment talent? Schaper Benz & Wise draws heavily from Wisconsin universities, particularly UW-Whitewater's Applied Investment Program and UW-Milwaukee's Investment Management Certificate Program. Several current analysts and portfolio managers completed the CFA program while at the firm. The firm does not appear to recruit from traditional Wall Street pipelines. ## Related profiles - [Schaffer & Company Asset Management](https://altss.com/profile/schaffer-company-asset-management) - [Scharf Investments](https://altss.com/profile/scharf-investments) --- Last updated: 2026-07-08T22:25:03.833Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/schaper-benz-wise-investment-counsel Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology