# Schwarz Dygos Wheeler

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler is a Bank / Wealth / Trust based in Minneapolis, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Bank / Wealth / Trust
- **Headquarters:** Minneapolis, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 50 South Sixth Street, Suite 1405, Minneapolis, MN 55402, United States
- **Founded:** 2008
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** sdwia.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwarz-dygos-wheeler-investment-advisors

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 147384
- **SEC file number:** 801-69248
- **Registration status:** APPROVED
- **Latest Form ADV filing:** 2026-03-18T05:00:00.000Z
- **Reports private funds:** No
- **Private funds reported:** 0
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/147384

## About

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors opened in Minneapolis in 2008, launched by three founding principals who each brought over a decade of financial-services experience. Joseph Schwarz holds the CFA charter, Stephen Dygos carries the CFP and CPWA designations, and Benjamin Wheeler holds the CFP and CIMA marks. The firm structured itself as a registered investment adviser from the start, so every advisor is bound by a fiduciary duty to put client interests first. The firm serves individuals, trusts, estates, and business entities through comprehensive financial planning and portfolio management. The geographic footprint is concentrated in the Twin Cities but the firm serves clients beyond Minnesota through its digital operations and remote service capability. With a team of seven — three founding principals, a senior wealth advisor, two associate advisors, and a client-service associate — the firm dedicates significant senior talent to each relationship. The website states advisors have a minimum of 14 years in financial services. Jon Hogan joined in August 2022, the most recent addition before the 2024-2025 period, working directly under founding principal Stephen Dygos. The office at 50 South Sixth Street houses the full team. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler sits at the small end of the independent-RIA spectrum, a posture that creates a structural differentiator: every client is touched directly by at least one owner, with no employee-advisor layer separating the principals from the portfolios. That architecture locks the firm into a boutique model where growth is constrained by the founders' own capacity rather than by a sales organization.

## Sectors

- Wealth Management
- Financial Planning

## People

- Joseph Wm Schwarz — Founding Principal
- Stephen J. Dygos — Founding Principal
- Benjamin J. Wheeler — Founding Principal
- Paul Wilson — Senior Wealth Advisor
- David Stefl — Associate Financial Advisor
- Jon Hogan — Associate Financial Advisor
- Emily Nuth — Client Service Associate

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Schwarz Dygos Wheeler?

The three founding principals — Joseph Schwarz, Stephen Dygos, and Benjamin Wheeler — share responsibility for investment decisions. Schwarz holds the CFA charter, Dygos carries the CFP and CPWA designations, and Wheeler holds the CFP and CIMA. There is no separate investment committee or outsourced CIO structure publicly documented.

### Does the firm participate in fund commitments or only direct portfolios?

The firm builds customized portfolios for each client rather than operating commingled funds. Its published content discusses alternative investments and bond laddering, implying direct portfolio construction, but no public record of the firm acting as a limited partner in third-party funds exists.

### What regulatory structure governs the firm?

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, filing with the SEC. This means every employee providing advice is held to a fiduciary standard — a duty to place client interests ahead of the firm's. The firm emphasizes this as central to its value proposition.

### How is the firm compensated?

The firm is fee-only, meaning compensation derives entirely from client-paid advisory fees, not from commissions or product sales. This eliminates the conflict of recommending an investment for a commission, a structural choice that aligns the firm's revenue with portfolio performance and satisfaction rather than transaction volume.

## Related profiles

- [Schwartz & Co.](https://altss.com/profile/schwartz-co)
- [Schwarz Gruppe](https://altss.com/profile/schwarz-gruppe)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

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