Sigma Investment Counselors

Name

Sigma Investment Counselors

Legal name

Sigma Investment Counselors

Website

https://sigmainvestments.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Fee-Only Advisory (FSAEAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary) (FSAAABAD)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Investment advisory
• Financial planning
• Retirement planning
• Fee-only advisor

Headquarters

HQ city

Southfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Advisory Fee (AUM-based): Sigma Investment Counselors operates as a fee-only registered investment advisor. The firm charges fees based on assets under management, billed quarterly. The fee schedule is tiered: 1.0% annually on the first $2,000,000, 0.6% annually on the next $3,000,000, 0.5% annually on the next $5,000,000, and 0.2% annually on any amount over $10,000,000. Minimum AUM of $1 million is required for ongoing wealth management services. No third-party compensation is received based on products, recommendations, or how client assets are invested.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sigma Investment Counselors is a fee-only registered investment advisor providing personalized wealth management and investment counseling services to high-net-worth individuals and families. Core offerings include investment management (asset selection, rebalancing, diversification) and integrated financial planning across retirement, estate, tax, and insurance domains, with a minimum $1 million AUM requirement and tiered advisory fees. The firm delivers its services through a 'Thoughtful Investing' methodology from offices in Michigan, Ohio, and Florida, supported by an Investment Committee of eight CFA charter holders.

Product overview

Sigma Investment Counselors is a fee-only registered investment advisor offering a unified wealth management platform centered on 'Thoughtful Investing.' The core offering includes Investment Management and Wealth Management Services, supplemented by specialized planning modules for Retirement Planning, Estate Planning, Tax Planning, and Insurance Planning. The firm provides client-facing digital services including a Client Portal for real-time account access and delivers research/analysis through Sigma Signals (weekly market commentary with signal indicators). Educational content is delivered via Webcasts and a Newsletter archive spanning over two decades. The firm requires a minimum of $1 million in assets under management and charges fees on a tiered schedule up to 1.0% annually on the first $2 million, declining to 0.2% on amounts exceeding $10 million.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wealth Management Services Comprehensive wealth management services including investment planning, retirement planning, estate planning, tax planning, and insurance planning, delivered through a 'Thoughtful Investing' approach for clients with a minimum of $1 million AUM.
• Investment Management Investment selection, asset location, rebalancing, diversification, and behavioral bias management for client portfolios, utilizing independent research and an Investment Committee chaired by a CIO with eight CFA charter holders.
• Retirement Planning Financial planning covering retirement contributions and withdrawals, Social Security maximization, tax planning strategies, Medicare planning, cash flow budgeting, and retirement date determination.
• Estate Planning Working with attorneys and advisors to avoid probate, ensure proper asset distribution, and minimize federal and state estate taxes.
• Tax Planning Tax reduction strategies including Roth conversions, deduction and credit claims, bunching, tax loss harvesting, tax-sensitive liquidations, and tax-free investing opportunities (Roth, 529, HSA, charitable donations).
• Insurance Planning Analysis of insurance coverage to avoid financial catastrophes, including assistance with unwinding or transferring unnecessary policies.
• Client Portal Real-time access to account information with portfolio reports, secure vaulting for quarterly performance reports, client invoices, and other important documents.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wealth Enhancement Group: Fee-based RIA platform serving HNW clients with comprehensive financial planning. Directly comparable business model and HNW target client, with growing national footprint that makes it both a competitor and potential acquirer of smaller firms like Sigma.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only wealth management firm serving HNW clients with academic evidence-based investment approach. Closely mirrors Sigma's fee-only fiduciary model and HNW target market, and was itself part of an industry consolidation transaction.
• Plante Moran Financial Advisors: Fee-based wealth management arm of Plante Moran, the Michigan-based accounting and advisory firm; serves HNW individuals and families with comprehensive financial planning. Multiple Sigma team members previously worked at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, making it a direct competitor for talent and clients in the Michigan market.

Broad incumbents

• Carson Group: National RIA and coaching platform serving independent advisors and their HNW clients. Comparable in fee-based fiduciary approach but operates at much larger scale through a partnership/affiliation model that small firms like Sigma could potentially join.
• Mercer Advisors: National RIA serving HNW households with comprehensive financial planning, estate, and tax services. Overlaps with Sigma's service offerings (investment, retirement, estate, tax planning) and HNW target market but operates across the U.S. with substantially more AUM.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large national RIA combining traditional advisory services with digital planning tools. Serves overlapping HNW target market with comprehensive wealth management; represents the scaled, technology-enabled competitor Sigma faces.
• Creative Planning: Fee-only RIA providing comprehensive wealth management to HNW individuals and families, with strong fiduciary orientation similar to Sigma. Operates at much larger scale nationally, but competes for the same HNW fee-only client segment.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: National RIA platform serving HNW and ultra-HNW clients with comprehensive wealth management. Operates at far greater scale than Sigma with a national footprint, representing the consolidator profile Sigma could either compete against or potentially partner with or be acquired by.
• Hightower Advisors: Chicago-based RIA platform supporting hundreds of advisor teams serving HNW clients. Comparable in fee-based advisory model and HNW target client, but operates at substantially greater scale with national reach, positioning it as both a peer and potential acquirer.

Others

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management: Large insurance-and-investment hybrid firm with a substantial wealth management division serving HNW individuals. While its compensation model differs from Sigma's fee-only structure, it competes for the same clients in Michigan/Ohio and is a source of talent (one Sigma paraplanner previously worked there for 6 years).

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sigma-investment-counselors
• Facebookfacebook.com/331179636899024

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sigma Investment Counselors