What IHT Wealth Management does

IHT Wealth Management, LLC is an independent hybrid-registered investment advisor (RIA) founded in 2014 by Steven Dudash in Chicago, Illinois, operating as a limited liability company under the IHT Wealth Management brand. The firm provides wealth advisory services — including financial planning, investment advice and portfolio management, insurance and risk management, legacy/estate planning, tax-aware investing, retirement analysis, charitable giving, ESG investing, multi-generational family planning, and private equity and alternative investments — delivered through a national network of 147 financial advisors, 78 relationship managers, and 14 operations staff across 70 offices in 20 states. Technology architecture is an open-architecture platform providing advisor access to multiple custodians (LPL Financial, Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Raymond James) and broker-dealers, with Orion used for portfolio management; securities are offered through LPL Financial (Member FINRA/SIPC) via a wholly-owned subsidiary, IHT Securities, LLC. The firm has no parent company, no disclosed institutional sponsor, and operates privately.

The business model is recurring, fee-based: advisors are employed on a W-2 basis (the "wirehouse lite" model), fully own their client practices, and are supported by IHT's compliance, operations, marketing, and back-office infrastructure in exchange for revenue share. Go-to-market is sales-led, driven primarily by advisor recruiting from wirehouses and independent channels, with 130+ advisor transitions executed historically. Customer segmentation is horizontal across individuals and families, business owners, pre-retirees and retirees, and professionals (executives, doctors, attorneys). Marketing relies on content/commentary on the company website and earned media in Forbes, Reuters, CNBC, MarketWatch, and the Wall Street Journal. The 2016 strategic partnership and staged combination with US Wealth Management (Braintree, MA) is the principal inorganic growth event on record. The firm reports over $8 billion in client assets as of CEO Dudash's most recent bio.

Name

IHT Wealth Management

Legal name

IHT Wealth Management, LLC

Website

https://ihtwealthmanagement.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IHT Wealth Management is an independent hybrid-RIA founded in 2014 in Chicago, serving individuals, families, business owners, and professionals through 147 financial advisors across 70 offices in 20 states with over $8 billion in client assets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Wealth Management (FSAEABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB), Portfolio Management–Led RIAs (Discretionary/Model-Based) (FSAAACAC)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Investment advisory
• Financial planning
• Retirement planning
• Estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory Services: Investment advisory services offered through IHT Wealth Management, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IHT Wealth Management is an independent hybrid-registered investment advisor (RIA) that delivers personalized wealth management and financial advisory services through a national network of 147 financial advisors across 70 offices in 20 states. The firm offers financial planning, investment advice and portfolio management, insurance and risk management, legacy and estate planning, tax-aware investing, retirement analysis, ESG investing, multi-generational family planning, and private equity and alternative investments. Services are delivered through an open-architecture platform connecting to multiple custodians and broker-dealers, with securities offered through LPL Financial.

Product overview

IHT Wealth Management operates as an independent hybrid-registered investment advisor (RIA) and Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJ) offering a unified suite of wealth management services through a national network of over 147 financial advisors across 20 states and 70 offices. The firm provides financial planning, investment advice and portfolio management, insurance and risk management, legacy and estate planning, tax-aware investing, retirement analysis, ESG investing, multi-generational family planning, and private equity and alternative investments. Services are delivered through an open-architecture platform via multiple custodians and broker-dealers (LPL Financial). The firm does not offer a standalone software product; all offerings are advisory services delivered through human financial advisors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wealth Advisory Services

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• US Wealth ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 December 2016Strategic partnership and phased plan to combine firms. IHT Founder Steven Dudash joined USWM leadership as EVP of Recruiting and Strategic Development. IHT expected to benefit from USWM's business development platform and practice management expertise. IHTWM purchased equity of USWM in stages. Combined firm manages approximately $2 billion in brokerage and advisory assets.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Advisor Group: Advisor Group is a major IBD/RIA platform serving independent financial advisors through multiple subsidiary brands. It competes for the same breakaway wirehouse advisors and offers comparable open-architecture investment and planning capabilities.
• Cetera Financial Group: Cetera is a large hybrid-RIA and IBD platform whose advisor recruiting and multi-custodian model serve the same producer audience IHT targets. It is a relevant competitor for advisors choosing between multiple W-2-style platforms.
• Cambridge Investment Research: Cambridge is one of the largest independent broker-dealer/RIA platforms supporting thousands of advisors with open-architecture products. Its scale and advisor support infrastructure represent the larger competitive set IHT is positioned against.
• HighTower Advisors: HighTower is among the largest hybrid-RIA platforms serving breakaway wirehouse advisors under a W-2/employee model with multi-custodian access. IHT is a smaller, more recent entrant executing on a closely analogous recruiter-led advisor acquisition strategy.
• Wealth Enhancement Group: Wealth Enhancement Group is a rapidly scaling hybrid-RIA consolidator that acquires advisory practices and supports advisors through technology and back-office infrastructure. Its scale-up trajectory and target advisor segment closely parallel IHT's strategy.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Mariner is a PE-backed national wealth advisory platform combining RIA services, alternative investments and family office offerings through acquired practices. It is a direct competitor for HNW advisor transitions and offers many of the same multi-custodian, multi-generational capabilities as IHT.
• Carson Group: Carson operates a national hybrid-RIA and IBD platform recruiting advisors through coaching, equity participation and back-office support. Like IHT, it scales through advisor transitions and emphasizes holistic financial planning, making it a directly comparable recruiting-driven peer.

Others

• LPL Financial: LPL Financial is IHT's primary broker-dealer and OSJ partner, providing custody, compliance and technology for IHT's advisor force. As the largest independent broker-dealer in the US it is both a critical infrastructure provider and an indirect competitor through its hybrid-RIA offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman Financial Engines: Edelman is a large national RIA offering wealth management and planning services to a broad HNW client base. As a much larger incumbent in the same advisor-delivered wealth management category, it represents both a competitive benchmark and a potential future acquirer of hybrid-RIA platforms like IHT.
• Focus Financial Partners: Focus is the largest consolidator of independent RIAs and hybrid platforms in the US, providing capital, M&A infrastructure and equity to partner firms. IHT's USWM staged-equity purchase mirrors the kind of partnership Focus pioneered, making Focus the archetypal larger incumbent in the same space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Ihtwealth
• Facebookfacebook.com/IHTWealthManagement

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about IHT Wealth Management