SEC-registered wealth management firm Broker-dealer affiliated
Arete Wealth Advisors, LLC
As of its Form ADV filed August 17, 2026, Arete Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered, broker-dealer affiliated wealth management firm in Chicago, Illinois, reported $2.7 billion in regulatory assets under management across 5,424 accounts, ranking #30 among all wealth firms in Illinois by assets.
Registration
- Registration
- SEC-registered, Approved
- CRD number
- 145488
- SEC file number
- 801-69827
- Registered since
- January 5, 2009
- Latest Form ADV filing
- August 17, 2026
- Organized as
- Limited Liability Company
- Fiscal year ends
- December
- Other offices
- 26
Key figures
- Regulatory assets under management
- $2.7 billion
- Discretionary
- $2.7 billion (100.0%)
- Non-discretionary
- $0
- Accounts
- 5,424 (5,424 discretionary)
- Clients
- 5,461, approximate as reported
- Employees
- 135
- Advisory staff
- 130 performing investment advisory functions
- Average account
- $506,154
- Asset growth, 1 year
- -12.9% (from $3.2 billion a year earlier)
- Asset growth, 3-year annual rate
- 9.1% (from $2.1 billion three years earlier)
- Asset growth, 5-year annual rate
- 13.0% (from $1.5 billion five years earlier)
- Client growth, 1 year
- -7.0% (from 5,872)
Broker-dealer affiliated. The firm is itself a broker-dealer as well as an investment adviser (Form ADV Item 6.A(1)). It is ranked among all wealth firms, the directory's view that includes wirehouses and broker-dealer firms, not in the main lists of independent RIAs. How firms are classed.
Growth rates come from the SEC's yearly snapshots and are left blank when the years are not comparable.
Rankings
Among all wealth firms, including wirehouses and broker-dealer firms.
Assets over time
Data table
| As of | RAUM |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2010 | $150.0 million |
| October 3, 2011 | $151.6 million |
| October 1, 2012 | $189.3 million |
| October 1, 2013 | $345.6 million |
| October 1, 2014 | $501.9 million |
| October 1, 2015 | $588.5 million |
| October 3, 2016 | $691.4 million |
| October 2, 2017 | $808.3 million |
| October 1, 2018 | $1.1 billion |
| October 1, 2019 | $1.2 billion |
| October 1, 2020 | $1.3 billion |
| October 4, 2021 | $1.5 billion |
| October 3, 2022 | $2.0 billion |
| October 5, 2023 | $2.1 billion |
| October 1, 2024 | $2.7 billion |
| September 2, 2025 | $3.2 billion |
| October 2, 2026 | $2.7 billion |
Clients and services
Client mix
| Measure | Bar | RAUM |
|---|---|---|
| High net worth individuals 3,441 clients | $2.0 billion | |
| Individuals (other than high net worth) 1,848 clients | $521.6 million | |
| Corporations or other businesses 116 clients | $173.2 million | |
| Pension and profit sharing plans 9 clients | $6.9 million | |
| Charitable organizations 12 clients | $4.5 million |
How the firm is paid
- A percentage of assets under management
- Hourly charges
- Fixed fees
- Performance-based fees
- Other
Advisory services
- Financial planning
- Portfolio management for individuals or small businesses
- Portfolio management for businesses or institutional clients
- Pension consulting
- Selection of other advisers
- Publication of periodicals or newsletters
- Other
Financial planning clients (Item 5.H): 51-100.
Wrap fee program sponsor or portfolio manager: yes.
Other business, affiliations and custody
Other business activities (Item 6.A)
- Broker-dealer
- Insurance broker or agent
- Other financial products
Financial industry affiliations (Item 7.A)
- Broker-dealer
- Insurance company or agency
Custody (Item 9)
The firm reported no custody of client cash or securities.
Investment adviser representatives
- IARs registered with the firm
- 145
- Also registered through a broker-dealer
- 131
- Employees who are IARs (Form ADV 5.B(3))
- 135
Designations held by the firm's IARs: CFP 8, ChFC 2, CFA 1, PFS 1.
Between 56 and 142 of the firm's 145 IARs are registered in jurisdictions that require IAR CE. The source counts registrations by jurisdiction, and many IARs are registered in more than one, so the exact number is not knowable from it. IAR CE requirements by state.
Counts only. AdvisorIQ does not list individual people.
Disclosures
On Form ADV Item 11 the firm answered yes to 3 disclosure questions. See the detail on IAPD.
Succession and acquired firms
On Form ADV Item 4 the firm did not report succeeding to another adviser's business.
Similar-sized firms in Illinois
| Firm | City | RAUM |
|---|---|---|
| Capstone Financial Advisors Inc | Downers Grove | $2.9 billion |
| Rothschild Investment | Chicago | $2.8 billion |
| Ipi Wealth Management, Inc. | Decatur | $2.7 billion |
| Cozad Asset Management Inc | Champaign | $2.6 billion |
| North Star Investment Management Corporation | Chicago | $2.5 billion |
The five wealth firms, broker-dealer affiliated firms included, nearest in regulatory assets with a main office in the same state.
Elsewhere
- Arete Wealth Advisors, LLC on IAPD: Form ADV, brochures and disclosure detail.
- Firm website: www.aretewealth.com
- Wealth management firms in Illinois
Firm data as of October 2, 2026, from ia100226.zip. Figures are as the firm reported them; corrections are made on Form ADV and appear after the next monthly reload.
Data as of October 2, 2026, from Form ADV. Sources: SEC registered adviser data (ia100226.zip) and IAPD compilation reports. How the directory is built.