Johnson Sterling, Inc. (Birmingham)


Johnson Sterling, Inc. is a large advisory firm based in Birmingham. It manages $1.96 billion of regulatory assets for 360 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2007 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas.

Johnson Sterling provides portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, and pension consulting services. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Johnson Sterling: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Johnson Sterling, Inc. is $1.96 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 717% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $386.61 million in discretionary accounts and $1.58 billion in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $1.13 million each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $82.94 million.
Johnson Sterling has custody of $8.19 million in cash and securities for 17 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in investment and business development companies the most. They account for 97% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is pooled investment vehicles, which make up 1% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in exchange traded securities form 1% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Johnson Sterling, Inc. for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, and fixed fees. Flat-fee based compensation is the most transparent and the one you can safely predict in advance. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Johnson Sterling serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, corporations or other businesses, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Johnson Sterling is pension and profit sharing plans with 15 clients and $1.57 billion of assets under management. Among the 7 most similar advisory firms, Johnson Sterling has the highest percentage of pension and profit sharing plans out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $1.96 billion for 362 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Johnson Sterling doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Johnson Sterling, Inc.

The company employs 14 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 57 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 7 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Samuel Paul Johnson Chairman, and ceo 1 Feb 1989 75% - 100% 260261
Elizabeth Lee Rutherford President and chief compliance officer 1 Sep 1997 Other 2610868

Based in Birmingham

The principal office where Johnson Sterling, Inc. performs its advisory services is located at 820 Shades Creek Parkway, Birmingham, AL 35209, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Auburn, AL. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 205-871-9940 or by fax 205-871-9942. The normal business hours are 8:30 - 5:00 on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at johnsonsterling.com.