Blue Ocean Strategic Capital, LLC (Syracuse)


Blue Ocean Strategic Capital, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Syracuse. It manages $135.61 million of regulatory assets for 676 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2010 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Florida, New Hampshire, and New York.

Blue Ocean Strategic Capital provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, and portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients. It prepares financial plans for more than 25 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Blue Ocean Strategic Capital: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Blue Ocean Strategic Capital, LLC is $135.61 million. The firm's AUM has grown by 17% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $133.47 million in discretionary accounts and $2.14 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $201.62 thousand each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $152.74 thousand.
Blue Ocean Strategic Capital has custody of $3.62 million in cash and securities for 9 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 67% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is investment grade corporate bonds, which make up 17% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in cash and cash equivalents form 8% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Blue Ocean Strategic Capital, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and fixed fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Stephen Yen Ling Chow serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, high net worth individuals, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Stephen Yen Ling Chow is individuals with 276 clients and $65.14 million of assets under management. Among the 11 most similar advisory firms, Blue Ocean Strategic Capital has the 2nd highest percentage of individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $135.22 million for 320 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.

Blue Ocean Strategic Capital doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Blue Ocean Strategic Capital, LLC

The company employs 7 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 57 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. Only one employee is registered as an investment adviser representative with the state securities authorities.

There’s a single person with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm compensates employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Stephen Yen Ling Chow has been acting as President since 1 Jul 2012. Kevin Eugene Vandenberg joined the executive team most recently as the Portfolio Manager, Chief Compliance Officer And Member.

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Theodore John Sarenski President, managing member and chief compliance officer 1 Jul 1998 75% - 100% 4396294
Kevin Eugene Vandenberg Portfolio manager, chief compliance officer and member 1 May 2009 25% - 50% 2132260
Stephen Yen Ling Chow President 1 Jul 2012 25% - 50% 46135

Based in Syracuse

The principal office where Blue Ocean Strategic Capital, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 333 W. Washington St., Syracuse, NY 13202, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Liverpool, NY. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 315-471-2672 or by fax 315-471-7327. The normal business hours are 9:00 am - 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at boscllc.com.