Directional Financial Services, LLC (Seattle)

Name: Directional Financial Services, LLC
Address: 1420 5 Th Ave, Seattle, WA, 98101
Telephone: 206-508-3240

Directional Financial Services, LLC is a related adviser based in Seattle. It manages $8.11 million of regulatory assets for 95 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2014 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Oregon and Washington.

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

Directional Financial Services: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Directional Financial Services, LLC is $8.11 million, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 483% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $8.11 million in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $85.38 thousand each.

Directional Financial Services has custody of $2.35 million in cash and securities for 11 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 96% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is cash and cash equivalents, which make up 4% of the firm’s portfolio.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Directional Financial Services, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and hourly charges. 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 Directional Financial Services serves?

The firm provides services to individuals and high net worth individuals. The largest group of clients of Directional Financial Services is individuals with 39 clients and $6.94 million of assets under management. Among the 1 most similar advisory firms, Directional Financial Services has the highest percentage of individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $8.11 million for 40 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.

Directional Financial Services doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Directional Financial Services, LLC

The company employs 8 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 63 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.

Michael Patrick Kelly has served as the Chief Investment Officer since 1 Nov 2015 and Kenneth Robert Smith is the Chief Executive Officer of Directional Financial Services, LLC family office. Lindsay Marie Farnsworth joined the executive team most recently as the Chief Compliance Officer.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Kenneth Robert Smith	Chief executive officer	1 Jun 2010	Other	2598986
Ethan Andrew Broga	Member	1 Oct 2010	Other	4272080
Jaime Chelan Christina White	Chief operations officer	1 Apr 2013	Other	5738075
Lorne David Enquist	Chief financial officer and member	1 Oct 2013	Other	5270619
Empirical Wealth Management	Owner	1 May 2014	75% - 100%	152622
Shannon Marie Contreras	Chief compliance officer	1 May 2014	Other	6148625
Jaime Chelan Christina Holderman	Chief compliance officer	1 Oct 2014	Other	5738075
Julia Balitsky Sipple	Chief compliance officer	1 Dec 2014	Other	5598380
Michael Patrick Kelly	Chief investment officer	1 Nov 2015	Other	4223175
Hwa Chong Park	Chief operating officer	1 Feb 2016	Other	3108228
James Allen Jones	Chief compliance officer	1 Sep 2016	Other	6699732
Lindsay Marie Farnsworth	Chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2018	Other	6521513

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 1 indirect owner.

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Kenneth Robert Smith	Member	1 Oct 2010	50% - 75%	2598986

Based in Seattle

The principal office where Directional Financial Services, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 1420 5 Th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, which is also the mailing address of the firm. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 206-508-3240 or by fax 866-496-9877. The normal business hours are 8:00 am - 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at directionalfs.com.