A deep bench: Each client is served by a team, typically of 3 advisers, and has access to partners

It’s very rare that an investor gets the expertise of an entire financial planning team, but at Budros Ruhlin & Roe Inc., that’s exactly what they get.

When clients hire the Columbus, Ohio-based registered investment advisory firm, they are assigned to one of its seven planning teams, which are typically made up of three planners headed by a senior advisor.

“That planning team is responsible for managing the entire process and service to the client,” said Peggy M. Ruhlin, a principal at the firm, which manages $969 million in discretionary assets.

The firm’s four principals work with clients when their expertise is called for.

Founder and principal James L. Budros is the go-to person on trusts, while Ms. Ruhlin, who was a certified public accountant before she became a financial planner, can talk to clients about tax questions. Daniel B. Roe, the firm’s chief investment officer, will consult on specific portfolio or investment questions. And John D. Schuman, who is also an attorney, can help out with legal issues.

“None of our principals has their own clients,” said Ms. Ruhlin, who joined the 30-year old firm in 1987. “All of the clients are clients of the firm.”
The advantage for clients is that they get the benefit of collaboration by Budros Ruhlin staff members who brainstorm to come up with the best approach, said Ms. Ruhlin, a former chairman of the International Association for Financial Planning, a precursor of the Financial Planning Association. “There are also more checks and balances,” she said.

Having so many specialists ad-vising each client was particularly helpful during the market downturn, Ms. Ruhlin said. “We were all very busy talking to clients,” she said.

As chief investment officer, Mr. Roe was particularly active in calming investors by sending out periodic updates.

Budros Ruhlin’s target client “is the millionaire next door,” Ms. Ruhlin said. “It is someone who earned their own money, not someone who inherited it,” she said. “It might be a small-business owner or a professional or just someone who lived beneath their means.”

The niche client has between $2 million and $5 million in investible assets and is looking for complete wealth management, not just portfolio advice, she said.

Also with 40 people at the firm, managing growth is a challenge, Ms. Ruhlin said. “For a boutique wealth management firm in Columbus, Ohio, that’s pretty large,” she said.