Stratos Wealth Partners

Office address: 3750 Park East Drive, Suite 200, Beachwood, OH 44122
Website: stratoswealthpartners.com
Year established: 2008
Company type: financial services
Employees: 555+ (2026)
Expertise: investment management, financial planning, wealth management, retirement planning, estate planning, tax planning, insurance and risk management, business planning, charitable giving, high net worth planning
Parent company: Stratos Wealth Holdings, LLC
Key people: Jeff Concepcion (CEO); Nancy Andrefsky (CFO); Kathryn Louttit (CCO); Charis Jones (COO); Charles Shapiro, Chris Walling, and Bobbie Meola (managing partners)
Financing status: private equity-backed

Stratos Wealth Partners operates as an RIA and hybrid wealth management firm out of Beachwood. The company says it seeks to simplify financial decisions for business owners and individual investors. It supports over 300 investment advisors who offer wealth management and retirement planning services.

History of Stratos Wealth Partners

Stratos Wealth Partners was founded by Jeffrey Concepcion in 2008, out of Beachwood, Ohio. According to the firm, Concepcion started SWP because the brokerage model of the time consistently put business interests over client needs.

The company says its aim was to bring national-firm resources to advisors while keeping them independent. To do that, it built its services around a network of independent investment advisor representatives, or IARs.

Building a nationwide advisor network

Stratos Wealth Partners' expansion beyond Ohio began within two years of its founding. The company had also registered with the SEC as an investment advisor in 2010.

By 2011, it had pushed west into California, with offices in both Los Angeles and San Diego. Since then, SWP has grown to more than 120 locations across the US.

Private equity backing and a global move

Outside investment followed as Stratos Wealth Partners built out its advisor network. In 2020, Stratos secured a minority investment from Emigrant Partners, a private equity firm focused on backing independent advisory businesses.

That deal gave Stratos the financial support to purchase a controlling interest in NSC Asesores, a Mexico City-based wealth management firm. The acquisition marked its first entry into international wealth management.

Recognition and expansion in 2023–24

SWP's growth has also brought individual recognition for the advisors within its network. InvestmentNews featured Stratos Wealth Partners' Chelsea Adams as an excellence awardee in its 2023 Women to Watch Rising Star of the Year category.

The following year, SWP recruited seven advisors who brought in a combined estimated $1 billion in new client assets. The firm also grew its Ohio presence through Stratos Wealth Advisors, a sister advisory platform under parent company Stratos Wealth Holdings.

Stratos Wealth Partners products and services

Stratos provides advisory and financial planning services through independent advisors:

Advisory programs

• Strategic Wealth Management (SWM) accounts: non-wrap accounts at LPL Financial
• non-wrap advisory accounts: same structure; Fidelity or Schwab
• wrap fee program: managed by affiliate Stratos Investment Management (SIM)

Financial planning

• retirement and Social Security planning: income, timing, and benefit strategies
• estate planning: wealth transfer and legacy planning
• tax planning: personal and business tax strategies
• educational planning: college and education funding
• cash flow and budget planning: income and expense management
• insurance needs analysis: life and coverage review
• business succession planning: exit and transition planning
• executive planning: compensation and deferred benefit strategies
• sports and entertainment management: financial management for athletes, entertainers
• corporate benefit consulting: employer benefit plan guidance
• Employer Sponsored Account Recommendations (ESAR): retirement guidance for plan participants

Stratos Wealth Partners' programs are available on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis. The firm serves individuals, trusts, corporations, and retirement plans across multiple states.

Culture and corporate values

Stratos Wealth Partners describes its culture as centered on advisor independence and entrepreneurship. It says these five values guide how it operates and supports both its advisors and clients:

1. people first
2. empower entrepreneurs
3. positive can-do attitude
4. embrace collaboration
5. do the right thing

Stratos Wealth Partners' advisors work primarily as independent contractors and can operate their own legal business entities with their own trade names and logos.

A limited program also allows select IARs to become employees of a SWP affiliate, with a home office team of more than 60 staff providing operational support.

About CEO Jeff Concepcion and key people

Jeff Concepcion founded Stratos Wealth Partners and serves as its CEO. His 22 years at Lincoln Financial Network included an appointment as SVP of market access. Concepcion got his BA in political science from Trinity College.

Below is a list of executive team members and managing partners who help Concepcion lead Stratos Wealth Partners:

• Nancy Andrefsky is the founding partner and CFO
• Kathryn Louttit, JD, is the CCO
• Charis Jones is the COO and head of supervision
• Charles Shapiro and Chris Walling are founding and managing partners
• Bobbie Meola is a managing partner

Stratos organizes its leadership into an executive team and a broader senior leadership team. The wider group covers functional areas that include compliance, operations, and platform strategy, among others.

The future at Stratos Wealth Partners

SWP's parent company, Stratos Wealth Holdings, became majority-owned by SEI, a Nasdaq-listed financial services firm, in 2025. SEI paid $441 million in December 2025 to close the first stage of the deal, representing 81 percent of the total transaction value.

Stratos Wealth Partners keeps its brand and CEO under SEI's ownership and is expected to add more advisory practices and pursue European opportunities over the medium term.

The second stage of the transaction, involving NSC Asesores in Mexico, is expected to close after final regulatory approvals. If completed, the NSC transaction would increase SWP's exposure to cross-border and Latin American wealth markets.

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