Woodstock, IL Office

American Investors Company (AIC) provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporations. The firm also operates as a registered broker-dealer, and its registered representatives sell securities and insurance products for commission in addition to offering advisory services.

AIC offers discretionary and non-discretionary asset supervisory/management, hourly consultation, financial planning, 401(k) investment selection and monitoring, and occasional seminars, with services delivered either as ongoing management or as periodic reviews. The firm may refer clients to or use third-party money managers and conducts initial and annual evaluations of those managers, and it acknowledges ERISA fiduciary duties when providing retirement advice.

What distinguishes AIC from many peers is its combined broker-dealer and SEC-registered adviser structure: the brochure discloses that AIC may retain mutual fund 12b-1 fees and receives due diligence/marketing allowances for direct participation programs (retaining 50 basis points), and that affiliates may act as insurance agents, real estate brokers, or solicitors and receive referral compensation. The firm’s practices include solicitor/referral arrangements, payee-agent roles for independent reps, and multiple revenue streams from both advisory and commission sources, which create potential conflicts and set it apart from fee-only advisory models.