Shaker Heights, OH Office

McDonald Partners serves individual (including high‑net‑worth) and institutional clients — banks, pension and deferred compensation plans, trusts, estates, foundations, charitable organizations, and business entities — offering investment management and financial planning alongside pension and defined‑benefit consulting and brokerage services. Engagements can be structured as discretionary or non‑discretionary portfolio management, one‑time or subscription financial planning, and participation in wrap or advisor programs.

The firm takes a customized approach, tailoring portfolios to client objectives and using fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis across multiple platforms, including an in‑house large‑cap “Core” strategy and RBC‑sponsored advisor and UMA offerings. McDonald Partners also sponsors and advises pooled investment vehicles through an affiliated manager, applies formal valuation policies to illiquid fund holdings, and may waive advisory fees on client investments in those funds under specified offset arrangements.

What distinguishes McDonald Partners from many peers is its dual role as an investment adviser and affiliated broker‑dealer: some financial advisors are registered representatives who may receive commissions and sell insurance products, and the firm has acted as placement agent, sponsor, and manager for private funds. The firm has in the past settled SEC and FINRA enforcement matters related to private fund placements and supervisory deficiencies, resulting in monetary sanctions and agreed‑upon compliance remediation.