Frederick, MD Buckeystown Pike Office

Stratos Wealth Partners, Ltd. is an SEC‑registered enterprise adviser with roughly 379 advisors and about $18.6 billion in assets under management that serves a broad mix of individuals (including high‑net‑worth clients), retirement plans, corporations, nonprofits and other institutional clients. Services are delivered through affiliated and independent investment adviser representatives and include advisor‑managed wrap and non‑wrap programs, financial planning (flat‑fee, subscription and hourly), third‑party manager programs, and outsourced CIO solutions for institutional clients.

The firm’s model is IAR‑driven: most advisors operate as independent contractors (with a program for some to become employees) and provide discretionary and non‑discretionary portfolio management, using customized portfolios or model allocations aligned to client goals and ongoing active monitoring. Stratos employs an open‑architecture approach that integrates multiple third‑party platforms and managers — including affiliated sub‑advisors (Stratos Investment Management and SEI Investment Management Corporation), Envestnet, LPL, Fidelity and Schwab — and offers overlay and tax‑management features as part of portfolio implementation.

Several features disclosed in the brochure distinguish Stratos from many peers: a December 2025 strategic investment by SEI brought common ownership with SEI Investment Management Corporation and SEI Private Trust Company, enabling use of SEI‑managed strategies, the SEI Integrated Cash Program (including a mandatory 1% FDIC sweep) and the SEI Access Marketplace — arrangements the firm identifies as creating potential economic conflicts of interest. The brochure also highlights less common operational elements such as held‑away discretionary management via the Pontera platform, an option‑overlay sub‑adviser arrangement that shares fees with a parent company, and niche planning services (for example, sports and entertainment and executive planning), which clients are asked to review with their IAR.