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Wealth manager, public-company owned · Boston, MA

Welch & Forbes LLC

SEC-registered investment adviser · CRD 115119 · SEC 801-60532

At a glance

Welch & Forbes LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser based in Boston, Massachusetts, with $9.9B in regulatory assets under management as of its Form ADV filed May 19, 2026. It reports 643 individual clients, 478 of them high-net-worth, holding an average of about $13 million each, and 55 employees. That ranks it 102nd among the nation’s 5,657 independent wealth management RIAs and 8th of 202 in Massachusetts. It reports Reliance Trust as the custodian for its clients’ separately managed accounts.

Main office 617-523-1635welchforbes.comLinkedInAs filed on Form ADV

Regulatory AUM
$9.9B
Rank among independent wealth managers
#102 of 5,657
Rank among all SEC RIAs
#1,378 of 17,210
Rank in Massachusetts
#8 of 202
Individual clients
643
High-net-worth clients
478
Accounts
3,734
Discretionary
98% of AUM
Employees
55
Advisory staff
12
Offices
1

Owners and executives on its Form ADV

Custody and brokerage

Custodian

  1. Reliance Trust$7.9B

Other RIAs using Reliance Trust

Broker-dealer

Affiliated broker-dealer

It reports a broker-dealer among its affiliates on Form ADV.

Other RIAs with an affiliated broker-dealer

Who it serves

Client typeClientsRegulatory AUMShare
High-net-worth individuals478$8.0B81%
Other investment advisers2$1.5B15%
Individuals165$165M2%
Charitable organizations26$157M2%
Corporations or other businesses22$45M<1%
Pension and profit sharing plans4$9M<1%
Pooled investment vehicles2$0M<1%

Private funds

Welch & Forbes LLC reports 2 private funds with $0M in gross assets: private equity funds (Form ADV Item 7.B).

Disciplinary disclosures

Welch & Forbes LLC reports no disciplinary disclosures in Item 11 of Form ADV. Read the details on the SEC’s adviser search ↗

Services

  • Financial planning
  • Portfolio management for individuals and small businesses
  • Portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles
  • Portfolio management for businesses and institutions

How it’s paid

  • A percentage of assets under management
  • Fixed fees

AtlasMembers

The full record on Welch & Forbes LLC

Ten years of SEC filings, its owners and contacts, and how it stacks up against its peers. Atlas members see all of it.

Assets, accounts, clients and staff, ten years of filings
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Growth over one, three and five years
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Rank against 403 peers of its type and size
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Owners and executives, with titles and stakes
5 namedLocked
Main office, fax and compliance officer
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Filing changes this year, with alerts
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Free while Atlas launches: create a free account and confirm your email. Every figure comes from SEC filings.

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Background

Questions

How much does Welch & Forbes LLC manage?

Welch & Forbes LLC reports $9.9B in regulatory assets under management across 3,734 accounts, 98% of it on a discretionary basis, on its Form ADV filed May 19, 2026.

How many clients does Welch & Forbes LLC have?

It reports 643 individual clients: 478 high-net-worth individuals and 165 other individuals. Individuals account for about 83% of its regulatory assets.

Where is Welch & Forbes LLC headquartered?

Its main office is in Boston, Massachusetts. It reports 1 office in total and 55 employees, 12 of whom perform investment advisory functions.

How does Welch & Forbes LLC charge clients?

On Form ADV it lists these forms of compensation: a percentage of assets under management; fixed fees. Fees and minimums are set out in its Form ADV Part 2A brochure, available on the SEC’s adviser search.

What custodian does Welch & Forbes LLC use?

It reports Reliance Trust as the custodian for its clients’ separately managed accounts. On Schedule D of its Form ADV filed May 19, 2026, it reports these amounts held: Reliance Trust ($7.9B). Form ADV lists only custodians holding 10% or more of separately managed account assets.

Is Welch & Forbes LLC a hybrid RIA with a broker-dealer?

It reports a broker-dealer among its affiliates on Form ADV.

Is Welch & Forbes LLC a fiduciary?

As an SEC-registered investment adviser, Welch & Forbes LLC owes its advisory clients a fiduciary duty under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which includes duties of care and loyalty. It reports no employees who are registered representatives of a broker-dealer.

Where these numbers come from

Every figure is Welch & Forbes LLC’s own answer on its latest Form ADV, from the SEC’s registered-adviser list as of October 1, 2026: regulatory assets and accounts (Item 5.F), clients by type (5.D), employees (5.A and 5.B), compensation (5.E) and services (5.G). Custodians come from Schedule D 5.K(3) of its latest filing (2026-05-19), which lists those holding 10% or more of separately managed account assets and the amount at each. “Hybrid” means some employees are also registered representatives of a broker-dealer (Item 5.B(2)); affiliated broker-dealers are the related persons it lists in Item 7.A and Schedule D. Firm type comes from its own answers: broker-dealer firms are registered broker-dealers themselves (Item 6.A); private fund advisers manage mostly private funds (Item 7.B, 5.D); wealth managers manage at least half their assets for individuals (5.D). Its national rank compares it with every US-based independent wealth management RIA, the same field as The Largest RIAs. Figures are as of the firm’s last annual update, so they can lag recent deals and market moves. Regulatory AUM counts assets the firm continuously supervises and can differ from what a firm markets.

Not an endorsement or a recommendation. Before hiring any adviser, read its Form ADV Part 2A brochure and check its record on the SEC’s adviser search. How to check a financial advisor →