DFX Intelligence
RIA Intelligence
Registered investment advisers, the advisors registered through them, the capital they report, the private vehicles they run and the people who own them, as a graph with a filing date behind every number. RAUM is what the adviser filed, a move is two registration dates, and a class is a rule you can read.
SEC-registered adviser
Donald W. Nicholson & Associates Ltd
Latest filing Apr 1, 2026
First filing on the tape Mar 21, 2012 · 36 filings
SEC status approved since Nov 26, 1999
RAUM
$171M
reported, Item 5.F
Discretionary
68%
of RAUM
Private clients
99%
$169M individuals and HNW
Advisors
3
registered through the firm on IAPD
RAUM per advisor
$57.1M
derived; firm RAUM over IAPD count
Employees
5
4 advisory (5.B.1)
Offices
0
beyond the principal office
Private funds
0
reported on Schedule D
History
36 filings and snapshots on the tape
RAUM$171M as of Apr 1, 2026
Mar 21, 2012$97.6M then
HNW client RAUM$127M as of Apr 1, 2026
Mar 30, 2018$113M then
State-registered IARs (5.B.3)3 as of Apr 1, 2026
Mar 21, 20120 then
Employees (5.A)5 as of Apr 1, 2026
Mar 27, 20133 then
Private funds: no history
RAUM -0.1% over the last fiscal year+1.3% a year over threeIARs 2 to 3offices 1 to 0
Practice profile
derived from the filing of Apr 1, 2026; every figure names its basis
Archetypes, each a printed rule
- HNW wealth manager · private-client share of RAUM at least 50 percent and HNW share of private-client RAUM 50 to 90 percent
- Independent boutique · a wealth manager with no broker-dealer, bank or insurance affiliate, 2 to 25 advisors, one to three offices, no public reporting company control
- Solo or small team · one advisor, or a wealth manager with up to three advisors and one office
- RAUM per advisor
- $57.1MderivedRAUM over IAPD advisors; not a book size
- Clients per advisor
- 52derivedindividual and HNW clients (5.D) over advisors
- Average HNW client
- $2.5MderivedHNW RAUM over HNW clients
- Average account
- $483,718derivedRAUM over accounts (5.F.2.f)
- Discretionary
- 68%derivedof RAUM
- Institutional
- 1.0%derivedpensions, charities, corporations, government, insurance, banks, other advisers
- Employees per advisor
- 1.7derivedItem 5.A over advisors
- Advisors per office
- 3.0derived1 offices incl. principal (1.F.5)
- RAUM growth, one year
- -0.1%derivedbetween the last two annual amendments
- Advisor growth, one year
- +50%derivedItem 5.B.3 between annual amendments
- Client growth, one year
- -9.3%derived
- Compensation
- percentage of assets, hourly, fixed feesreportedItem 5.E
- Advisory activities
- financial planning, portfolio management for individuals, portfolio management for businesses and institutions, publicationsreportedItem 5.G
- Ownership
- no PE, bank or public-company owner found on Schedule Aderived
- Advisor book size
- not public; not estimatedreported
Also answered yes on Form ADV
- buys or sells securities as principal to or from clients (8.A.2)
- has discretionary authority over which securities are bought or sold (8.C.1)
- receives research or other products from a broker-dealer, soft dollars (8.E)
Where the RAUM sits
Form ADV Item 5.D, latest filing
- High-net-worth individuals$127M74%
- Individuals$42.2M25%
- Charitable organizations$1.7M1.0%
- Individual clients
- 106reported
- HNW clients
- 50reported
- Pension plan clients
- n/areported
- Charitable clients
- n/areported
- Accounts
- 354reported
- Financial planning clients
- 101-250reported
- Wrap fee programs
- noreported
- Custody of client assets
- noreported
- Compensation
- % of AUM, fixed, hourlyreported
- Class basis
- private_client_share=0.99 fund_share=0.0 institutional_share=0.01 related_bd=false related_bank=false bd_reps=0.0derived
Advisors registered through the firm
3 on IAPD today, longest tenure first
| Name | Branch | Here since | In industry | Prior firms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald William Nicholson | Wilmington , De | Jan 1, 1989 | 41 y | 0 |
| Donald William NicholsonCertified Financial Planner | Wilmington, De | Aug 26, 1996 | 31 y | 0 |
| Thomas Patrick Caffrey | Wilmington, De | Apr 27, 2025 | 13 y | 4 |
Advisor movement
0 left, 0 joined in 12 months
net 0 in 12 months0 left in 90 days0 joined in 90 daysdeparture rate 0.0% of current headcount0 left over 36 months
Left, latest
none on the tape
Joined, latest
none on the tape
Private funds
No private fund reported.
Owners and control persons
Schedule A and B, latest filing
- William Donald Nicholson · President/Director, Chief Compliance Officercontrolsince 11/1987 · owns 75% or more
- Lynn Mary Nicholson · Secretary/Treasurer/Directorcontrolsince 11/1987 · owns less than 5%
Related persons
Schedule D 7.A
No related person reported.
Office movement
IAPD branch city; joins and departures in 12 months
| Office | Advisors | Joined | Left | Teams out | Forming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington, De · principal | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Offices
Schedule D 1.F, the 25 largest
- , 1 employees
ADV anomalies
1 against comparable advisers; where to look, not conclusions
- discretionary share shiftChange between filings · filing Apr 1, 2026discretionary share of RAUM moved from 0.0% to 68.0% between the annual amendments of 2025-03-31 and 2026-04-01peers: independent wealth managers, $100M to $500M (5,676)
What changed
consecutive filings, newest first
- Accounts · 501 to 354Dec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- Advisory activities · 5 to 4Dec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- HNW clients · 51 to 50Dec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- Individual clients · 121 to 106Dec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- Employees · 6 to 5Dec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- Insurance-licensed employees · 0 to 1Dec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- State-registered IARs · 2 to 3Dec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- Discretionary RAUM · $0 to $116MDec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- HNW RAUM · $123M to $127MDec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- Individual RAUM · $43.8M to $42.2MDec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- Non-discretionary RAUM · $171M to $55.3MDec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- RAUM · $171M to $171MDec 5, 2025 to Mar 30, 2026
- Other offices · 1 to 0May 5, 2025 to Nov 25, 2025
- Financial planning clients · 101-250 to 101-250Mar 31, 2025 to May 5, 2025
- HNW clients · 53 to 51Nov 26, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Individual clients · 85 to 121Nov 26, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Employees · 5 to 6Nov 26, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- HNW RAUM · $117M to $123MNov 26, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Individual RAUM · $37.8M to $43.8MNov 26, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Non-discretionary RAUM · $178M to $171MNov 26, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- RAUM · $178M to $171MNov 26, 2024 to Mar 31, 2025
- Accounts · 167 to 501Apr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- Advisory employees · 2 to 4Apr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- Charity clients · 4.0 to unsetApr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- HNW clients · 103 to 53Apr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- Individual clients · 49 to 85Apr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- Assets in custody · 5069354.0 to unsetApr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- Custody of client assets · true to falseApr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- HNW RAUM · $43.0M to $117MApr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- Individual RAUM · $105M to $37.8MApr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- Non-discretionary RAUM · $165M to $178MApr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- RAUM · $165M to $178MApr 4, 2023 to Mar 29, 2024
- Accounts · 440 to 167Nov 4, 2022 to Mar 31, 2023
- Charity clients · unset to 4.0Nov 4, 2022 to Mar 31, 2023
- HNW clients · 164 to 103Nov 4, 2022 to Mar 31, 2023
- Individual clients · 94 to 49Nov 4, 2022 to Mar 31, 2023
- Assets in custody · $16.4M to $5.1MNov 4, 2022 to Mar 31, 2023
- Employees · 6 to 5Nov 4, 2022 to Mar 31, 2023
- Other offices · 0 to 1Nov 4, 2022 to Mar 31, 2023
- HNW RAUM · $151M to $43.0MNov 4, 2022 to Mar 31, 2023
Signals
No event on the tape.
Across DFX
shared identifiers only, never a name match
No identifier-backed link to the venture, private equity, family office or sponsor graphs.
How to reach
public business contact points only, each with its source
- Business phone
- 302-529-0474reportedpublished by the firm, firm site, Sep 17, 2026
- Business phone
- 302-529-0479reportedpublished by the firm, firm site, Sep 17, 2026
- Business phone
- 302-529-1500reportedpublished by the firm, firm site, Sep 17, 2026
- Firm profile
- LINKEDIN.COM/COMPANY/DONALD-W-NICHOLSON-&-ASSOCIATES-LTD-reportedpublic record, Form ADV, Sep 17, 2026
- Website
- NICHOLSON-ASSOCIATES.COMreportedpublic record, Form ADV, Sep 17, 2026
- Principal office phone
- 302-529-1500reportedpublic record, Form ADV, Apr 1, 2026
Provenance
- Form ADV
- SEC filing data 2011 to 2024 and the monthly roster 2025 onreportedadviserinfo.sec.gov
- Advisors
- IAPD individual compilation feed, dailyreportedadviserinfo.sec.gov
- Class
- Independent wealth managerderiveda rule over Items 5.D and 7.A
- RAUM per advisor
- $57.1Mderivedfirm RAUM over the IAPD count; not a book size
- Loaded
- Sep 14, 2026