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
Essex LLC
Latest filing Jan 29, 2026
First filing on the tape Mar 20, 2012 · 35 filings
SEC status approved since Apr 11, 1997
RAUM
$649M
reported, Item 5.F
Discretionary
95%
of RAUM
Private clients
93%
$607M individuals and HNW
Advisors
8
registered through the firm on IAPD
RAUM per advisor
$81.2M
derived; firm RAUM over IAPD count
Employees
9
7 advisory (5.B.1)
Offices
2
beyond the principal office
Private funds
0
reported on Schedule D
History
35 filings and snapshots on the tape
RAUM$649M as of Jan 29, 2026
Mar 20, 2012$146M then
HNW client RAUM$532M as of Jan 29, 2026
Feb 1, 2018$70.1M then
State-registered IARs (5.B.3)7 as of Jan 29, 2026
Mar 13, 20133 then
Employees (5.A)9 as of Jan 29, 2026
Mar 13, 20134 then
Private funds: no history
RAUM +15% over the last fiscal year+18% a year over threeIARs 7 to 7offices 1 to 2
Practice profile
derived from the filing of Jan 29, 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
- Planning-led practice · financial planning activity (5.G.1), at least 100 financial planning clients (5.H), and hourly, fixed or subscription compensation (5.E)
- RAUM per advisor
- $81.2MderivedRAUM over IAPD advisors; not a book size
- Clients per advisor
- 72derivedindividual and HNW clients (5.D) over advisors
- Average HNW client
- $3.3MderivedHNW RAUM over HNW clients
- Average account
- $283,055derivedRAUM over accounts (5.F.2.f)
- Discretionary
- 95%derivedof RAUM
- Institutional
- 6.5%derivedpensions, charities, corporations, government, insurance, banks, other advisers
- Employees per advisor
- 1.1derivedItem 5.A over advisors
- Advisors per office
- 2.7derived3 offices incl. principal (1.F.5)
- RAUM growth, one year
- +15%derivedbetween the last two annual amendments
- Advisor growth, one year
- +0.0%derivedItem 5.B.3 between annual amendments
- Client growth, one year
- -4.0%derived
- Compensation
- percentage of assets, hourly, fixed feesreportedItem 5.E
- Advisory activities
- financial planning, portfolio management for individualsreportedItem 5.G
- Financial planning clients
- 600reportedItem 5.H
- Custody
- $165M, 346 clientsreportedItem 9.A
- 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)
- has custody of client cash or bank accounts (9.A.1.a)
- has custody of client securities (9.A.1.b)
Where the RAUM sits
Form ADV Item 5.D, latest filing
- High-net-worth individuals$532M82%
- Individuals$75.3M12%
- Pension and profit-sharing plans$37.0M5.7%
- Charitable organizations$5.4M0.8%
- Individual clients
- 414reported
- HNW clients
- 162reported
- Pension plan clients
- 31reported
- Charitable clients
- 1reported
- Accounts
- 2,294reported
- Financial planning clients
- 600reported
- Wrap fee programs
- noreported
- Custody of client assets
- $165M for 346 clientsreported
- Compensation
- % of AUM, fixed, hourlyreported
- Class basis
- private_client_share=0.93 fund_share=0.0 institutional_share=0.07 related_bd=false related_bank=false bd_reps=0.0derived
Advisors registered through the firm
8 on IAPD today, longest tenure first
| Name | Branch | Here since | In industry | Prior firms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin A. CairnsCertified Financial Planner | Spring Lake, Mi | Jan 8, 2015 | 12 y | 1 |
| James Walter Hartwell | Deer Park, Il | Jan 12, 2015 | 32 y | 1 |
| Arthur Allen Freedman | Deer Park, Il | Jan 12, 2015 | 26 y | 1 |
| Robert Carey Tutela | Deer Park, Il | Jan 27, 2017 | 10 y | 0 |
| Edward ConnollyCertified Financial Planner | Deer Park, Il | Jul 21, 2021 | 19 y | 1 |
| Justin Nolan | Deer Park, Il | Jul 13, 2023 | 11 y | 0 |
| Nancy Ann Effert | Deer Park, Il | Oct 8, 2023 | 24 y | 7 |
| Erik Lee Miller | Deer Park, Il | Aug 18, 2026 | 10 y | 0 |
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
- Nancy Ann Effert from Creativeone Wealth, LLCOct 8, 2023 · RIA to RIA
- Edward Connolly from Iron Financial LLCJul 21, 2021 · RIA to RIA
Private funds
No private fund reported.
Owners and control persons
Schedule A and B, latest filing
- Walter James Hartwell · President/Ceo - Managing Membercontrolsince 01/1991 · owns 75% or more
- A. Benjamin Cairns · Chief Operating Officer - Managing Membersince 01/2017 · owns 5% to 10%
- Carrey Robert Tutela · Chief Compliance Officer - Membersince 11/2016 · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Park, Il · principal | 8 | 1 | 0 |
Offices
Schedule D 1.F, the 25 largest
No branch office listed.
What changed
consecutive filings, newest first
- Accounts · 2,112 to 2,294Nov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- HNW clients · 140 to 162Nov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Individual clients · 460 to 414Nov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Pension plan clients · 19 to 31Nov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Assets in custody · $126M to $165MNov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Employees · 10 to 9Nov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Financial planning clients · 251-500 to More than 500Nov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Other offices · 1 to 2Nov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Discretionary RAUM · $533M to $619MNov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- HNW RAUM · $418M to $532MNov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Individual RAUM · $114M to $75.3MNov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Non-discretionary RAUM · $30.4M to $30.5MNov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Pension RAUM · $24.4M to $37.0MNov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- RAUM · $563M to $649MNov 21, 2025 to Jan 29, 2026
- Financial planning clients · 251-500 to 251-500May 15, 2025 to Jun 6, 2025
- Other offices · 0 to 1Jan 14, 2025 to Apr 9, 2025
- Accounts · 1,919 to 2,112Nov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- HNW clients · 127 to 140Nov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- Individual clients · 428 to 460Nov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- Pension plan clients · 0 to 19Nov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- Assets in custody · $104M to $126MNov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- Discretionary RAUM · $448M to $533MNov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- HNW RAUM · $354M to $418MNov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- Individual RAUM · $112M to $114MNov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- Non-discretionary RAUM · $26.2M to $30.4MNov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- Pension RAUM · unset to 24378917.0Nov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- RAUM · $474M to $563MNov 19, 2024 to Jan 14, 2025
- Accounts · 1,607 to 1,919Oct 12, 2023 to Feb 5, 2024
- HNW clients · 52 to 127Oct 12, 2023 to Feb 5, 2024
- Individual clients · 389 to 428Oct 12, 2023 to Feb 5, 2024
- Assets in custody · $66.2M to $104MOct 12, 2023 to Feb 5, 2024
- Discretionary RAUM · $364M to $448MOct 12, 2023 to Feb 5, 2024
- HNW RAUM · $214M to $354MOct 12, 2023 to Feb 5, 2024
- Individual RAUM · $173M to $112MOct 12, 2023 to Feb 5, 2024
- Non-discretionary RAUM · $28.3M to $26.2MOct 12, 2023 to Feb 5, 2024
- RAUM · $392M to $474MOct 12, 2023 to Feb 5, 2024
- Advisory employees · 6 to 7Jul 21, 2023 to Oct 12, 2023
- Employees · 7 to 10Jul 21, 2023 to Oct 12, 2023
- State-registered IARs · 6 to 7Jul 21, 2023 to Oct 12, 2023
- Accounts · 1,573 to 1,607Jul 18, 2022 to Feb 10, 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
- 847-777-7800reportedpublished by the firm, firm site, Sep 16, 2026
- Business phone
- 847-777-7810reportedpublished by the firm, firm site, Sep 16, 2026
- Firm profile
- linkedin.com/company/essex-llcreportedpublic record, Form ADV, Sep 18, 2026
- Website
- ESSEXLLC.COMreportedpublic record, Form ADV, Sep 18, 2026
- Principal office phone
- 847-777-7800reportedpublic record, Form ADV, Jan 29, 2026
- Contact form
- essexllc.com/contactreportedpublished by the firm, firm site, Sep 16, 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
- $81.2Mderivedfirm RAUM over the IAPD count; not a book size
- Loaded
- Sep 14, 2026