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Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors

Columbia, MDSEC-registered investment adviserCRD 159388

Filed as BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON FINANCIAL ADVISORS · Legal name Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors, Inc.

Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm in Columbia, MD, registered since 2012, reporting $1 billion to $5 billion in regulatory assets under management in its Form ADV filing dated March 19, 2026.

14 years
registered since 2012
$2,985,578,005
assets under management
2 arrangements
Percentage of assets, Other
None
disclosure items (Item 11)

Quick answers

From the filing

How is Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors compensated?

On its Form ADV (Item 5.E, October 2026), Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors reports these compensation arrangements: a percentage of assets under its management; other.

Where is Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors located?

Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors' principal office is in Columbia, MD, according to its Form ADV.

Is Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors registered with the SEC or a state?

Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm, registered since 2012. Status as filed: Approved. CRD 159388.

How much does Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors manage?

Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors reports $2,985,578,005 in regulatory assets under management in its Form ADV filing dated March 19, 2026 (96% discretionary).

How have Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors' assets and staff changed since 2021?

In the Form ADV data for Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors: Regulatory assets under management: $1,238,302,312 in the October 2021 data and $2,985,578,005 in the October 2026 data, up 141%. Total employees: 19 in October 2021 and 36 in October 2026. Assets under management move with markets as well as with clients coming and going.

What types of clients does Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors serve?

By number of clients on Form ADV Item 5.D: individuals (other than high net worth individuals) (4,400); high net worth individuals (872); charitable organizations (18).

Which custodians does Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors use?

Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors' most recent Form ADV filing (Schedule D, Section 5.K(3)) lists Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. as a custodian holding 10% or more of its separately managed account assets.

Does Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors report any disciplinary disclosures?

Reports no disclosure items on Form ADV Item 11. The detail of any item is on the firm's SEC record: https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/159388

What changed in Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors' recent Form ADV filings?

In the April 2026 filing data: Employees performing advisory functions went from 11 to 13.

From the Form ADV filing

Every figure below is as the firm filed it with regulators, as of October 2026.

How the firm is compensated

Item 5.E
  • A percentage of assets under your management
  • Other

Item 5.E lists how the firm is compensated for its advice; Items 5.B, 6.A, and 7.A show whether its people or related companies can also earn commissions. Percentage of assets, fixed, hourly, subscription, and performance-based fees come from clients (a performance-based fee depends on investment results); commissions come with a sale or a trade, often from the company behind the product. How fees, commissions, and other arrangements differ

Fees and minimums

Form ADV Part 2A

See the firm's brochure (dated March 19, 2026) for its fees and any account minimum, on the SEC's IAPD site.

Regulatory assets under management

Item 5.F
$2,985,578,005

$2,985,578,005 as of October 2026, filing dated March 19, 2026.

Discretionary: $2,861,600,438.Non-discretionary: $123,977,567.

A measure of scale, not skill or returns. Discretionary means the firm decides trades; non-discretionary means clients approve each one. What assets under management means

Who the firm serves

Item 5.D
Individuals (other than high net worth individuals)
Clients 4,400 Assets $900,286,724 (30%)
High net worth individuals
Clients 872 Assets $2,062,302,888 (69%)
Charitable organizations
Clients 18 Assets $21,403,143 (1%)
Corporations or other businesses not listed above
Clients 11 Assets $1,585,250 (0%)

A firm with no individual clients is an institutional manager even if it manages billions; the mix tells you whom the practice is built around.

Advisory services

Item 5.G
  • Financial planning services
  • Portfolio management for individuals and/or small businesses
  • Educational seminars/workshops
  • Other

Registration and firm details

Items 1, 2, 5
Legal name
Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors, Inc.
Registration
SEC-registered investment adviser. Status as filed: Approved.
Registered since
2012 (14 years)
Employees
Total: 36. Performing investment advisory functions: 13.
Wrap fee program participation
No.
Custodians (Schedule D, Section 5.K(3))

Custodians holding 10% or more of the firm's separately managed account assets, as filed on Form ADV (Schedule D, Section 5.K(3)). A custodian holds client assets; it does not endorse or supervise the firm. AdvisorCensus has no relationship with any custodian.

States registered or notice-filed
21 states or jurisdictions
CACOCTDCDEFLILLAMAMDMENCNHNJNYOHPASCTNTXVA

SEC-registered investment advisers are examined by the SEC. SEC, state, and exempt registration

Disclosures

Item 11

None Reports no disclosure items on Form ADV Item 11. View on IAPD.

Item 11 asks about criminal, regulatory, and civil events involving the firm and its advisory personnel. The detail of each yes answer is on the IAPD record. Reading a firm's disclosures

Assets and staff over time

Items 5.A, 5.F
$1.24B 2021 $1.56B 2022 $1.62B 2023 $1.94B 2024 $2.5B 2025 $2.99B 2026
Data periodAssets under managementEmployeesFiling dated
October 2026$2,985,578,00536March 19, 2026
October 2025$2,495,119,96432April 22, 2025
October 2024$1,941,650,30428March 21, 2024
October 2023$1,619,335,81822September 18, 2023
October 2022$1,560,362,24121March 24, 2022
October 2021$1,238,302,31219March 14, 2021

Regulatory assets under management: $1,238,302,312 in the October 2021 data and $2,985,578,005 in the October 2026 data, up 141%.

Total employees: 19 in October 2021 and 36 in October 2026.

As filed in each year's data for the same month. Assets under management move with markets as well as with clients coming and going; they measure scale, not skill or returns. Most firms update these figures once a year.

Changes in the filing

Last 12 months
  1. April 2026
    • Employees performing advisory functions went from 11 to 13.
  2. January 2026
    • No longer registered or notice-filed in NE.
  3. December 2025
    • Regulatory assets under management went from $2,495,119,964 to $2,828,296,993 (+13%).
    • Registered or notice-filed in NJ.

Compared month to month from the SEC's monthly adviser data and the state compilation feed. Owners and control persons are summarized, never named.

Websites listed on Form ADV

Item 1.I
bwfa.com

Source: Form ADV, as of October 2026. Values appear as filed; a value the firm did not report is shown as "Not reported."

Cite this page

AdvisorCensus. Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors (CRD 159388): Form ADV filing data as of October 2026.
https://advisorcensus.com/firm/baltimore-washington-financial-advisors-columbia-md-159388