AdvisorCensus / Financial advisors / Alabama / Birmingham / Highland Associates Inc
Highland Associates Inc is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm in Birmingham, AL, registered since 1987, reporting over $5 billion in regulatory assets under management in its Form ADV filing dated July 29, 2026.
Quick answers
From the filingHow is Highland Associates Inc compensated?
On its Form ADV (Item 5.E, October 2026), Highland Associates Inc reports these compensation arrangements: a percentage of assets under its management; fixed fees (other than subscription fees). The amounts are in Item 5 of its Form ADV Part 2A brochure.
Where is Highland Associates Inc located?
Highland Associates Inc's principal office is in Birmingham, AL, according to its Form ADV; the August 2026 filing also lists 1 other office (Schedule D, Section 1.F).
Is Highland Associates Inc registered with the SEC or a state?
Highland Associates Inc is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm, registered since 1987. Status as filed: Approved. CRD 104948.
How much does Highland Associates Inc manage?
Highland Associates Inc reports $20,990,815,180 in regulatory assets under management in its Form ADV filing dated July 29, 2026 (35% discretionary).
How have Highland Associates Inc's assets and staff changed since 2021?
In the Form ADV data for Highland Associates Inc: Regulatory assets under management: $31,945,447,000 in the October 2021 data and $20,990,815,180 in the October 2026 data, down 34%. Total employees: 25 in October 2021 and 19 in October 2026. Assets under management move with markets as well as with clients coming and going.
What types of clients does Highland Associates Inc serve?
By number of clients on Form ADV Item 5.D: corporations or other businesses not listed above (23); pension and profit sharing plans (but not the plan participants or government pension plans) (16); charitable organizations (15).
Which custodians does Highland Associates Inc use?
Highland Associates Inc's most recent Form ADV filing (Schedule D, Section 5.K(3)) lists Bank of New York, Lincoln Financial, PNC and Principal Financial Group as custodians holding 10% or more of its separately managed account assets.
Does Highland Associates Inc report any disciplinary disclosures?
Reports 9 disclosure items on Form ADV Item 11: yes answers to 9 questions about regulatory matters (11.C(1), 11.C(2), 11.C(4), 11.C(5), 11.D(1), 11.D(2), 11.D(4), 11.D(5), 11.E(2)). Each question covers the firm and its advisory affiliates, and one event can produce several yes answers. The detail of any item is on the firm's SEC record: https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/104948
What changed in Highland Associates Inc's recent Form ADV filings?
In the August 2026 filing data: Item 11 disclosure answers changed: 9 yes answers, previously 8 (now yes: 11.E(2)).
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
- Fixed fees (other than subscription fees)
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 2ASee the firm's brochure (dated March 30, 2026) for its fees and any account minimum, on the SEC's IAPD site.
Regulatory assets under management
Item 5.F$20,990,815,180 as of October 2026, filing dated July 29, 2026.
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.DA 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- Portfolio management for individuals and/or small businesses
- Portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles (other than investment companies)
- Portfolio management for businesses (other than small businesses) or institutional clients
- Pension consulting services
- Selection of other advisers (including private fund managers)
Registration and firm details
Items 1, 2, 5- Registration
- SEC-registered investment adviser. Status as filed: Approved.
- Registered since
- 1987 (39 years)
- Employees
- Total: 19. Performing investment advisory functions: 18.
- 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.
- Other offices (Schedule D, Section 1.F)
-
1 other office, as of the August 2026 filing
- States registered or notice-filed
-
17 states or jurisdictions
SEC-registered investment advisers are examined by the SEC. SEC, state, and exempt registration
Disclosures
Item 119 Reports 9 disclosure items on Form ADV Item 11. View on IAPD.
Questions answered yes on this filing
Regulatory matters Items 11.C to 11.G
- 11.C(1) Has the SEC or the CFTC ever found that the firm or an advisory affiliate made a false statement or omission?
- 11.C(2) Has the SEC or the CFTC ever found that the firm or an advisory affiliate was involved in a violation of SEC or CFTC regulations or statutes?
- 11.C(4) Has the SEC or the CFTC ever entered an order against the firm or an advisory affiliate in connection with investment-related activity?
- 11.C(5) Has the SEC or the CFTC ever imposed a civil money penalty on the firm or an advisory affiliate, or ordered the firm or an advisory affiliate to cease and desist from an activity?
- 11.D(1) Has another federal regulator, a state regulator, or a foreign financial regulator ever found that the firm or an advisory affiliate made a false statement or omission, or was dishonest, unfair, or unethical?
- 11.D(2) Has another federal regulator, a state regulator, or a foreign financial regulator ever found that the firm or an advisory affiliate was involved in a violation of investment-related regulations or statutes?
- 11.D(4) In the past ten years, has another federal regulator, a state regulator, or a foreign financial regulator entered an order against the firm or an advisory affiliate in connection with investment-related activity?
- 11.D(5) Has another federal regulator, a state regulator, or a foreign financial regulator ever denied, suspended, or revoked the registration or license of the firm or an advisory affiliate, prevented either by order from associating with an investment-related business, or restricted either one's activity?
- 11.E(2) Has a self-regulatory organization or a commodities exchange ever found that the firm or an advisory affiliate was involved in a violation of its rules, other than a minor rule violation under a plan the SEC approved?
Each question covers the firm and its advisory affiliates: its current employees other than clerical staff, its officers, partners, and directors, and anyone who controls the firm or is controlled by it. One event can produce yes answers to several questions. SEC-registered advisers and exempt reporting advisers may leave out events more than ten years old, and may answer 11.A(2) and 11.B(2) for pending charges only. What happened, and who was involved, is on the Disclosure Reporting Pages of the IAPD record. Reading a firm's disclosures
Assets and staff over time
Items 5.A, 5.F| Data period | Assets under management | Employees | Filing dated |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | $20,990,815,180 | 19 | July 29, 2026 |
| October 2025 | $20,137,309,817 | 20 | July 17, 2025 |
| October 2024 | $23,574,716,836 | 19 | August 9, 2024 |
| October 2023 | $25,621,167,078 | 18 | March 29, 2023 |
| October 2022 | $36,484,774,214 | 20 | September 26, 2022 |
| October 2021 | $31,945,447,000 | 25 | March 30, 2021 |
Regulatory assets under management: $31,945,447,000 in the October 2021 data and $20,990,815,180 in the October 2026 data, down 34%.
Total employees: 25 in October 2021 and 19 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- August 2026
- Item 11 disclosure answers changed: 9 yes answers, previously 8 (now yes: 11.E(2)).
- April 2026
- Employees performing advisory functions went from 20 to 18.
- January 2026
- No longer registered or notice-filed in VA.
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.ISource: 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. Highland Associates Inc (CRD 104948): Form ADV filing data as of October 2026. https://advisorcensus.com/firm/highland-associates-inc-birmingham-al-104948