American Retirement Advisors vs. IQ Wealth Management

How does American Retirement Advisors compare to IQ Wealth Management in 2026?

If you are researching IQ Wealth Management, there is one fact you need before anything else on this page: the firm you heard on the radio is not the firm answering the phone today. According to SEC filings, the rights, interests, and assets of IQ Wealth Advisory and IQ Retirement Planning were sold to Fullerton Financial Holdings in a transaction that closed on December 16, 2024. Today the IQ Wealth brand operates under Kingdom Financial Group, LLC, an SEC-registered adviser headquartered in Peoria, Arizona, managing about $521 million, and the IQ Wealth website describes the firm as having joined forces with Fullerton Financial Planning. Founder Steve Jurich renamed his remaining entity THINK Wealth Advisory in 2025.

None of that is a criticism. Firms get bought and sold, and Fullerton is a real operation with a large team. But if the reason you are considering IQ Wealth is fifteen years of Steve Jurich’s Mastering Money radio voice, you should know exactly what you are buying today, and ask the firm directly who will manage your money and under whose ownership. American Retirement Advisors has had the same leadership and the same community since 2001, and this page will compare the two firms as they actually exist in 2026.

At a Glance: American Retirement Advisors vs. IQ Wealth Management

The ownership question, answered plainly

Here is the paper trail, all from public SEC filings. The Jurich-era advisory entity, IQ Wealth Advisory, LLC, was an Arizona-state-registered adviser that reported zero regulatory assets under management, because it operated primarily as a solicitor: annuities were sold through the affiliated insurance agency, and investment clients were referred to Kingdom Financial Group, whose portfolios are sub-advised by AE Wealth Management. In December 2024 the IQ Wealth brand and the insurance agency were sold to Fullerton Financial Holdings. Mr. Jurich’s remaining entity was renamed THINK Wealth Advisory in September 2025, and he launched a new podcast under the THINK Retirement name.

What should you do with that? Just this: when you interview the firm, ask three questions. Who owns the firm I am signing with? Who exactly will manage my money, and through whose platform? And which of the people I heard about on the radio still work here? Good firms answer ownership questions without flinching. That test works on any firm, including ours: American Retirement Advisors has been independently owned by the same family since 2001, and we will put that in writing.

Head to head: The annuity philosophy

Both firms believe annuities have a legitimate place in retirement income, which makes this comparison unusual: it is not the annuity-firm-versus-anti-annuity-firm debate. The Jurich-era IQ Wealth built its brand on fixed index annuities, sold through its affiliated agency with Advisors Excel as the marketing organization, alongside a 0.95% managed-portfolio option. The current Fullerton-era menu still leads with retirement income and annuities.

American Retirement Advisors uses guaranteed income instruments the same way a builder uses concrete: for the foundation, in measured amounts, with the engineering shown. Every annuity recommendation comes with the carrier comparison, the surrender schedule, and the commission disclosure on the table. If another product, or no product, builds the income floor better, that is what we will tell you. The right question for any annuity-forward firm, us included, is not whether they sell annuities. It is whether they will show you the alternatives with the same enthusiasm.

Head to head: Medicare and healthcare planning

The current IQ Wealth site lists Medicare guidance on its service menu under the Fullerton platform, and we take that listing at face value. What we can tell you precisely is how it works at American Retirement Advisors: licensed in-house specialists compare every plan option in your zip code each year, monitor the IRMAA income thresholds that raise premiums two years after a high-income year, coordinate enrollment windows with your income plan, and handle the paperwork, at no cost to you. Ask any firm you interview to describe their Medicare process at that level of detail. The specifics are the service.

Head to head: Investment management and fees

The most recent Jurich-era ADV brochure priced investment management at 0.95% annually, whether managed directly or through the third-party platform, with hourly planning at $175 waived at various asset levels, and a general $100,000 minimum. Under Fullerton ownership, portfolio management runs through Kingdom Financial Group with AE Wealth Management as sub-advisor. We could not verify a current published fee schedule for new Fullerton-era clients, so ask them for it directly and get it in writing.

American Retirement Advisors charges nothing for income, Medicare, and inheritance planning. Insurance and annuity work is paid by the carrier, disclosed plainly, and fee-based investment management applies only to assets you choose to place under management. Whatever firm you pick, the test is the same: an all-in number, on your actual situation, in writing.

Head to head: Continuity and client experience

This is the heart of this particular comparison. The IQ Wealth brand today is bigger than it has ever been: 50-plus team members across Peoria, Tempe, and Scottsdale under the Fullerton umbrella, television spots on Phoenix stations, and a large seminar operation. Scale like that can serve clients well. It also means the brand you researched, the founder you heard for years, and the firm you sign with are three different things, and only one of them will be in the room.

American Retirement Advisors is the same firm it was in 2001, with 5 advisors, a 6-person planning team, and about 10,000 households, mostly in Arizona and Nevada. Every meeting starts with a pre-meeting intelligence brief covering your recent conversations, policies, and life changes. When you call, your advisor knows who you are, and next year it will be the same advisor. In a comparison where one firm just changed hands, continuity is not a talking point. It is the product.

Where IQ Wealth might be a better fit

• You want a large West Valley operation. The Fullerton-era firm has real scale, offices in Peoria and Tempe, and a big service team. If you live in the West Valley and want a big shop nearby, they have the footprint.
• You respond to their educational style. Between the radio legacy, TV segments, and seminars, the brand teaches in public, and that has genuine value for people starting their research.
• You are already a Kingdom Financial or Fullerton client. Consolidating under a platform you already know has practical benefits.

Where American Retirement Advisors shines

• Same owners for 25 years. No acquisition, no rebrand, no wondering who you are actually hiring.
• No minimum. The Jurich-era ADV listed $100,000 generally; we take the meeting at any size.
• Medicare as a discipline. In-house licensed specialists, every plan in your zip code, IRMAA watched, at no cost to you.
• Inheritance as a named process. Beneficiary audits, family meetings, independent estate attorneys in Arizona and Nevada.
• Annuities with the engineering shown. Carrier comparisons, surrender schedules, and commissions on the table, every time.

Who owns IQ Wealth Management now?

Per the February 2026 Form ADV Part 2A filed by the founder’s successor entity, the rights, interests, and assets of IQ Wealth Advisory, LLC and IQ Retirement Planning, Inc. were sold to Fullerton Financial Holdings, LLC, closing December 16, 2024. Today IQ Wealth Advisory, LLC is listed as a business name of Kingdom Financial Group, LLC, an SEC-registered adviser (CRD #155676) headquartered in Peoria, Arizona, and the IQ Wealth website states the firm has joined forces with Fullerton Financial Planning. Founder Steve Jurich renamed his remaining entity THINK Wealth Advisory, LLC in September 2025.

How much money does IQ Wealth manage?

Kingdom Financial Group, the SEC-registered adviser behind today’s IQ Wealth brand, reported $520,913,856 in regulatory assets under management, all discretionary, across 3,554 accounts in its Form ADV filed March 27, 2026, with 51 employees. The Jurich-era IQ Wealth Advisory entity reported zero regulatory assets under management because it operated as a solicitor and insurance agency rather than a portfolio manager.

What are IQ Wealth’s fees and minimums?

The most recent Jurich-era brochure priced asset management at 0.95% annually, non-traded REIT advice at 1%, select variable annuity management at 1%, and hourly planning at $175, with a general $100,000 minimum for investment management. Because ownership changed in December 2024, confirm current pricing and minimums with the firm directly and get them in writing. American Retirement Advisors has no account minimum, and our planning work costs you nothing out of pocket. See how we build lifetime income plans.

Where does IQ Wealth have offices?

The current IQ Wealth site lists offices in Peoria, Tempe, and Scottsdale, Arizona. American Retirement Advisors serves clients from offices in Scottsdale, Mesa, and Las Vegas, and meets virtually with clients nationwide. Find the office nearest you.

IQ Wealth reviews: how to read them (and ours)

With any firm that recently changed ownership, date-sort the Google reviews and weigh the ones written after the transition, because they describe the firm that exists now. Look for reviewers who mention the same advisor across years, service after the sale, and honest responses to criticism. American Retirement Advisors holds a 4.9-star Google rating across our offices, earned under one continuous ownership. Meet one of our advisors or hear real client conversations on our podcast.

Keep exploring before you decide

Sample the actual work before you choose anyone. Start with our Roth Conversion Playbook, read our series on widowed retirement, or learn what to do when you inherit a retirement account. No forms, no calls, just the work.

The bottom line

Today’s IQ Wealth is a large, well-resourced Valley operation under Fullerton ownership, and for some families, especially in the West Valley, that scale will be exactly what they want. Just walk in knowing the brand’s history, and ask the ownership and continuity questions out loud.

If what you want is the firm where the name on the door, the advisor in the chair, and the family that owns the place have all been the same for 25 years, with Medicare, income, and inheritance handled under one roof and no minimum at the door, that is American Retirement Advisors.