AdvisorCheck - Find and Connect with Top Financial Advisors on Your Terms
Why Advisor Check
MC

Michael C. Cohen

SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS
New York, NY 10017
Some features on this profile are disabled
CRD#: 2288893
MC

Professional summary


Michael Charles Cohen is a registered financial advisor currently at SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC located in New York, New York and SUMMIT TRAIL SECURITIES, LLC located in New York, New York.

Michael is registered as an IAR (Investment Advisor Representative) and RR (Registered Representative) and started their career in finance in 1992. Michael has worked at 7 firms and has passed the Series 65, Series 63, SIE, Series 3 and Series 7 exams.

top-8-questions

Question & Answer


Are you a "fiduciary"?
Yes

Aliases


None

Other business activities


Outside business activity is any business or activity undertaken by an advisor that is outside the scope of their relationship with their firm (e.g., consulting services, real estate, freelance work, teaching, etc.). Investors should stay informed about these activities to ensure no conflicts of interest.
1) Summit Trail Advisors. Investment related. 140 E. 45th street, NY NY 10017. RIA. Partner. 10/09/2015. 160 hours/month all within securities trading hours, Advisor. 2) SUMMIT TRAIL SECURITIES, LLC, INVESTMENT RELATED, SAME ADDRESS, BROKER� DEALER, REGISTERED REPRESENTATIVE, 4/24/2017, 1�60 HOURS DEVOTED A MONTH, 160 HOURS DEVOTED DURING SECURITIES TRADING HOURS, COMMISSION BASED ACTIVITY 3) Village of Lake Success Golf Commission, member of the Golf Commission for the village of lake success to advise on park management and improve the course condition. Not investment related, 3 hours month. October 2022 no compensation. 4)The Advisor, in their individual capacity, serves in various roles for certain client trusts of the affiliated investment adviser and may receive separate compensation from the trusts for doing so. The Advisor may devote up to 10 hours a month during normal trading hours to these activities. May 2024.

Blog Corner


CRS (Client Relationship Summary) - RIA


SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC - Registered Investment Advisory firm

Version Date: Tue Oct 01 2024

Our firm, Summit Trail Advisors, LLC, is registered as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Brokerage and investment advisory services and fees differ and it is important for you to understand these differences. Free and simple tools are available to research firms and financial professionals at Investor.gov/CRS, which also provides educational materials about broker-dealers, investment advisers, and investing.

Types of Services Offered:

  • Services: We offer investment advisory services to retail investors. These services include a combination of financial planning and investment management. We may also offer investment management and financial planning as a stand-alone service. We engage in legacy services as a wrap fee program where we combine transaction fees and other fees and expenses with investment advisory services. We work closely with you to identify your investment goals and objectives, as well as risk tolerance and financial situation in order to develop an investment approach.

  • Accounts, Investments, and Monitoring: We provide services to individual, joint, retirement, trust and estate accounts. We primarily use mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds, options, and private funds in constructing portfolios. We do not make available or offer advice with respect to only proprietary products or a limited menu of products or types of investments. As part of our services, we monitor portfolios and securities in accounts on a regular and continuous basis. We also meet with you at least annually, or more frequently, depending on your needs.

  • Investment Authority: We provide our services on a perpetual and discretionary basis. We execute investment recommendations in accordance with your investment objectives without your prior approval of each specific transaction. Our engagement will continue until you notify us otherwise in writing. We also offer our services on a non-discretionary basis, which means we are required to obtain your consent prior to executing any trades in your accounts. Therefore you will make the ultimate decision regarding the purchase or sale of investments in your accounts. However, we may not be able to aggregate your order with other client orders under this type of authority and therefore you may not receive the same price as other clients.

  • Account Minimums & Other Requirements: We do not require an account or relationship size minimum in order for you to open/maintain an account or establish a relationship.

For more detailed information on our relationships and services, please see Item 4 – Advisory Services, Item 13 – Review of Accounts and Item 7 – Types of Clients of our Form ADV Part 2A available via our firm’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure Page.


Questions to ask your Professional:
  • Given my financial situation, should I choose an investment advisory service? Why or why not?
  • How will you choose investments to recommend to me?
  • What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education and other qualifications?
  • What do these qualifications mean?
  • Asset-Based Fees: Our asset-based fee for wealth management and investment management ranges up to 1.50% annually. This fee will be collected at the beginning of each calendar quarter and calculated as a percentage of the value of the cash and investments in your account[s] that we manage. This presents a conflict of interest as we are financially incentivized to encourage you to place more assets in your advisory account as you will pay more in advisory fees. If you are engaged in our wrap fee program, asset-based fees will include most transaction costs and fees to a broker-dealer or bank that has custody of your assets, and therefore are higher than a typical asset-based advisory fee.

  • Hourly Fees: Our hourly fees for financial planning are at a rate of up to $1,000 per hour. , payable in 2 different installments. Hourly fees are negotiable based on the nature and complexity of the services to be provided and the overall relationship with us. We will provide you with an estimate for total hours and overall costs prior to engaging us for these services.

  • Fixed Fees: Our fixed project-based for financial planning fees range up to $75,000, payable in 2 different installments. Fixed fees are negotiable based on the nature and complexity of the services to be provided and the overall relationship with us. We will provide you with an estimate of the total cost prior to engaging us for these services.

  • Other Fees & Costs: In addition to our advisory fee, you will also be responsible for third party manager and/or platform fees, custody fees, account administrative fees, fees and expenses related to mutual funds and exchange traded funds and applicable securities transaction fees. If you are in our wrap fee program, applicable securities transaction will be included in our advisory fees.

  • Additional Information: You will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments. Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time. Please make sure you understand what fees and costs you are paying. For more detailed information on our fees, please see Item 5 – Fees and Compensation of our Form ADV Part 2A available via our firm’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure Page.


Questions to ask your Professional:
  • Help me understand how these fees and costs might affect my investments. If I give you $10,000 to invest, how much will go to fees and costs, and how much will be invested for me?

When we act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interests ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the investment advice we provide you. Here is an example to help you understand what this means.

We will recommend that you invest in private funds that we manage. Investing in these private funds means that our organization will receive additional revenue from the fees collected for the management of these private funds. We are therefore financially incentivized to recommend that you invest directly into these private funds we manage. However, you are not obligated to invest in these private funds in order to maintain an advisory relationship with us. In addition, some of our financial professionals are registered representatives of Summit Trail Securities, LLC (“STS”), a broker-dealer. In addition to our services, your financial professional will offer you brokerage services through STS. Brokerage services and investment advisory services are different, and the fees we, and STS, charge for those services are different. It is important that you understand the differences. In particular, your financial professional will earn placement fees for transactions implemented through STS. You are encouraged to learn more about STS by reviewing their relationship summary and having a discussion with your financial professional.

Additional Information: For more detailed information, please see Item 10 – Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations, Item 12 – Brokerage Practices and Item 14 – Client Referrals and Other Compensation of our Form ADV Part 2A available via our firm’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure Page.


Questions to ask your Professional:
  • How might your conflicts of interest affect me, and how will you address them?

Our financial professionals are compensated based on net percentage of revenue generated from advisory services, which is distributed in accordance with our partnership agreement. This means our financial professionals have an incentive to increase the asset size in the relationship or solicit new business, taking time away from the day-to-day servicing of existing clients.

Certified licenses


Advisors may have various certifications and credentials from different organizations. AdvisorCheck highlights these seven certifications - AIF®, CFP®, ChFC®, CFA, CLU®, CIMA®, CPWA®
None

Experience


Current

October 9, 2015 - Present

SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC

Office #1: 2 Grand Central Tower 140 E 45th Street 28th Floor, New York, NY, 10017
RIA
CRD#: 220519
New York, NY
Current

April 24, 2017 - Present

SUMMIT TRAIL SECURITIES, LLC

Office #1: 2 Grand Central Tower 140 E. 45th Street, New York, NY, 10017Office #2: 2 Grand Central Tower 140 E. 45th Street, New York, NY, 10017
BD
CRD#: 285784
New York, NY
Past

October 12, 2015 - March 7, 2017

PURSHE KAPLAN STERLING INVESTMENTS

BD
CRD#: 35747
New York, NY
Past

January 21, 2009 - October 22, 2015

BARCLAYS CAPITAL INC.

RIA
CRD#: 19714
NEW YORK, NY
Past

September 22, 2008 - October 22, 2015

BARCLAYS CAPITAL INC.

BD
CRD#: 19714
NEW YORK, NY
Past

February 14, 2008 - October 15, 2008

LEHMAN BROTHERS INC.

RIA
CRD#: 7506
NEW YORK, NY
Past

October 7, 1996 - September 22, 2008

LEHMAN BROTHERS INC.

BD
CRD#: 7506
NEW YORK, NY
Past

June 20, 1996 - October 3, 1996

DRESDNER KLEINWORT WASSERSTEIN - GRANTCHESTER, INC.

BD
CRD#: 24074
NEW YORK, NY
Past

December 10, 1992 - February 14, 1995

JPMSI

BD
CRD#: 15733
NEW YORK, NY

Primary Firm SEC Registration


This SEC-registered firm can serve clients nationwide. Some states may require the firm to submit a notice filing if the firm has more than 5 clients or a physical office there. You can view these state-level filings under the section titled "State Registrations and Notice Filings".
SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC
SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC
PALMETTO DESIGNS, LLC | SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC

CRD#: 220519 / SEC#: 801-99352

RIA
Registered Investment Advisory firm - (6/11/2015 Approved)

State Registrations and Notice Filings


Listed states reflect where the advisor is authorized to serve clients under state regulations.

IAR
means the advisor is registered as an Investment Advisor Representative in this state and is authorized to provide investment advice to clients there.
RR
indicates the advisor is registered as a Registered Representative in this state, allowing them to offer securities such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds through a broker-dealer.

Visual representation of state registrations

RR
New York
(4/24/2017)
IAR
New York
(7/27/2021)
IAR
Texas
(10/9/2015)

Exams


State Security Law Exam
IAR
Series 65
Date: 11/4/1996
Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination
State Security Law Exam
General Industry/Product Exam
General Industry/Product Exam
RR
Series 3
Date: 11/26/1996
National Commodity Futures Examination
General Industry/Product Exam
SRO Registrations
RR
FINRA

Current Firm


SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC
SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC
PALMETTO DESIGNS, LLC | SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC

CRD#: 220519 / SEC#: 801-99352

RIA
Registered Investment Advisory firm - (6/11/2015 Approved)
Upgrade to AdvisorCheck Premium
Get A Biweekly Pulse, AutomaticallyReceive biweekly alerts automatically. Stay informed and proactive.
Catch Firm-Level Red Flags SoonerCatch leadership changes and disclosures early, before issues escalate.
See Trends. Not Just SnapshotsMonitor firm stability metrics like AUM and advisor ratios over time.

Contact information


Main Address
2 Grand Central Tower 140 E 45th Street 28th Floor, New York, NY, 10017
Mailing Address
Phone number
(212) 812-7010
Established
Firm type
Fiscal year end
# of Employees
107

SEC notice filing (37 States and Territories)


Blank US states mapAlaskaHawaiiAlabamaArkansasArizonaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIowaIdahoIllinoisIndianaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMassachusettsMarylandMaineMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMississippiMontanaNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNebraskaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNevadaNew YorkOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVirginiaVermontWisconsinWest VirginiaWyoming

Documents


Customer Relationship Summary (CRS / SEC)Latest Form ADV

Part 2 Brochures

ADV PART 2A (8/22/2025)

Regulatory assets under management


Total Number of Accounts22,528
AUM (Assets Under Management)$ 26,156,178,587

Accountant surprise examination report


Filing DateForm ADV-E CoverForm ADV-E Report
06/26/2025
Cover Page
10/22/2024
06/29/2023

Red Flags


Disclosures can be potential red flags, including customer disputes, regulatory fines, employer terminations, bankruptcies, judgments, liens, or certain criminal activities.

Check for any disclosures as part of your thorough research when choosing an advisor.

Company Information


SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC

SUMMIT TRAIL ADVISORS, LLC

CRD#: 220519New York, NY 10017

TRUST BUT VERIFY

Monitor Michael Cohen

Get automatic monthly alerts on:
Job or Firm Moves
Licensing Changes
Client Complaints
New Red Flags
Contact Information Updates

Similar Advisors


Peter Faulkner Kettle
Peter KettleAdvisorCheck Check Mark
AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC
IAR
RR
Brooklyn, NY
Richard Gaspare Dragotta
Richard DragottaAdvisorCheck Check Mark
LPL FINANCIAL LLC
IAR
RR
Paramus, NJ
Diane E Finnerty
Diane FinnertyAdvisorCheck Check Mark
MORGAN STANLEY
IAR
RR
New York, NY
footer-logo

AdvisorCheck does not offer investment advice and should not replace discussions with professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advisors.
© 2025 AdvisorCheck, an AIMR Analytics company.
All rights reserved.
Powered ByAIRM Analytics