Cooper/Haims Advisors

Cooper/Haims Advisors is a fee-based registered investment advisory firm located in Rochester's East End district. Established in 1981, the firm has operated under a fee-based model since its founding — well before that structure became an industry standard. Cooper/Haims functions as a fiduciary, meaning it is legally obligated to act in the interest of its clients rather than sell proprietary financial products. In 2019, ESL Federal Credit Union's subsidiary ESL Investment Services completed an acquisition of the firm, and Cooper/Haims now operates as part of ESL's family of wealth management companies while retaining its own name and identity.

Cooper/Haims provides a broad suite of financial planning and wealth management services, including:

• Investment advisory and portfolio management
• Tax planning, compliance, and return preparation (federal, state, and local)
• Retirement planning for individuals and retirement plan services for employers
• Estate planning
• Insurance planning
• Education and college savings planning
• Employee benefits analysis

A distinguishing aspect of the firm's approach is the integration of tax preparation directly into its financial advisory work. Rather than treating taxes as a separate matter, Cooper/Haims incorporates income projection, withholding analysis, and multi-year tax rate comparison into its broader wealth management strategy. The firm uses a structured planning process that begins with identifying a client's available resources and goals, then builds and monitors a coordinated plan across investment, tax, estate, and insurance considerations.

Cooper/Haims has maintained a fee-based advisory model for over four decades, a structure that aligns advisor compensation with client outcomes rather than product sales. The firm's integration of tax compliance services — including return preparation and audit support — alongside investment and retirement planning sets it apart from advisors who focus solely on portfolio management. Its 2019 acquisition by ESL Federal Credit Union brought the combined ESL Wealth Management operation past $2 billion in invested assets, while Cooper/Haims continued operating under its established name.

The Rochester office of Cooper/Haims Advisors is situated at 30 N Union St, Suite 210, in the city's East End neighborhood. This stretch of North Union Street was transformed as part of the Inner Loop East project, which converted a sunken expressway into an at-grade boulevard completed in 2017. The East End sits just east of downtown Rochester and is home to a mix of office buildings, apartments, and restaurants. The office is a short walk from the Neighborhood of the Arts district along University Avenue and accessible from East Main Street and I-490.