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Hundreds of leading advisors, executives, and professionals in financial services gathered on June 25 beneath the chandeliers of the Edison Ballroom in New York City to celebrate the second annual InvestmentNews Awards and showcase the brightest talent shaping wealth management.
Veteran journalist Gregg Greenberg hosted the gala with his trademark wit and humor as the room recognized outstanding achievement across advisor services, technology, diversity, philanthropy, and leadership. Among the evening’s most illustrious attendees was Lifetime Achievement award-winner Ric Edelman, who co-founded Edelman Financial Services in 1986 and now leads the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals.
“This is unlike any other event; whereas most events are focused on industry trends and policy regulation, market anticipation, this event is an opportunity for the best and the brightest in the industry to come together to relax and celebrate the accomplishments that we have achieved, which are serving so many Americans across the country,” Edelman told InvestmentNews.
“I wish they didn’t call it a ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award, because that kind of suggests I’m finished, but I think that I’m just getting started,” added Edelman, 67. “We’re heavily engaged in a great number of projects, and are expecting to be as busy over the next 40 years as we were over the past 40. I jokingly suggested that the award should be called ‘Achievement in Life So Far,’ rather than ‘Lifetime Achievement.’”
Even as temperatures reached 100 degrees on the day of the awards in Manhattan, the Times Square ballroom was buzzing with energy and anticipation as guests hoped to hear their name called.
“The vibe is intense,” Edelman said. “There is a lot of excitement in the room as people are being acknowledged and rewarded for their hard work and sacrifices, and it’s really an honor to be part of it.”
The next generation arrives
While Edelman was celebrated for his career that’s spanned four decades, others were recognized as newcomers representing the future of financial services. Winning the Osaic Award for NextGen Advisor of the Year was Sydney Woodward for her work at the San Francisco-based RIA Yeske Buie.
“I think young people have a superpower, which is time,” said Woodward, 26. “Getting clients and getting them comfortable and confident in their early years, and making those big decisions before they’re already further into their development is such a blessing. And it makes it easier when you’re sitting across with someone who maybe is more relatable.”
Woodward is part of the future of wealth management, which is increasingly transforming from its origins as a male-dominated industry. About $105 trillion is projected to be passed down from older generations over the next quarter century, with women expected to control more than ever before.
“Some of the big trends for me that I see is the rise of women in the industry. When I started, there were very few,” said Harmon Kong of Apriem Advisors, who won Regional Advisor of the Year – West. “Women are going to control the majority of the wealth, as men don’t live as long as women do. So, I think it’s a big trend that’s going to be evolving and developing, so firms who aren’t really paying attention to that may be left behind.”
CEO and president Rhonda Ducote leads Apriem Advisors, which also won RIA Team of the Year for the 10 Advisors or More category.
Advisors embrace conscious capital and alternatives
“I think this younger generation wants not just to invest for profit – they want to find investments that have some sort of social impact or social good,” added Kong. “I see social impact investing rising and becoming mainstream, and that’s very exciting, sort of conscious capitalism.”
Investing for social good is a priority for Envision Wealth’s James Brewer, who won Advisor of the Year for the ESG and Responsible Investing category. Brewer is passionate about investing in causes that protect the environment and animal rights, as well as supporting women and avoiding private prison investments.
“There are some people that believe that bottom-line investment is not the most important thing, but how they’re affecting the world and the future is more important,” said Brewer.
Other advisors awarded for their investment strategies include Thomas Ruggie, who won Advisor of the Year for the Alternative Investments category. His Florida-based firm, Destiny Family Office, has made direct investments into private companies focused on the technology and defense industries, including Anduril, SpaceX, xAI, and Tropic, a startup that uses AI to analyze and optimize a company’s spending and procurement processes.
“We’ve kind of taken the Harvard-Yale-type approach, at least for our high-network clients, which is we’re [allocating] 20 percent to 40 percent alternatives for clients; I’m personally like 40 percent,” said Ruggie. “We’re doing so much in the AI space, which really isn’t in the public markets at this point.”
[WILL UPDATE THIS WHEN READY] As the new year begins, we take a moment to look back and celebrate the remarkable achievements of women in financial advice. The past year brought its share of challenges—rising inflation, increasing interest rates, and shifting regulations—but it also highlighted the resilience, innovation, and leadership of the women driving our industry forward.
These extraordinary professionals not only guided clients through uncertainty but also redefined excellence in their practices. Whether building independent businesses or thriving within larger organizations, they proved that success requires not just expertise, but collaboration, vision, and an unwavering commitment to progress.
The Women to Watch Awards recognizes these trailblazers—women who have risen above challenges, championed their clients, and made a lasting impact on the financial advice landscape. This commemorative guide celebrates their accomplishments and honors the invaluable contributions they’ve made over the past year.
As we reflect on these achievements, let this guide serve as a testament to the power of women in shaping the future of our industry. Here’s to a year of success, innovation, and inspiration—driven by the extraordinary women we celebrate today.
To all the awardees and honorees, thank you for inspiring us. Your achievements remind us why we do what we do—and what’s possible when women lead the way.
Here’s to a new year filled with even greater success.
James Burton
Global Managing Editor
InvestmentNews
Destiny Family Office
Advisor of the Year – Alternative Investment
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SGH Wealth Management
Advisor of the Year (Regional – Mid West)
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Envision Wealth Planning Inc.
Advisor of the Year – ESG/Responsible Investing
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The call for nominations was open to all wealth management professionals and organizations – including financial advisors, advisory brokerages, BDMs, fund providers, and service providers – from across the USA.
Nominations were accepted from December 2, 2024, to March 14, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST.
To submit a nomination, entrants visited the Nominate page of the website. There was no fee to submit a nomination.
The InvestmentNews Awards team conducted research and drew on knowledge and information gained through InvestmentNews to support and supplement nominations received and to ensure that no one deserving of recognition was missed. Excellence awardees were determined from both pools of information.
Once all nominations were considered and research was complete, excellence awardees were selected in each category (except the Lifetime Achievement category) and notified via e-mail or phone.
All excellence awardees were then invited to complete a detailed submission, providing an opportunity to address the category criteria in more detail. All submissions remained confidential unless otherwise marked and were not shared with any third parties other than the judges.
Excellence Awardees were officially announced in April 2025 on the event website and promoted in InvestmentNews magazine and online channels. Promo packages to leverage these achievements across marketing and promotions were made available for purchase.
All submissions from the excellence awardees were forwarded to the independent judging panel comprising industry leaders and senior representatives. The panel assessed and voted for winners in each category according to the relevant category criteria.
Voting commenced in May 2025, and the judges’ decisions were impartial, balanced, incisive, and fair. Any judge with a conflict of interest in a category recused themselves from judging that category.
Using a simple points system to aggregate judges’ votes, the excellence awardee with the top score in a category was named the winner.
Winners were announced at the awards show on June 24, 2025, and on the event website. They were also promoted in InvestmentNews. Promo packages to leverage these achievements across marketing and promotions were made available for purchase.
