InvestmentNews is proud to celebrate the top advisors who are putting clients first through transparency, education and personalization.
Advisors were selected among nominations from wealth management professionals and their clients across the country. They were then narrowed down based on the advisor’s weighted ranking in overall assets under management, AUM growth and client growth over a one-year period. The full methodology can be viewed here.
Matt Barber, partner and wealth advisor at SignatureFD, is not only one of the top advisors for 2024 but is also the youngest-ever president of Georgia’s chapter of the Financial Planning Association.
As a partner and leader at the Atlanta-based firm with AUM of $7 billion, Barber said that being a leading financial advisor requires a strong ability to listen, which means “peeling back the onion and asking good questions to get to the root of the issue.”
Advising clients can be more of an art than a science, he added, since there is usually more than one way to solve the clients’ problems. “You need to be able to navigate their feelings about money and finances to find a solution that works for them and that they will implement.”
Ann Covington, co-founder of CovingtonAlsina, built her firm on a foundation of approachability and education. She has since dedicated her career to providing successful women with financial guidance.
“They [women] may pay the bills but investments have typically fallen to men,” Covington, whose firm has maintained a 99 percent client retention rate, says. “It’s shifting as more women start to take the lead, but some women tend to beat themselves up for not knowing more.”
As part of her efforts, she offers monthly women client-focused webinars, a weekly podcast “Monday Money Report,” and a coaching package.
Charles Zhang of Zhang Financial said the dedication to maintaining transparency at his firm comes from his fee-only approach.
The Michigan-based advisor says not being bound by constraints of propriety products, revenue sharing or commissions allows him to offer his clients the best the market has to offer.
Other noteworthy winners include:
David Pickler, president and CEO of Pickler Wealth Advisors
Peter V. Disch, founder and managing member of Great Point Wealth Advisors
Jessica Fitzgerald, institutional consulting director at Graystone Consulting from Morgan Stanley
Frank J. Fiumecaldo, founder and president of Aventine Financial Group
Darnel Bentz, senior wealth advisor at Kayne Anderson Rudnick
Lawrence Glazer, co-founder and managing partner at Mayflower Advisors
Bryan Bibbo, partner and holistic financial advisor at JL Smith
Twenty-six of the winners have been in the industry for 11 to 20 years, while 15 winners have been working hard for 21 to 30 years.
The average AUM of the advisors on the list is $792 million, with an average client count of 270.
A private partnership, Edward Jones is a giant in the retail brokerage industry with more than 20,000 financial advisors.
Meanwhile, Raymond James and Tritonpoint Partners separately welcomed father-son teams, including a breakaway from UBS in Missouri.
Paul Atkins has asked staff to solicit public comment on novel ETFs, pausing the clock on as many as 24 filings linked to the booming event contracts market.
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Big-name defections from Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Merrill Lynch headline a busy two weeks of recruiting for the wirehouse.
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