Forbes and Shook pull the plug on rankings, events, in 2026

Forbes' coveted rankings of financial advisors has come crashing down days after a report of a secret $6 million payment to a Forbes top editor, with the business magazine and its partner compiling the list, Shook Research, announcing Monday they were suspending events and any published lists at least for the rest of 2026.

Ranks and lists of top financial advisors are more prominent than ever as cash-hungry business publications look to generate marketing revenue. With revenue from print ads practically disappearing, Forbes, like many other newspapers and magazines, has turned to rankings, events and awards in order to generate revenue.

The New York Times reported almost two weeks ago that Randall Lane, Forbes' former chief content officer, was paid $6 million by RJ Shook, whose company, Shook Research, teamed up with Forbes since 2016 to publish rankings of financial advisors. Lane did not tell Forbes about the payment.

In the days after the Forbes revelations, a small panic of sorts has rippled across the financial advice industry, which counts roughly 300,000 client-facing, licensed financial advisors to advise clients and sell products.

Executives and advisors are reassessing their reliance on such marketing tools: Are such industry rankings valid? Will clients trust advisors’ marketing?

The Forbes rankings are highly sought after by some advisors and firms for marketing purposes; some clients are reassured that their financial professional has made the cut and appears on such a list.

Shook intends to rebrand and relaunch the rankings next year. Barron’s, a rival business publication, also publishes a list of top advisors.

“The wirehouses want the Forbes/Shook list because they don’t want Barron’s to be exclusive and then have leverage with pricing,” said one senior industry executive who spoke privately to InvestmentNews. “The reason why these lists charge for awards and plaques is to show that it matters. And it’s also a way for advisors to show validation in front of clients, and it helps to stroke their egos.”

Forbes and Shook made the decision to cancel the rest of this year’s events, including a prominent convention in Las Vegas in October, and rankings as the industry was already pulling away from them.

Morgan Stanley last week told its advisors it was suspending its relationship with Shook Research, and other firms were contemplating a similar move.

“Forbes and Shook Research have jointly decided to suspend all Forbes Shook rankings and events for the remainder of 2026, as Shook focuses on relaunching the rankings business under a new brand in 2027,” a Forbes spokesperson wrote in an email. “We remain confident in the integrity of the rankings, but we recognize that there is a need to restore trust with the advisor community, partners and audiences.”

Lane was fired by Forbes after the New York Times reported that he had taken a $6 million payment from RJ Shook, the founder of Shook Research.

“Shook said on Monday that he had paid Lane for services that included helping to sell a controlling stake in Shook Research to a private equity firm, PPC Enterprises, last August,” according to the Times. “Lane has described the payment as a ‘gift’ and said that failing to disclose it to Forbes was a ‘serious error in judgment.”

Shook left his company sometime after the sale.