The business of wealth management is by no means a simple one: from finance, to psychology, communications, and even technology, it sits at the intersection of several core pillars of the human experience.
The financial advice industry has come a long way from its early days of just being about banking and brokerage. And it has a long way to go into the future – which is where the top wealth management professionals and advisors under 40 in the US come in.
For its second annual list of Rising Stars, InvestmentNews invited professionals from across the financial advice and wealth management industry to nominate their most exceptional young talent below the age of 40.
An exhaustive months-long process ultimately led to the final list of the best wealth management professionals and advisors under 40, who were selected in part based on their current position, key accomplishments, contributions to the industy, and input from an independent panel of esteemed voices.
Among them is Courtney Shrewsberry, vice president and wealth manager at Coastal 360 in Naples, Florida, whose confident humility and work ethic have been essential ingredients to her success.
“Anything you gave me, I would do. I didn’t ever shy away from any extra work,” she says.
Like many of the best young advisors today, Shrewsberry knows that her real value for clients shines in turbulent markets. To that point, she says her firm takes pride in their ability to protect clients on the downside.
"There isn’t always a lot of pivoting for our portfolios because we’ve always put that thought into it,” she says.
Gautam Muthusamy, president and managing partner at Arcadia Capital, recognizes the best practices in the industry know not to spread themselves too thin. That's why he built his own business around a model of exclusivity and focused effort.
“The equation was fairly straightforward – let’s get bigger assets and work with those clients and give them top-level service, and then they will send referrals and we will organically grow," he says.
Far from being a lone wolf, Muthusamy knows the value of finding "top-tier and high-quality people," which is why his firm makes every possible effort to recruit them. That includes having more veteran advisors on the investment policy committee, which he chairs.
"As the younger generation of advisors, we get the benefit of their experience by having them on the committee, and then we have the time to field the phone calls and work with the clients," he says.
Lucas Mijares, founder and wealth advisor at Zion Capital in California, is making his mark in the independent advisory space. After nearly a decade at Edward Jones, he struck out to find his own path, which includes building an ecosystem of suppliers and partners to support his practice.
"When you’re an entrepreneur, you get to go whatever direction you want to go," he says. "In the fintech world, there are countless different companies out there."
For Mijares, operating without a quota gives him a greater ability to give his clients the real help they need, including those who have a mindset of always moving forward.
“I’m a really good fit for people like that ... I make more money than I need, and I want to help clients win,” he says.
Among the best wealth management professionals and advisors in the US, InvestmentNews is proud to turn the spotlight on:
InvestmentNews is also grateful to the independent panel of industry leaders who selected the 2025 class of rising stars. The panel includes:
To read the full special report about the best wealth management professionals and advisors under 40 in the USA, click here.
Five low-cost index ETFs to anchor Trump Accounts as advisors weigh options against 529 and UTMA plans for clients
A bipartisan proposal aimed at aligning advisor compensation rules with modern business structures is headed to the full House.
Vanilla is extending its estate planning tech to Callan Family Office's ultra-high-net-worth business, while WealthFeed's organic growth engine will now be available to roughly 100 advisors at The Mather Group.
“We are helping families take an important first step toward building a financial foundation for the next generation,” said Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson
Richard Brothers Financial Advisors joins the fee-only RIA, adding its first Maine office and $240 million in client assets
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.
