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.
Six-figure losses, social media lures and impostor schemes are draining older clients’ savings, report to Congress shows
William Tunink, an industry veteran, was indicted for running a Ponzi scheme this month in Des Moines.
Broker-dealers will soon share targeted returns under SEC-approved Rule 2210 changes, but one securities lawyer warns the regimes aren’t identical.
Insurers ranking independent broker-dealers ahead of RIAs for near-term growth as fee-only fiduciaries still find annuities a hard fit
Most voters 50-plus in swing districts favor candidates backing a caregiver tax credit, as caregiving drains retirement savings
Knighthead Life entered the market with a competitive MYGA. A strong launch earned advisor confidence and paved the way for FIAs.
As AI makes financial information more accessible than ever, Lana Hock explains why human judgment, trust, and empathy remain the qualities clients value most in a financial advisor
