"Our second annual ranking shines a light on advisors who have grown through uncertain markets. "
I am always pleased when I speak at an event and meet advisors from all over the industry and see how much we have in common. Traditional, indy, hybrid, we may have chosen different model cars, but we all travel the same road. That becomes abundantly clear when it comes to compiling our list of the most successful advisors in the country. Category winners from all industry sectors are more alike than not.
Our list is not just based on assets and production but also professionalism and growth. It’s a measure of who is doing their job and servicing their clients and their community. We are proud to have our share of multi-billion dollar advisors, but they still need to rank high in growth metrics to make the list. In other words, sitting on a book of inherited accounts from 20 years ago won’t guarantee a spot.
Like our AdvisorHub news site our list serves our entire community, with more than 370 firms participating and over 700 advisors recognized. It is this breadth that gives vigor and energy to our lists and to our Advisors to Watch event in the Fall—which I hope to see you at! Below is more detail on our process.
THE A2W RANKING TABLES:
100 Advisors Over $1Bil | 100 RIAs | 100 Advisors Under $1B | 50 Next Gen | 50 Women Advisors | 100 Solo Practitioners | 200 Fast Growing Advisors
Our methodology
Participation is open to all firms and advisors. Nominees are required to have a minimum of seven years experience, $100m minimum AUM, and a clean regulatory record. Using data on assets, households, and production, we rank advisors on three categories: scale, growth, and professionalism.
Scale. This is the traditional metric used in most rankings. It’s essentially the size of the business and its profitability. We also considered staffing, clientele, and several other factors. This in aggregate provides a snapshot of the size and sophistication of a practice.
Growth. This includes the year-over-year change in assets, households and production. We try to bias for organic growth over mergers and acquisitions, and we factor in market conditions. We want practices that are growing aggressively regardless of their size.
Professionalism. This includes the lead advisor’s regulatory record, community involvement, and the overall team makeup. We think it’s important for the future of the industry that advisors perform their duties ethically, are a positive force within their firms, and communities, and have open hiring practices.
This methodology levels the playing field for advisors. While large and sophisticated practices are at a natural advantage, they also need healthy growth to maintain that advantage. The list is broken into several sublists: RIAs (fee-only), Over $1b, Under $1b, Next Gen, Women, Solo, and Fast-Growing. These subcategories compensate for the wide range of business models in the industry.
Lastly, it’s important to note that participation in this ranking is free, and AdvisorHub receives no compensation from the participating advisors.