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MONTEGRAPPA AMERICA’S CUP PEN COURTESY HOUSE OF DAVID
we are keenly aware of the risks standing in the
way of our financial goals, and we look to our
wealth advisors to manage and control the often
unwieldy and volatile exposures we face. The best
advisors approach this arduous task by ascertaining
our needs, fears and preferences, then designing
strategies that balance risks and rewards in line with
our appetites and goals. The ability to solve this
often-complex equation separates truly great advisors from the herd. ✲ To identify those who have
exceeded our expectations in this arena, the editors
of Worth surveyed hundreds of financial professionals with the knowledge, skill, access, experience and
credentials to effectively manage the affairs of
America’s wealthiest individuals and their families.
We also sought insight from those who know firsthand what makes a top financial advisor: Worth’s
readers. ✲ In the following pages, we recognize
those financial advisors who have, through
their formidable expertise, risen to meet
this challenge. – Douglas McWhirter
preservation:
The
New
Growth
In an uncertain economic and
financial climate, financial advisors’ skills in
risk management have come to the fore.
By Melissa Phipps
“I’M AN ENTREPRENEUR—I LOVE RISK,” DECLARES LORAYNE
Logan, founder and CEO of Work- risks against which we cannot, in any
place, a regional staffing and human
resources firm in Rockford, Ill.“I don’t
need to live life on the safe path, but I
want to be the one taking the risks,”
she explains. “I need a portfolio that
protects the foundation.”
Our financial foundations in 2004
may not be the unassailable bulwarks
they were a decade ago, but neither
are they still under siege from downward-spiraling markets. Strong equity
performance in 2003 revivified many
of our battered portfolios, but the lessons taught us by the post-bubble
bear, combined with the ambivalent
markets we face today, has made risk
management one of the crucial competencies we now demand in our financial advisors.
“The past few years in the market
have changed client focus from wealth
expansion to protection of accumulated wealth,” says Jeff Saccacio, director,Trusts and Estates Division of Citigroup Private Bank in Los Angeles.
In light of range-bound equity and
commodity markets, rising interest
rates, indifferent economic expansion
and nascent inflationary pressures, a
financial advisor’s motto might now
be, “Preservation is the new growth.”
War and terrorism have added to our
apprehension, especially as these are
traditional sense, hedge. “My investment situation is highly volatile,” one
client says. “The situation in Iraq only
adds a layer of risk.” Another offers:
“Since 9/11, I worry about how future
dramatic drops in the stock market will
impact my portfolio.”
These and other clients we spoke or
corresponded with in the course of
assembling Worth’s 100 Most Exclusive
Financial Advisors list put a premium
on sound advice about hedging and
defensive portfolio construction when
discussing their advisors’ strengths.
Like Logan, most affluent Americans
do not fear risk-taking in and of itself.
Indeed, according to the World Wealth
Report 2004, a study of global trends
and preferences in wealth management published by Merrill Lynch and
Capgemini, almost half of the world’s
millionaires increased their appetite
for risk between 2002 and 2003. This
positioned them well for the rebound
in equity markets in October 2002.
Instead, we want to take risks, intelligently, to ensure our investments
compensate us for the risks we bear,
and to understand the risks—including
liquidity, the ability to exit an investment at will—embedded in our investments. It is not surprising that Merrill
and Capgemini report that, during
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID BRANDT
preservation: The New Growth
My investment situation is highly volatile.
The situation in Iraq only adds a layer of risk.
that same period, nearly three-quarters of
the world’s millionaires increased their
demand for risk management.
The report’s authors found “a concerted
move by [affluent individuals] to grow their
families’ wealth through proactive portfolio
risk management—albeit within the structures of balanced portfolios and hedged
risks—and broad access to advisory specialists.” It credits collaboration with wealth
advisors and an increasing acceptance of
strategic asset allocation with helping
wealthy individuals absorb market volatility
on the downside, while reaping gains on the upside.
“You are always looking
to grow as much as possible,
and you never lose track of
that,” says Bob McCarthy of
Lake Forest, Ill., who retired
in his 40s from Accenture,
after the firm’s initial public
offering. “But when you get to a point
where you have enough, you want to make
sure you don’t lose enough.”
OUNCE OF PREVENTION
The best advisors take the time to understand our appetites for risk, and how these
determine our investment preferences.
However, these individuals can be hard to
find. Logan recalls how she endured a
series of bad breakups with national financial firms until she finally found her perfect
match.
The first business gave her no guidance,
leaving her to choose her own investments.
The second touted its own proprietary
portfolio, which was too volatile for her
Robb Report Worth • October 2004
tastes and which charged generous commissions. The third promised a more integrated approach—“putting all of the pieces
together to secure your financial future,”
she recalls. Instead, it put her in inappropriate growth stocks, the collapse of which
nearly demolished her portfolio. She likens
her fury to that of the frustrated anchorman in the movie Network. “I was mad as
hell and not going to take it anymore. I
didn’t want to lose another penny.” On an
impulse, she insisted that the firm quickly
liquidate her portfolio.
With all her wealth in
cash, Logan began researching advisors and came upon
Brent Brodeski and the firm
of Savant Capital Management, based in Rockford.
After spending 10 hours
getting to know Logan’s
goals, fears and tolerance for
risk, Brodeski helped her shape a portfolio
that would attempt to meet her financial
goals without making hair-raising bets.
Brodeski, like other skilled advisors,
assisted her in areas where her investments,
lifestyle and personal goals overlapped. He
advised on ways to transfer wealth effectively to her heirs, and to broaden her
charitable efforts. “They started me thinking about legacies,” Logan says.
Logan has been working with Savant
Capital Management for more than a year.
At a time when market, economic and
political uncertainty have furrowed the
brows of most investors, she feels secure.
“Their planning concept hedges against
uncertainty to the fullest extent.They offer
preservation: The New Growth
a vigilant perspective,” she explains.“I don’t
expect my portfolio will grow at the rate it
has. But I know over the next 10 years, I
will be very pleased.”
uidity; several advisors compared hedge
funds to the often-disastrous real estate
partnerships of the 1980s.“Liquidity risk is
a huge issue,” warns Ross Levin, president
of Accredited Investors in Edina, Minn.
OMEGA TO ALPHA
Hedge funds often require investors to
We need our advisors’ expertise perhaps commit their capital for a year or more,
nowhere more so than in our attempts to and some of the most exclusive have
decipher the burgeoning market for alter- extended their lock-up periods to as long
native investments such as hedge funds and as three years. “Most clients have not
private equity. The former, in particular, thought deeply about how they will react
now seems almost a compulsory compo- emotionally when they discover that a
nent of a portfolio. Industry estimates of hedge fund has suffered a major loss, and
aggregate investments in hedge funds that he or she can’t easily liquidate intertopped $1 trillion earlier this year for the est in the fund to prevent additional lossfirst time. But the term itself is little more es,” says advisor Alice Finn, with Ballenthan a porous boundary that encloses tine, Finn & Co. in Lincoln, Mass.
investment vehicles that can differ markThe growth of the hedge fund industry
edly in strategy, return and risk.
itself has become a source of concern.
Most financial advisors define alterna- Robert Levitt’s firm in Boca Raton put
tives as those investments that have a low clients in hedge funds as early as 1998,
correlation with equity or fixed-income and the firm manages a fund of its own.
holdings and that provide an absolute But as money has flooded in, Levitt says
return, or alpha, rather than
that it is increasingly difficult
measuring a return relative to
“With our advito find funds that remain
a performance index. When
sor’s leadership,
small and nimble enough to
stocks and bonds go one way,
we have carefully stepprofit from market ineffialternatives tend to go anothped into the very confusciencies. Indeed, many of
er—or at least follow the ing and risky world of the best funds are not
trend less slavishly. Alternan o n s t a n d a r d i nve s t accepting capital from inditives, advisors say, are best
ments: private equity,
viduals, or are seeking highseen as tools to dampen the
hedge funds and comer minimum investment levvolatility of our portfolios, modities. This has been
els and fees.
not necessar ily vehicles handled very smartly,
Because of this, many of
meant to achieve record-setexpanding the range of
Worth’s Top 100 advisors
diversification in our
ting returns.
have steered their clients to
portfolio, without taking
Many of Worth’s Top 100
funds of funds. Although
advisors are of two minds undue amounts of ‘get- these are usually more
about hedge funds. While rich-quick’ risks.”
expensive, they provide
most agree that a well-manexposure to the asset class
aged fund can add value and diversification with smaller minimums, more flexibility
to a portfolio, they are wary of the fog in and less risk.“A multistrategy, multimanagwhich these funds operate. Indeed, some er hedge fund of funds offers equitylike
predict that, within a few years, investors returns with bondlike volatility,” says adviwill criticize hedge funds for the types of sor Melissa Marek Babb, with JP Morgan
shortfalls attributed to variable annuities Private Bank in Atlanta. In fact, funds of
today: They charge a fortune for mediocre funds are often less volatile than fixedresults.They fare no better in terms of liq- income investments.
Robb Report Worth • October 2004
preservation: The New Growth
Advisors report that the uncertain fate of the estate tax
has kept some clients from developing a plan.
tral hedge fund or a private
equity investment, for examAlong with a strong grasp of
ple. The core positions
risk management and the
attempt to meet long-term
ability to navigate the world
strategic portfolio objectives,
of alternatives, the best adviwhile the satellite assets can
sors continue to distinguish
be bought or sold to execute
themselves with their careful strategic tactical shifts. Satellite investments are genplanning for investment portfolios, tax erally not correlated with the core posiexposures and estates.
tions, so they help reduce the portfolio’s
Harold Evensky, of the Evensky Group risk. Also, because the majority of the assets
in Coral Gables, Fla., says recent market simply track market aggregates, the core
volatility and low return expectations have management fees are lower than those of
led many advisors to change their recom- actively managed equity portfolios, Evenmendations about portfolio structures. He sky explains.
has begun recommending the “core and
The focus on r isk management has
satellite” model, used by many professional spilled over into estate planning as well,
investors such as pension plans, which is says Citigroup’s Saccacio.“The uncertainty
designed to protect and increase wealth in of the financial markets, aggressive IRS
any market condition by reducing the challenges of tax planning strategies and a
management fees, taxes and risk in the constantly chang ing tax system have
bulk, or core, equity portfocaused clients to question
lio, while dedicating a small
whether they should transfer
portion of the assets to chaswealth.”
“Our investment
ing performance in the satelAdvisors report that the
advisor has suglite investments.
uncertain fate of the estate
gested a range of vehiUsing exchange-traded
tax has kept some clients
cles designed to do well
funds, mutual funds or indifrom developing a plan, while
in nontraditional ecovidual stocks, the core tracks a nomic times, when neiothers are discouraged by
broad market index such as
increased IRS scrutiny of
ther stock nor bonds do
the Standard and Poor’s 500,
partnership and planning
very well. Of course, as is
Russell 3000 or Wilshire 5000 always the case, time strategies. Still others worry
Total Market Index. Advisors will tell.”
about the Sarbanes-Oxleyharvest the core positions’
inspired state reviews of prigains and offsetting losses for tax efficiency vate family foundations. In the face of
on a regular basis. The satellite investments these challenges, Saccacio recommends
add extra return by employing actively strategies that have withstood government
managed and alternative asset classes—an scrutiny and that have flexibility, so they
international microcap fund, a market-neu- can easily adapt to a changing tax system.
SINGULAR SKUNKWORKS
Robb Report Worth • October 2004
100 Top Financial Advisors
FIRM, CITY
PHONE
FIRM ASSETS
LARGEST
CLIENT
NET WORTH
MEDIAN
CLIENT
NET WORTH
MINIMUM
ASSETS FOR
NEW CLIENTS
Lincoln Financial Advisors/
First Financial Group, Birmingham
205.803.3333
$1.3 billion
$115 million
$8 million
No minimum
Strategic Wealth Advisors, Scottsdale
Versant Capital Management, Phoenix
480.998.1798
602.235.2663
$60 million
$100 million
$50 million
$35 million
$5 million
$2 million
$1 million
$2 million
The Arkansas Financial Group, Little Rock
Waschka Capital Investments, Little Rock
501.376.9051
501.664.8036
$140 million
$110 million
$10 million
$105 million
$0.8 million
$1 million
No minimum
$0.5 million
Westmount Asset Management, Los Angeles
Blankinship & Foster, Del Mar
Boone Financial Advisors, San Francisco
Henrietta Humphreys Group, San Francisco
Keller Group Investment Management, Irvine
Blankinship & Foster, Del Mar
Allied Consulting Group, Los Angeles
Financial Alternatives, La Jolla
The Glowacki Group, Los Angeles
Ernst & Young, Los Angeles
Merrill Lynch, San Francisco
Kochis Fitz , San Francisco
Walton Liddy Group/Merrill Lynch, San Diego`
Financial Network Investment, Rolling Hills Estates
Private Consulting Group, Larkspur
Citigroup Private Bank, Los Angeles
Salient Financial, San Rafael
Tarbox Equity, Newport Beach
Weatherly Asset Management, Del Mar
Litman/Gregory Asset Management, Larkspur
310.556.2502
858.755.5166
415.788.1952
415.928.0401
949.476.0300
858.755.5166
310.474.9801
858.459.8289
310.473.0100
213.977.3596
415.955.3782
415.394.6670
619.699.3706
800.998.3642
415.464.9700
213.239.1474
415.444.1750
800.482.7269
858.259.4507
415.461.8999
$480 million
$267 million
$180 million
$104 million
$697 million
$267 million
$176 million
$45 million
$86 million
$5 billion
$475 million
$1.2 billion
$275 million
$57 million
$85 million
$202 billion
$200 million
$280 million
$90 million
$3.5 billion
$60 million
$22 million
$25 million
$18 million
$18 million
$67 million
$15 million
$12 million
$35 million
$1 billion
$104 million
$285 million
$125 million
$30 million
$300 million
$6 billion
$18 million
$150 million
$43 million
$792 million
$3 million
$5 million
$4 million
$11.4 million
$3.25 million
$4.8 million
$2.75 million
$4 million
$5.2 million
$65 million
$14 million
$10 million
$3.5 million
$3 million
$5 million
$18 million
$2 million
$3.2 million
$7 million
$4 million
$1 million
$1 million
$1 million
$1 million
$1 million
$1 million
$2 million
$1 million
$1 million
No minimum
$5 million
$5 million
$1 million
$0.5 million
$1 million
$5 million
$0.5 million
$5 million
$0.5 million
$3 million
Janiczek & Co., Greenwood Village
Wealth Conservancy, Boulder
Brown & Tedstrom, Denver
Wealth Management Consultants, Denver
303.721.7000
303.444.1919
303.863.7231
303.292.9224
$180 million
$375 million
$260 million
$300 million
$50 million+
$200 million
$15 million
$750 million
$3.5 million
$8 million
$7 million
$35 million
$1 million
No minimum
$1 million
No minimum
Merrill Lynch, Greenwich
Regent Retirement Planning, Woodbridge
203.861.5902
800.443.3101
$1.85 billion
$162 million
$400 million
$31 million
$20 million
$6 million
$3 million
$1 million
LauOlmstead, Wilmington
Wilmington Trust, Wilmington
Wilmington Trust, Wilmington
302.792.5955
302.651.8901
302.651.1985
$400 million
$35 billion
$35 billion
$200 million
$450 million
$50 million
$9.5 million
$25 million
$7 million
$3 million
$5 million
$3 million
JP Morgan Private Bank, Washington
202.533.2111
$276 billion
$400 million
$30 million
No minimum
Evensky Brown & Katz, Coral Gables
Asset Management Advisors, Palm Gardens
Levitt Capital Management, Boca Raton
Lubitz Financial Group, Miami
Emst & Young, Tampa
Rutherford Asset Planning, Naples
Singer Xenos Wealth Management, Coral Gables
305.448.8882
561.472.9454
561.893.9901
305.670.4440
813.225.4925
239.261.3344
305.443.0060
$400 million
$4 billion
$200 million
$98 million
$5 billion
$66 million
$475 million
$30 million
$550 million
$70 million
$28 million
$150 million
$50 million
$100 million
$7 million
$35 million
$5+ million
$4.25 million
$25 million
$2.5 million
$3.6 million
No minimum
$15 million
$3 million
$1 million
$5 million
$0.5 million
$4 million
JP Morgan Private Bank, Atlanta
Homrich & Berg, Atlanta
Alexander Key Investments, Atlanta
Polstra & Dardaman, Norcross
Homrich & Berg, Atlanta
Creative Financial Group, Atlanta
404.926.2525
404.264.1400
404.926.5301
770.368.1700
404.264.1400
770.913.9704
$276 billion
$825 million
$450 million
$318 million
$800 million
$670 million
$4 billion
$130 million
$100 million
$18.6 million
$1.15 billion
$95 million
$450 million
$4 million
$6 million
$3.2 million
$5 million
$3.5 million
No minimum
$2 million
$5 million
$2 million
$2 million
$5 million
Savant Capital Management, Rockford
Altair Advisers, Chicago
815.227.0300
312.429.3013
$580 million
$800 million
$23 million
$1 billion+
$1.75 million
$10 mllion
$1 million
No minimum
Compass Wealth Advisors, Elkhart
574.522.3738
$66 million
$22 million
$0.75 million
$0.5 million
Foster Group, Des Moines
515.226.9000
$450 million
$50 million
$2.75 million
$1 million
Alabama
Robert Studin, JD, CFP, PFS, CPA, ChFC
Arizona
Laurie Bagley, CFA
Thomas J. Connelly, CFA, CFP
Arkansas
Cynthia Conger, CPA, PFS, CFP
Larry A. Waschka Jr.
California
James Berliner, JD
John T. Blankinship, CFP
Norman Boone, MBA, CFP
Diane Bourdo
Victoria F. Collins, PhD, CFP
Charles Foster, CFP, CFA
Joel H. Framson, CPA, PFS, CFP, MBT
Jim Freeman, CFP
Michael Glowacki, CPA, CFP, MBT
Meloni Hallock, CPA, PFS, CIMA, MBA
Debbie Jorgensen, CFP
Timothy Kochis, JD, MBA, CFP
Courtney M. Liddy, CFM
Richard P. Moran, CFP
Charles Joseph Ramos, CFP, CPA
Jeff J. Saccacio, CPA, PFS, ChFC
Richard A. Stone, CLU, CFP
Laura Tarbox, CFP
Carolyn P. Taylor
Christopher C. Wheaton, CPA, CFP
Colorado
Joseph Janiczek, MSFS, ChFC
Myra Salzer, CFP
Peter F. Tedstrom, CFP
Thomas Zanecchia, CPA
Connecticut
John F. (Jeff) Erdmann III, CFM
Alan P. Weiss, CFP, CPA
Delaware
Judith Lau, CFP
Benjamin J. Ledyard, JD
Ralph C. Wileczek, CPA, CFP, CTFA
District of Columbia
Don Irwin, MBA
Florida
Harold Evensky, CFP
Brent Fykes, CFA, CFP
Robert Levitt
Linda S. Lubitz, CFP
Gregory A. Rosica, CPA, PFS, CFP
Suzette B. Rutherford, CFP, MBA, JD
Marc Singer, MBA, CFP
Georgia
Melissa Marek Babb
Franklin H. Butterfield, CPA, CFP, PFS, CFA
Perry L. Chesney, CFP, CIMA, CLU, ChFC
F. Alan Gotthardt, Jr., CPA, CFP, CIMA, PFS
Anthony J. Guinta, CPA, CFP, PFS
Robert “Buzz” Law, CFP
Illinois
Brent R. Brodeski, MBA, CFP, CPA, CFA
Steven B. Weinstein, CFA, CFP, JD, MBA
Indiana
Paul Reasoner, CFP, CIMA
Iowa
Phil M. Kruzan Sr., CFP
CFA: Chartered Financial Analyst; CFM: Certified Financial Manager; CFP: Certified Financial Planner; ChFC: Chartered Financial Consultant; CIMA: Certified Investment Management Analyst; CLU: Chartered Life Underwriter; CPA: Certified Public
Accountant; JD: Doctor of Law; MBA: Master of Business Administration; PFS: Personal Financial Specialist; PhD: doctorate
Robb Report Worth • October 2004
preservation: The New Growth
A mastery of these types of strategic
plans and tools is sine qua non for Worth’s
Top 100 Most Exclusive Wealth Advisors
list. But the essential ingredient remains the
ability to win and maintain our confidence.
“I trust him,” says Amos Stoll, a neurosurgeon at Broward General Medical Center
in Fort Lauderdale, of his advisor Marc
Singer at Singer Xenos Asset Management
in Coral Gables. “I have a sense of comfort
because he has protected what I have and
has invested it in the best way he can.”
From the nation’s most exclusive wealth
advisors, we would expect nothing less. W
The “We” in Wealth Management
THOSE IN THE TOP 100 MOST EXCLUSIVE
WEALTH ADVISORS LIST WERE SELECTED BY
WORTH based on their knowledge and experience. But
when recognizing these exceptional individuals, it is
important to acknowledge the efforts of their colleagues. The advisors on this list may be star players,
but to truly serve our multidimensional financial needs,
it takes a team. “We are big believers in the ‘group
genius’ concept,” says advisor Alan Gott-hardt, of Polstra
and Dardaman in Norcross, Ga.
As wealth management broadens from a transaction-based process into one that is more relationshipbased and holistic, advisors have become more reliant
on a team approach to wealth management. Evidence
of this trend can be found in most large, national private banks and investment firms, which have stepped
up their services to create in-house teams to meet the
needs of an increasingly demanding client base. Independent advisory firms, while still comparatively small,
are also beefing up their staffs with specialists such as
financial analysts, accountants or insurance experts.
With this approach, clients receive the benefit of access
to the collective skills of several different advisors, each
focused on his or her core competency. This collaborative
effort tempers our risk by diversifying our wealth management, just as we might diversify a portfolio. “We like
the checks and balances that outside advisors tend to
bring,” says Ross Levin, with Accredited Investors of Edina, Minn. “It’s easy to drink your own Kool-Aid. Having an
outside perspective is hugely advantageous.”
Independent wealth management firms were among
the pioneers of the team approach. Those not tied to
any one product or service attempted to offer clients
best-in-class investments, tax advice and trust and
estate planning by leveraging so-called “virtual networks” of third-party attorneys, accountants and money
October 2004 • Robb Report Worth
managers. These advisors worked with clients to define
goals and create macro-financial plans, then played
quarterback to the virtual team by helping to coordinate
and implement individual strategies. As assets under
management have increased, independent advisors
have expanded in-house capabilities to provide familyoffice type services to multiple clients. One player may
still represent the quarterback, but the effort belongs to
a group.
Firms such as JP Morgan have extended the model as a
way to integrate expansive institutional capabilities with
personal service. At JP Morgan Private Bank, clients have
at least one private banker, investor, trust and estate
attorney and lender. Team members work in physical
proximity to one another, and the firm pays them as a
group to avoid internal conflicts of interest.
“Some clients may choose to use us for one dominant
activity—they may spend 99 percent of their time talking to the investing member of the team,” says John
Strauss, head of JP Morgan’s U.S. Private Bank. “But the
rest of the team is still there, trying to understand the
generational issues, philanthropic aspirations, lending
needs.”
Goldman Sachs was an early adopter of the model,
surrounding each client with three or four investment
professionals. Collaborative judgment is a necessity
when serving clients whose level of wealth and complexities mirror those of small companies. “The notion of
the individual client is a misnomer,” says Tucker York,
managing director and head of Goldman Sachs U.S. Private Wealth Management division. “These are entities,
institutions with an average number of accounts that is
well into the double digits. There is no way one person
can be on top of stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies
and money managers, and still be thoughtful about
asset allocation and risk management.” —MP
100 Top Financial Advisors (cont.)
FIRM, CITY
PHONE
FIRM ASSETS
LARGEST
CLIENT
NET WORTH
MEDIAN
CLIENT
NET WORTH
MINIMUM
ASSETS FOR
NEW CLIENTS
Harbor Financial Group, Mandeville
985.674.6722
$61 million
$19 million
$3.4 million
$0.5 million
Burt Associates, Rockville
Strategic Wealth Management Group, Columbia
Bank of America, Baltimore
301.770.9880
410.988.9494
410.547.4771
$202 million
$335 million
$100 billion+
$60 million
$43 million
$1 billion+
$2.5 million
$3.5 million
$125 million
$0.5 million
$1 million
$25 million
Pillar Financial Advisors, Waltham
Ballentine, Finn & Co., Lincoln
Tanager Financial Services, Waltham
Mintz Levin Financial Associates, Boston
Emst & Young, Boston
Peak Financial Management, Wellesley
781.693.0111
781.259.8126
781.893.8040
617.348.1802
617.859.6732
781.239.0400
$774 million
$3 billion
$2.3 billion
$750 million
$5 billion
$140 million
$282 million
$100 million+
$39 million
$85 million
$850 million
$150 million
$13 million
$50 million
$4.7 million
$6 million
$13 million
$2.6 million
$5 million
$10 million
$1 million
$10 million
$2 million
$0.5 million
Capelli Financial Services, Bloomfield Hills
Zhang & Associates, Portage
248.594.9282
269.385.1488
$175 million
$500 million+
$65 million
$50 million
$3.3 million
$3 million
$1 million
$0.5 million
Accredited Investors, Edina
Olson Weiss, Bloomington
Wade Financial Group, Minneapolis
952.841.2222
952.835.1797
763.797.9577
$350 million
$120 million
$150 million
$35 million
$80 million
$50 million
$8 million
$3 million
$2.9 million
$1 million
$0.5 million
$0.5 million
Moneta Group, Clayton
St. Louis Trust, St. Louis
314.726.2300
314.727.4600
$4 billion
$1.05 billion
$29 million
$250 million
$5 million
$60 million
$1.5 million
$10 million
Ballentine, Finn & Co., Wolfeboro
603.569.1717
$3 billion
$1 billion
$52 million
$10 million
RegentAtlantic Capital, Chatham
RegentAtlantic Capital, Chatham
973.635.7070
973.635.7070
$800 million
$800 million
$45 million
$30 million
$5.5 million
$5 million
$2 million
$2 million
Morgan Stanley, New York
Willmington Trust FSB, New York
Merrill Lynch Private Banking & Invest., New York
Citigroup Private Bank, New York
Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Mgmt., New York
R.W. Roge & Co., Bohemia
BBR Partners, New York
Merrill Lynch, New York
Bridgewater Advisors, New York
212.903.7772
212.415.0544
212.236.1601
212.559.5555
212.454.7815
631.218.0077
212.313.9870
212.236.1660
212.221.5300
$160 million
$33 billion
$2 billion
$202 billion
$201 billion
$240 million
$1.6 billion
$1.2 billion
$410 million
$63 million
$750 million
$3.9 billion
$3 billion
$400 million
$200 million
$200 million
$1 billion
$90 million
$5 million
$6.5 million
$50 million
$150 million
$30 million
$4.5 million
$40 million
$100 million
$4 million
$1 million
$2 million
$5 million
$10 million
$5 million
$1.2 million
$10 million
$10 million
$1 million
Carroll Financial Associates, Charlotte
704.553.8006
$350 million
$48 million
$2 million
$0.5 million
Truepoint Capital, Cincinnati
Merrill Lynch Private Banking & Invest., Cincinnati
Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services, Mansfield
Hamilton Capital Management, Columbus
Capital Advisors, Cleveland
513.792.6648
513.579.3888
800.987.4767
614.273.1000
877.621.0733
$328 million
$1.1 billion
$210 million
$455 million
$323 million
$75 million
$200 million
$250 million
$70 million
$64 million
$5.5 million
$7 million
$15.5 million
$7.5 million
$14 million
No minimum
$5 million
$1.5 million
$0.75 million
$3 million
Retirement Investment Advisors, Oklahoma City
405.842.3443
$203 million
$80 million
$3 million
$1 million
Radnor Financial Advisors, Wayne
Ernst & Young, Philadelphia
Wescott Financial Advisory Group, Philadelphia
Legend Financial Advisors, Pittsburgh
610.975.0284
215.448.5825
215.979.1600
888.236.5960
$454 million
$1.8 billion
$810 million
$202 million
NA
$1.6 billion
$185 million
$22 million
$5.5 million
$27 million
$19.3 million
$1.5 million
$3 million
$2 million
$2 million
$1 million
Legacy Wealth Management, Memphis
901.758.9006
$276 million
$50 million
$4.1 million
$1 million
Diesslin & Associates, Fort Worth
Quest Capital Management, Dallas
Neuberger Berman, Dallas
817.332.6122
214.691.6090
214.880.4720
$362 million
$387 million
$74 billion
$33 million
$23 million
$1 billion
$4.5 million
$3 million
$20 million
No minimum
$1 million
$1 million
Albion Financial Group, Salt Lake City
801.487.3700
$335 million
$63 million
$0.7 million
$2 million
Ernst & Young, McLean
Houlihan Financial Resources Group, Reston
SBSB, McLean
703.747.1615
703.796.0800
410.822.8281
$5.5 billion
$60 million
$1 billion+
$1.2 billion
$15 million
$63 million
$35 million
$6 million
$6 million
$5 million
$1 million
$1 million
Louisiana
Lawrence R. Spinosa, CPA, CFP, ChFC, CLU
Maryland
Fred Cornelius, CFA, CFP
James K. Eichelberger, CFP
Howard M. Weiss, MBA
Massachusetts
William Baldwin, JD, LLM
Alice N. Finn, CFP, JD
Glenn Frank, CPA, PFS, CFP, MBA
Robert J. Glovsky, JD, LLM, CFP, CLU, ChFC
Andrew Kryiacou, JD, LLM, CIMA
Pran N. Tiku, ChFC, CFP
Michigan
Marilyn Capelli Dimitroff, CFP
Charles C. Zhang, CFP, ChFC, CLU
Minnesota
Ross Levin, CFP
Sharon Olson, CFP
Jerry Wade, CFP, CFS
Missouri
James Blair IV, CFP
Joan D. Malloy, CPA, CFP, CFA
New Hampshire
Roy Ballentine, CFP, ChFC, CLU
New Jersey
David Bugen, CFP, MBA
Christopher Cordaro, CFP, CFA, MBA
New York
Carol Price Glazer
Thomas J. Hakala, JD, CPA, PFS
David Hollenbaugh, CPA, MBA, CFP, CIMA
Joanne Jensen
Benjamin A. Pace III
Ronald W. Roge, CFP
Evan Roth, CFA
Edward R. Spector, CPA, CIMA
Milton Stern, CFA, CFP
North Carolina
Larry W. Carroll, CFP, CMFC
Ohio
Michael J. Chasnoff, CFP
Joseph Evelo
William D. Heichel, JD, CFP
Jeffrey R. Loehnis, CPA, CFP
Neil Waxman, CFP
Oklahoma
Joseph Bowie, CFP
Pennsylvania
Edd H. Hyde, CFP, CIMA
David E. Lees, CFA, CPA
Grant Rawdin, JD, CFP
Louis Stanasolovich, CFP
Tennessee
John Ueleke, MBA, CLU, ChFC, CFP
Texas
David Diesslin, MBA, CFP
Mary Durie, CFP
Richard J. Szelc
Utah
John Q. Bird, CFA, CFP, MBA
Virginia
Michael F. Bearer, CPA, PFS, CFP, CIMA
Patricia P. Houlihan, CFP
Margaret Miller Welch
Robb Report Worth • October 2004
preservation: The New Growth
The Methodology:A Vigilant Perspective
WHEN ASKED WHY HER PERSONAL WEALTH ADVISOR SHOULD BE INCLUDED
in Worth’s 100 Most Exclusive Wealth Advisors
for 2004, one reader spoke of the “vigilant perspective” he and his staff provide. In an investment climate that is, to say the least, uncertain,
it is just such a perspective that distinguishes
truly exceptional wealth advisors from those
who are merely competent.With a steady hand
and a true aim, vigilant advisors consistently see
the hard realities behind exuberance, as well as
the opportunities shrouded during downturns.
They remain on guard, securing our base, managing risk and growing our assets.
In selecting the 100 Most Exclusive Wealth
Advisors for 2004, Worth editors asked readers
to nominate those advisors who possess this
superior ability—along with a host of other
desired qualities. Editors extended this request
to private banks, wealth management and
investment firms and other industry associations as well.
Nominated advisors completed an extensive
survey in which they listed their educational
credentials, compensation structure, client
retention rate, outlook on the investment climate and model portfolio returns. They also
answered questions about their professional
histories and whether they have been involved
in any legal or disciplinary matters. In short,
Worth editors asked these nominees the questions that investors should pose to prospective
advisors.
With responses in hand, Worth’s editorial staff
set about the daunting task of selecting the 100
Most Exclusive Wealth Advisors from a pool of
several hundred excellent candidates.At the top
of the list of criteria that define superior wealth
advisors are professional designations, which
often evidence a higher level of knowledge
and professional commitment.The vast majority of advisors ultimately chosen for this year’s
100 carry the certified financial planner
(CFP) designation, which requires both ethics
training and ongoing education. Other profes-
sional designations that carry similar authority are
certified public accountant (CPA), personal
financial specialist (PFS) and certified investment
management analyst (CIMA). All credentials and
designations were verified, and nominee backgrounds were checked using the LexisNexis legal
database to search court and arbitration records
with the National Association of Securities Dealers.
Professional experience also weighed heavily
among this year’s selection criteria. If, for instance,
an individual had worked as a wealth advisor for 25
years, he or she would have experienced both
extreme market highs and frustrating lows. While
the overall performance of some less-experienced
advisors justified their inclusion on the list, most of
this year’s top advisors have worked in the profession for at least a decade.
As would be expected, client portfolio performance over the past year and a keen insight into the
current investment climate weighed heavily in
deciding who would or would not be included in
this year’s list. Given widespread investor wariness
over the current economic and political climates,
editors were particularly interested in the kind of
returns wealth advisors achieved for their clients, in
the kind of investment strategies they were recommending, and in their predictions for the future.
Finally, Worth editors asked several clients of
each nominated wealth advisor to offer some
insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the
professionals who manage their money. Their
responses were surprisingly detailed, evidencing
complex relationships that were often quite
personal. These clients shared their thoughts on
portfolio performance, on the unpredictability of
the markets, and, perhaps most importantly, on
the vigilance they require from those in whom
they place so much trust. It is this characteristic,
they said—the unwaver ing commitment to
guarding and growing hard-won wealth—that
defines the nation’s most exclusive wealth advisors. —Douglas McWhirter
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