Top Financial Advisors in California

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NFP Retirement is a fee-based firm that serves both high-net-worth and non-high-net-worth individuals, as well as pensions and profit-sharing plans.

The firm offers services ranging from investment management to financial planning. Its institutional services are centered around the management of corporate retirement plans.

NFP generally requires clients to have at least $25,000 in investable assets to start an advisory relationship. However, the firm may be willing to waive this stipulation under certain circumstances.

Certain on-staff advisors at NFP can receive commissions and other compensation from the sale of specific financial products. This creates a potential conflict of interest, though the firm's fiduciary duty means it must act in clients' best interests.

NFP Retirement bases its investment strategy for each client on the specifics of their situation. That means you and your advisor will have an in-depth conversation about your needs, desired future and any other factors that may play a role. This could involve your income and liquidity needs, risk tolerance, time horizon, long-term goals and more.

For the most part, NFP tends to invest client assets in some combination of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It, however, isn't opposed to investing in individual securities as well.

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Beacon Pointe Advisors is a fee-based firm located in Newport Beach. Individuals with and without a high net worth make up the majority of the firm's client base. Institutional clients also include banks, investment companies and other pooled investments, pension and profit-sharing plans, charities, government entities, insurance companies, businesses and family partnerships.

You'll need to have a minimum of $1 million to become a client at Beacon Pointe. The firm's advisors hold multiple certifications, including Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®) and chartered financial analysts (CFAs), among other designations.

Because some of Beacon Pointe's advisors sell insurance and securities on a commission basis, the firm is considered fee-based. Despite the potential conflict of interest that commission-based compensation creates, Beacon Pointe is a fiduciary and must act in its client's best interests.

Beacon Pointe's investment strategies focus on asset preservation and growth. The firm uses asset allocation modeling programs and its own analysis to develop investment plans for its clients. Advisors rely on "core" asset classes of domestic and foreign equities, emerging markets, U.S. fixed income, global fixed income, public and private real estate, hedge funds, real assets and others.

The firm's investment philosophy is heavily based on diversification. "Proper asset allocation diversification produces a portfolio with more appealing risk/return characteristics than investing in one single asset class or with one investment manager," the firm states.

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EP Wealth Advisors, a fee-only firm headquartered in Torrance, works with non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, pensions and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and corporations.

The minimum account size here is $500,000, though the firm may be willing to waive this.

The firm's large team of advisors features Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®), accredited investment fiduciaries (AIFs) and other accredited professionals.

Fees are generally based on assets under management, though hourly fees may also apply.

Investment management and financial planning are the primary services offered at EP, although the firm also provides tax preparation services, estate planning, retirement planning and help selecting other advisors, including private fund managers.

Advisors at the firm use charting, technical analysis, fundamental analysis and cyclical analysis to make investment choices for clients. Long- and short-term purchases may be used, plus margin transactions and options trading.

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Allworth Financial is a fee-based firm that charges clients a minimum annual fee of $2,500, and a maximum of 2% of assets under management for those in the Wrap Fee Program.

Advisors at the firm hold multiple certifications, including Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®) and certified fund specialists (CFSs), among other designations.

As a fee-based firm, some advisors collect commissions in addition to advisory fees. This creates a potential conflict of interest, but advisors still must act in the client's best interests.

Allworth serves both non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and business entities.

Allworth typically builds client portfolios using low-fee mutual funds, no-load mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The firm generally does not attempt to time the market but it will increase cash holdings when appropriate.

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Lido Advisors is a fee-based firm that serves both non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth clients, as well as ivestment companies and other pooled investments, charities, insurance companies, corporations and ERISA pooled plans.

Certain Lido representatives are also representatives of a securities broker-dealer and those individuals may receive commissions or fees for the sale of these products in a client’s advisory account. Lido Advisors generally requires a $1 million account minimum.

Advisors at the firm hold multiple certifications, including Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), certified public accountant (CPA), certified investment management analyzt (CIMA) and accredited investment fiduciary (AIF), among other designations.

Lido Advisors uses stocks and bonds and aims to invest in assets that are not highly correlated.

The firm offers clients investment management, asset allocation and financial planning, among other services.

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Jordan Park Group is a fee-only firm in San Francisco with a minimum account size of $100 million.

The firm serves high-net-worth investors, pooled investment vehicles, charities and other investment advisors.

The firm generally charges an investment advisory fee that is based on a percentage of the client’s assets under management.

Jordan Park provides investment management and financial advice services to clients. The firm also offers family office services, which include comprehensive financial planning services.

The investment process at Jordan Park Group looks specifically at areas including public equities and fixed income, private equity, real estate, natural resources, derivative overlay strategies, transaction structuring, risk management, special situations and impact investing.

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Evoke Advisors is a fee-only firm based in Los Angeles. It works mostly with high-net-worth individuals, pooled investments, pensions and profit-sharing plans, charities, businesses and guilds.

The firm has no minimum fee or asset requirement to start or keep an advisory relationship. Fees are negotiable and depend on factors like account size, investment complexity, and time or travel involved. If based on assets under management, the fee typically ranges from 0.075% to 1.00% per year.

Evoke generally recommends long-term investment strategies that are focused on building diversified portfolios. According to its brochure, these are designed to provide strong after-tax, inflation-adjusted returns.

The firm says that most investment advice focuses on long-term purchases or holding assets, but other strategies like short-term trades, margin use, short-selling and options may also be recommended.

Investments may include stocks, corporate and government bonds, municipal debt, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds (CEFs), structured products and limited partnerships.

Fund selections are typically based on diversification, historical performance and risk levels suited to each client.

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SEIA (Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, LLC) is a fee-based firm, which means that certain advisors are licensed to sell insurance and investment products, and could earn commissions on those transactions. However, the firm’s advisors have a fiduciary duty that requires them to act in the best interests of their clients.

Account minimum depends on the account option. Its lowest account minimum, for its equity/blended portfolios, is $250,000. For the fee-based firm’s fixed-income portfolios, it’s $500,000.

SEIA's financial advisor team holds many certifications, including Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®) and accredited investment fiduciaries (AIFs), among other certifications.

SEIA’s Department of Investment Management and Economic Strategy (DIMES) heads up the firm’s research and development of its asset allocationstrategies for portfolios. The team is guided by the principles of strategic macro asset allocation, which considers asset class and style and tactical micro allocation, which looks at business cycles, global and domestic economic conditions and event-driven opportunities.

SEIA portfolios are primarily composed of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, closed-end mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, trusts, certificates of deposit, and options, among other investments.

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Perigon Wealth Management is a fee-based company that advises both high-net-worth and non-high-net-worth individuals, as well as pensions, profit-sharing plans, charities and corporations. The firm does not have a minimum account size requirement.

Advisors at the firm hold multiple certifications, including Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®) and chartered financial analysts (CFAs), among other designations.

As a fee-based firm, some of the firm's advisors may earn commissions for selling certain products. Despite the potential conflict of interest that commission-based compensation can create, Perigon is a fiduciary and must act in its client's best interests.

Like other financial advisor firms, Perigon works with clients to understand their investment goals, risk tolerance and financial situation. Based on those factors, the firm will either use an independent manager to manage portions of a client's portfolio or place their assets in one of Perigon's model portfolios.

Perigon typically assumes a long-term investment approach, but advisors may sell or reallocate positions that have been held for under a year. Advisors may use mutual funds, ETFs, individual stocks and bonds or options contracts, depending on an individual client's needs.

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Aspiriant, LLC is a fee-only firm based in Los Angeles. It works with varitety of clients, including both non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals. Institutional clients also include investment companies, pensions and profit-sharing plans, charities and businesses.

The minimum account size for investment management services is typically over $1.5 million, but they also work with clients who have smaller account sizes. Fees are generally based on assets under management, ranging from 0.20% to 0.85%.

Aspiriant offers a range of wealth planning, family office and specialty services that include retirement planning, estate strategies, education funding, tax planning and risk management.

The firm says that if helps clients create portfolios that align with a personalized investment strategy that is based on their objectives, risk tolerance and time horizon. Portfolio could set allocations to stocks and bonds that track a market index, or a more flexible mix aimed at stable returns.