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Top 5
Financial Advisor Firms in The United States

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I N  T H E  P R E S S :

Finding the top financial advisor in the United States means choosing between thousands of options. Whether you're looking for help with retirement, wealth management or tax planning, the U.S. is home to thousands of advisors that can meet your specific needs. Based on the methodology outlined below, SmartAsset identified these financial advisor firms as among the top 5 financial advisor firms in the U.S. 

Methodology

To find the top financial advisors in the U.S., we first identified all firms registered with the SEC in the country. Next, we filtered out firms that don't offer financial planning services, those that don't primarily serve individual clients, and those that have disclosures on their record. The qualifying firms were then ranked according to the following criteria:

• AUM: Firms with more total assets under management are ranked higher.
• Individual Client Count: Firms that serve more individual clients (as opposed to institutional clients) are ranked higher.
• Clients Per Advisor: Firms with a lower ratio of clients per financial advisor are ranked higher.
• Years In Business: Firms that have been in business longer are ranked higher.
• Fee Structure: Firms with a fee-only (as opposed to fee-based) compensation structure are ranked higher.

These stats are updated annually and accurate as of June 17, 2021. This list may include firms that have a business relationship with SmartAsset, in which SmartAsset is compensated for lead referrals. Such relationships have no impact on our rankings, and firms are included and ranked based strictly on the above criteria. SmartAsset is not a client of the aforementioned firms. SmartAsset did not receive compensation for including any of the firms on the aforementioned list.

Why Work With an Advisor?

We believe it’s more important now than ever to review your retirement plan with a fiduciary financial advisor. Here’s why: The pandemic has shown us just how quickly decades of planning, investing and saving can be completely upended. This could mean your current financial plan might leave you without enough money to last your retirement.

Additionally, emotionally-charged decisions to sell off large quantities of stocks or other investments now lock in your losses, removing any chance for future growth. Research suggests people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.¹

Consider this example: A recent Vanguard study found that, on average, a hypothetical $500K investment would grow to over $3.4 million under the care of an advisor over 25 years, whereas the expected value from self-management would be

The hypothetical study discussed above assumes a 5% net return and a 3% net annual value add for professional financial advice to performance based on the Vanguard Whitepaper “Putting a Value on your Value, Quantifying Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha”.  Please carefully review the methodologies employed in the Vanguard Whitepaper  The value of professional investment advice is only an illustrative estimate and varies with each unique client’s individual circumstances and portfolio composition. Carefully consider your investment objectives, risk factors, and perform your own due diligence before choosing an investment adviser. The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results.  

Find Qualified Financial Advisors That Serve Your Area

Our above list may have kickstarted your financial journey, but you can take it to the next level using SmartAsset’s free financial advisor matching tool. While the methodology is different and you may not be matched with one of the firms mentioned above, our exclusive tool will match you with qualified fiduciary advisors, obligated to work in your best financial interest. 

By clicking your state below and completing our questionnaire, we'll match you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors. From there, you can compare their personalities and investment strategies to decide which advisor will most help you achieve your financial goals.

Legally Committed to Your Financial Success

SmartAsset has matched thousands of people with financial advisors. Advisors are rigorously screened through our proprietary due diligence process. We only match with fiduciaries, so all of your financial advisor matches are legally committed to acting in your best interest.

The SmartAsset Guarantee

SmartAsset's advisor matching service is at no cost to you and there is no obligation to work with any of your advisors matches. You're in control. We are paid by our large network of fiduciary advisors to connect them with potential clients that may be a good fit.

The criteria for the matching tool differs from the methodology for the list above and you may not be matched with the advisor firms mentioned in this article.

Click Your State to Get Matched With Financial Advisors That Serve Your Area

After you choose your state and answer a few questions you can compare up to three advisors who serve your area, and decide which to work with.

This is not an offer to buy or sell any security or interest. All investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Working with an adviser may come with potential downsides such as payment of fees (which will reduce returns). There are no guarantees that working with an adviser will yield positive returns. The existence of a fiduciary duty does not prevent the rise of potential conflicts of interest.

SmartAsset Advisors, LLC (“SmartAsset”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Insight Technology, is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser. SmartAsset’s services are limited to referring users to third party registered investment advisers and/or investment adviser representatives (“RIA/IARs”) that have elected to participate in our matching platform based on information gathered from users through our online questionnaire. SmartAsset does not review the ongoing performance of any RIA/IAR, participate in the management of any user’s account by an RIA/IAR or provide advice regarding specific investments.

We do not manage client funds or hold custody of assets, we help users connect with relevant financial advisors.

Other than application and licensing fees, SmartAsset did not provide compensation for the aforementioned awards.


Sources:
1. Journal of Retirement Study Winter (2020)
2. Vanguard (Feb. 2019), Putting a Value on Your Value 
3. “Planning and Progress”, Northwestern Mutual (April 2020)

The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the links to see the methodologies employed in the Journal of Retirement and Vanguard studies.

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Top 5
Financial Advisor Firms in
The United States

To get matched with an individual advisor near you, click the button below.

$1.69 million, or 50% less. In other words, an advisor-managed portfolio would average 8% annualized growth over a 25-year period, compared to 5% from a self-managed portfolio.² 

A 2020 Northwestern Mutual study found that 71% of U.S. adults admit their financial planning needs improvement. However, only 29% of Americans work with a financial advisor.³

We believe it’s more important now than ever to review your retirement plan with a fiduciary financial advisor. Here’s why: The pandemic has shown us just how quickly decades of planning, investing and saving can be completely upended. This could mean your current financial plan might leave you without enough money to last your retirement.

Additionally, emotionally-charged decisions to sell off large quantities of stocks or other investments now lock in your losses, removing any chance for future growth. Research suggests people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.¹

Consider this example: A recent Vanguard study found that, on average, a hypothetical $500K investment would grow to over $3.4 million under the care of an advisor over 25 years, whereas the expected value from self-management would be $1.69 million, or 50% less. In other words, an advisor-managed portfolio would average 8% annualized growth over a 25-year period, compared to 5% from a self-managed portfolio.² 

A 2020 Northwestern Mutual study found that 71% of U.S. adults admit their financial planning needs improvement. However, only 29% of Americans work with a financial advisor.³