These days, it takes a village to manage your financial world. Whether it is managing your assets with a wealth manager, navigating the ever-changing tax landscape, sorting out your estate and succession planning or picking the right life insurance, finding the right team can be a daunting task. In fact, many consumers have a hard time figuring out where to even begin.
Sometimes, a few simple questions can put you off on the right path. Asking a professional what makes working with them a unique experience can help you understand how they work and if their style meshes with your own.
This is a great place to start! Five Star Professional uses its own proprietary research methodology to name outstanding professionals, then works with publications such as San Diego Magazine to spread the word about award winners. Each award candidate undergoes a thorough research process (detailed here) before being considered for the final list of award winners. For the complete list of winners, go to www.fivestarprofessional.com.
RESEARCH DISCLOSURES
In order to consider a broad population of high-quality wealth managers, award candidates are identified by one of three sources: firm nomination, peer nomination or pre-qualification based on industry standing. Self-nominations are not accepted. San Diego-area award candidates were identified using internal and external research data. Candidates do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final lists of Five Star Wealth Managers.
- The Five Star award is not indicative of a professional’s future performance.
- Wealth managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients’ assets.
- The inclusion of a professional on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the professional by Five Star Professional or San Diego Magazine.
- Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any professional is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected professionals will be awarded this accomplishment by Five Star Professional in the future.
- Five Star Professional is not an advisory firm and the content of this article should not be considered financial advice. For more information on the Five Star Wealth Manager award program, research and selection criteria, go to fivestarprofessional.com/research.
- 2,125 award candidates in the San Diego area were considered for the Five Star Wealth Manager award. 211 (approximately 10% of the award candidates) were named 2023 Five Star Wealth Managers. FIVE STAR WEALTH MANAGER DETERMINATION OF AWARD WINNERS CRITERIA
Award candidates who satisfied 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria were named 2023 Five Star Wealth Managers. Eligibility Criteria – Required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser or a registered investment adviser representative. 2. Actively employed as a credentialed professional in the financial services industry for a minimum of five years. 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review. 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal firm standards. 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation Criteria – Considered: 6. One-year client retention rate. 7. Five-year client retention rate. 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non- discretionary client assets administered. 9. Number of client households served. 10. Education and professional designations.
Regulatory Review: As defined by Five Star Professional, the wealth manager has not: been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint; been convicted of a felony. Within the past 11 years the wealth manager has not: been terminated from a wealth management or financial services firm; filed for personal bankruptcy; had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against them (and no more than five total pending, dismissed or denied) with any regulatory authority.
Five Star Professional conducts a regulatory review of each nominated wealth manager using the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website. Five Star Professional also uses multiple supporting processes to help ensure that a favorable regulatory and complaint history exists. Data submitted through these processes was applied per the above criteria; each wealth manager who passes the Five Star Professional regulatory review must attest that they meet the definition of favorable regulatory history based upon the criteria listed above. Five Star Professional promotes via local advertising the opportunity for consumers to confidentially submit complaints regarding a wealth manager.
