Five Star Award Winner David Ragland 2016 | Page 2

© 2016 Five Star Professional Announcing Atlanta’s 2016 Five Star Wealth Managers These days, it takes a village to manage one’s financial world. Whether it is managing your assets with a wealth manager, navigating the ever-changing landscape of tax law, sorting out your estate and succession planning or picking the right life insurance, finding the right team that suits your needs 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 set one off on the right path. Asking a professional what makes working with him or her a unique experience can help you understand how they work and if their style meshes with your own. Further, asking them to talk about any specialties they might have can help uncover skills you might find useful. This is a great place to start! Five Star Professional has partnered with Atlanta magazine to help consumers like you find outstanding wealth managers and investment professionals in their area. Each award candidate undergoes a thorough research process (detailed below) before being considered for the final list of award winners. Five Star Wealth Manager Criteria The 2016 Five Star Wealth Manager award is presented to wealth managers who satisfy 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria associated with outstanding work. Eligibility Criteria – Required 1. Credentialed as an investment advisery representative or a registered investment advisor. 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. 2,210 award candidates in the Atlanta area were considered for the Five Star Wealth Manager award. 526 (approximately 24 percent of the award candidates) were named 2016 Five Star Wealth Managers. In order to consider a broad population of high-quality wealth managers and investment professionals, award candidates are identified by one of three sources: firm nomination, peer nomination or prequalification based on industry standing. Self-nominations are not accepted. Atlanta 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 or Five Star Investment Professionals. Although this list is a useful tool for anyone looking for help in managing their financial world or implementing aspects of their financial strategies, it should not be considered exhaustive. Undoubtedly, there are many excellent professionals who, for one reason or another, are not on this year’s lists. • 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 or the Five Star Investment Professional list should not be construed as an endorsement of the professional by Five Star Professional or Atlanta magazine. • Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager, Five Star Investment Professional 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 or Five Star Investment Professional award programs, research and selection criteria, go to www.fivestarprofessional.com/research.