© 2017 Five Star Professional
2017 Baltimore
Award Winners
Determination of Award Winners
Award candidates who satisfied 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria were named 2017 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 .
• Had more than a total of three customer complaints filed against them ( settled or pending ) with any regulatory authority or Five Star Professional ’ s consumer complaint process .
• Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint filed with a regulatory authority .
• Filed for personal bankruptcy .
• Been convicted of a felony .
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 .
• Five Star Professional contacted approximately 1 in 12 households identified as having a high propensity to use the services of wealth managers in order to provide consumers the opportunity to submit complaints regarding a wealth manager .
CONNECT WITH FIVE STAR WEALTH MANAGERS
A Select Award
Finding a wealth manager who 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 wealth manager 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 a financial adviser to talk about any specialties they might have can help uncover skills you might find useful .
Ultimately , how do you find an experienced wealth manager who you feel comfortable working with ? One who has high retention rates ? One who has undergone a thorough complaint and regulatory review ? One who has tenure in the industry ?
Baltimore magazine and Five Star Professional partnered to find wealth managers who satisfy 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria . Among many distinguishing attributes , the average one-year client retention rate for this year ’ s award winners is more than 96 percent . 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 wealth managers who , for one reason or another , are not on this year ’ s list .
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 . Baltimore award candidates were identified using internal and external research data .
Research Disclosures
• Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers .
• The Five Star award is not indicative of the wealth manager ’ 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 wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by Five Star Professional or Baltimore magazine .
• Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success , nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by Five Star Professional in the future .
• Five Star Professional is not an advisery firm , and the content of this article should not be considered financial advice . For more information on the Five Star award and the research / selection methodology , go to www . fivestarprofessional . com .
• 1,093 award candidates in the Baltimore area were considered for the Five Star Wealth Manager award . 355 ( 33 percent of the award candidates ) were named 2017 Five Star Wealth Managers .
Learn more at : FiveStarProfessional . com