Finding the right advisor to help with your financial needs and goals can be complicated. There are so many factors to assess. Many advisors will use a high asset under management as a selling point metric when marketing themselves to potential investors. However, AUM isn’t the whole story when a potential client is determining which financial advisory firm is right for them.
The CNBC FA 100 celebrates the advisory firms that top the list when it comes to offering a comprehensive planning and financial service that helps clients navigate through their complex financial life.
The CNBC rankings are based on data culled from thousands of advisory firms and provided by AccuPoint Solutions. Factors included in the rankings were disclosures, years in business, average account size, total accounts under management, number of investment advisors, the ratio of investment advisors to total number of employees and discretionary assets under management and total AUM. Each section was weighted according to specific criteria created by CNBC and AccuPoint.
FA 100 2019
| Rank | Business Name | Total AUM (thousands) | Years in the Business | Accounts Under Management |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salem Investment Counselors | 1,356,991 | 40 | 1,652 |
| 2 | Montag & Caldwell | 2,100,413 | 43 | 439 |
| 3 | Dana Investment Advisors | 5,183,224 | 39 | 2,449 |
| 4 | Century Management Financial Advisors | 1,033,809 | 38 | 913 |
| 5 | North Star Asset Management | 1,577,049 | 23 | 2,062 |
| 6 | NewSouth Capital Management | 3,683,498 | 34 | 235 |
| 7 | California Financial Advisors | 1,083,937 | 21 | 2,627 |
| 8 | Richmond Capital Management | 5,506,418 | 32 | 232 |
| 9 | Tom Johnson Investment Management | 1,191,482 | 28 | 3,273 |
| 10 | Richard C. Young & Co. | 1,004,731 | 29 | 1,489 |
| 11 | Sound Shore Management | 5,104,007 | 41 | 625 |
| 12 | Gamble Jones Investment Counsel | 1,275,053 | 63 | 1,176 |
| 13 | C. S. McKee | 9,688,441 | 17 | 320 |
| 14 | Carret Asset Management | 2,474,880 | 15 | 2,140 |
| 15 | Gofen & Glossberg | 4,186,889 | 42 | 3,093 |
| 16 | Wedgewood Partners | 1,595,884 | 31 | 1,140 |
| 17 | Agincourt Capital Management | 6,891,907 | 20 | 348 |
| 18 | Guyasuta Investment Advisors | 1,310,835 | 25 | 1,062 |
| 19 | Diversified Management | 1,019,999 | 25 | 1,498 |
| 20 | D. F. Dent & Co. | 4,186,401 | 39 | 1,076 |
| 21 | Badgley Phelps Wealth Management | 2,636,477 | 46 | 1,614 |
| 22 | Trumbower Financial Advisors | 1,171,647 | 23 | 790 |
| 23 | Sol Capital Management | 1,977,297 | 28 | 900 |
| 24 | Luther King Capital Management | 18,108,390 | 28 | 2,679 |
| 25 | Veritable | 15,021,770 | 15 | 3,132 |
| 26 | Southeast Asset Advisors | 2,037,285 | 24 | 960 |
| 27 | Loring Wolcott & Coolidge | 7,242,359 | 19 | 2,850 |
| 28 | Ferguson Wellman Capital Management | 4,965,806 | 43 | 3,011 |
| 29 | Roffman Milller Associates | 1,409,750 | 28 | 1,131 |
| 30 | Zemenick & Walker | 1,746,611 | 21 | 215 |
| 31 | Bradley, Foster & Sargent | 3,440,594 | 25 | 3,185 |
| 32 | Gillespie, Robinson & Grimm | 1,140,585 | 45 | 687 |
| 33 | GW&K Investment Management | 36,961,916 | 45 | 37,561 |
| 34 | Pzena Investment Management | 32,198,195 | 23 | 267 |
| 35 | Cincinnati Asset Management | 2,622,351 | 28 | 7,438 |
| 36 | Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management | 1,132,901 | 25 | 1,600 |
| 37 | Parsons Capital Management | 1,254,130 | 25 | 1,567 |
| 38 | Leavell Investment Management | 1,612,506 | 34 | 1,528 |
| 39 | ZWJ Investment Counsel | 2,062,983 | 30 | 1,928 |
| 40 | Lee Financial Co. | 1,016,117 | 23 | 1,646 |
| 41 | Boys Boys, Arnold & Co. | 1,091,651 | 29 | 1,051 |
| 42 | Heritage Investment Group | 1,137,409 | 18 | 1,654 |
| 43 | H. M. Payson & Co. | 3,640,290 | 30 | 2,898 |
| 44 | Everett Harris & Co. | 6,914,958 | 49 | 598 |
| 45 | Welch Hornsby | 1,817,958 | 27 | 1,759 |
| 46 | David Vaughan Investments | 2,428,499 | 25 | 2,412 |
| 47 | Highland Capital Management | 5,466,612 | 21 | 43 |
| 48 | Oak Associates | 1,544,000 | 27 | 106 |
| 49 | Meritage Portfolio Management | 1,530,433 | 28 | 1,228 |
| 50 | Sage Financial Group | 1,838,269 | 16 | 2,880 |
| 51 | Foster & Motley | 1,302,878 | 21 | 633 |
| 52 | Check Capital Management | 1,327,738 | 28 | 2,355 |
| 53 | The Burney Company | 1,684,824 | 45 | 4,329 |
| 54 | Bailard | 3,636,209 | 50 | 1,858 |
| 55 | Rembert Pendleton Jackson | 1,278,185 | 31 | 4,438 |
| 56 | Cadinha & Co. | 1,432,708 | 28 | 4,632 |
| 57 | SFMG Wealth Advisors | 1,312,434 | 20 | 3,046 |
| 58 | Clifford Swan Investment Counselors | 2,775,883 | 104 | 750 |
| 59 | National Investment Services | 7,223,418 | 25 | 536 |
| 60 | Emerald Advisors | 2,769,039 | 27 | 51 |
| 61 | Oak Ridge Investments | 1,250,690 | 29 | 2,084 |
| 62 | JMG Financial Group | 2,674,956 | 34 | 2,774 |
| 63 | J. H. Ellwood & Associates | 1,048,494 | 37 | 19 |
| 64 | Ami Asset Management | 1,702,861 | 24 | 1,308 |
| 65 | Anchor Capital Advisors | 2,964,915 | 36 | 4,668 |
| 66 | Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors | 2,343,319 | 30 | 3,609 |
| 67 | Steele Capital Management | 1,813,941 | 23 | 3,543 |
| 68 | RTD Financial Advisors | 1,487,448 | 35 | 649 |
| 69 | Fulton Breakefield Broenniman | 1,124,702 | 28 | 2,885 |
| 70 | Segall Bryant & Hamill | 18,207,528 | 24 | 3,141 |
| 71 | Pittenger & Anderson | 1,479,475 | 24 | 1,229 |
| 72 | Sands Capital Management | 35,387,580 | 13 | 437 |
| 73 | Caprin Asset Management | 1,304,006 | 22 | 1,032 |
| 74 | Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors | 5,178,358 | 15 | 494 |
| 75 | Summit Financial Strategies | 1,147,227 | 20 | 764 |
| 76 | Index Fund Advisors | 3,572,356 | 19 | 6,535 |
| 77 | Wescott Financial Advisory Group | 2,003,142 | 32 | 1,937 |
| 78 | Foundation Resource Management | 1,276,391 | 17 | 457 |
| 79 | Lee, Danner & Bass | 1,096,410 | 31 | 457 |
| 80 | Pinnacle Advisory Group | 1,954,332 | 26 | 5,994 |
| 81 | Alta Capital Management | 1,703,254 | 38 | 2,591 |
| 82 | Timucuan Asset Management | 1,662,446 | 18 | 474 |
| 83 | Investment Counselors of Maryland | 1,807,199 | 17 | 47 |
| 84 | Eagle Global Advisors | 2,711,414 | 22 | 578 |
| 85 | C. W. Henderson & Associates | 3,250,874 | 28 | 1,233 |
| 86 | Hahn Capital Management | 1,146,000 | 24 | 132 |
| 87 | Mitchell, Sinkler & Starr | 1,032,351 | 47 | 438 |
| 88 | Provident Trust Co. | 2,997,260 | 20 | 1,170 |
| 89 | Emery & Howard Portfolio Management | 1,211,890 | 18 | 1,735 |
| 90 | Bahl & Gaynor | 12,780,022 | 21 | 2,299 |
| 91 | Conservest Capital Advisors | 1,082,482 | 25 | 230 |
| 92 | Northside Capital Management | 4,124,420 | 17 | 358 |
| 93 | Tower Bridge Advisors | 1,299,100 | 17 | 904 |
| 94 | Charles D. Hyman & Co. | 1,082,567 | 20 | 789 |
| 95 | Latash Investments | 1,085,021 | 16 | 13 |
| 96 | AQS Asset Management | 2,298,622 | 15 | 10 |
| 97 | Investment Consulting Group | 1,796,675 | 27 | 157 |
| 98 | Bowen Hanes & Co. | 2,560,667 | 38 | 223 |
| 99 | Cardiff Park Advisors | 1,842,940 | 16 | 2,140 |
| 100 | E. S. Barr & Co. | 1,078,161 | 26 | 825 |
