NEW YORK: Today, the FT publishes the 2015 edition of the Financial Times 400 Top Financial Advisers, which recognises the top financial advisers at broker-dealers across the US. The FT 400 was developed in collaboration with Ignites Research, a subsidiary of the FT that provides specialised content on asset management. The full list, along with deep insight into the financial advisory space, is available to download at this link.
The top advisers hail from 43 states and Washington, D.C., and represent 23 different brokerage firms, including Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, which have the most advisers on the list. The average financial adviser in the FT 400 has 26 years of experience and manages $1.7 billion worth of assets. Less than three-quarters of the prior year’s FT 400 returned to this year’s list, which is a sign of how difficult the job of financial adviser has become.
This elite group embodies some of the leading trends in the investment management industry: 4 out of 5 work in teams, a growing part of the business; 70% are on LinkedIn; and two-thirds of the advisers hold advanced industry certifications such as the CFP or CIMA.
To qualify for the list, advisers had to have 10 years of experience and at least $200 million in assets under management (AUM). Qualified advisers were then scored on six attributes: AUM, AUM growth rate, compliance record, experience, industry certifications and online accessibility.
“As the investing world gets more complex, affluent investors increasingly turn to financial advisers,” said Loren Fox, director of research for Ignites Research and head of the FT 400 project. “This third annual edition of the FT 400 highlights the growth of the investment advice industry, at a time when the average FT 400 adviser has seen their managed assets grow by 30% in one year.”
The full report is available for viewing at this link.
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About the Financial Times:
The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of 720,000. Mobile is an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving almost half of total traffic. FT education products now serve two thirds of the world’s top 50 business schools.
About Ignites Research
Ignites Research delivers original research and analysis on the retail mutual fund market from experienced analysts. With fresh content delivered straight to inboxes every week, its research covers the distribution and product topics that asset managers must understand to improve their business. Ignites Research is a sister site to the popular online newsletter Ignites, and is a subsidiary of the Financial Times.