The FT 400 was developed in collaboration with Money-Media, a subsidiary of the FT that provides specialised content on asset management and the financial advisor community.
The FT 400 advisors come from 37 states and Washington, DC, and the financial advisors represent 16 different broker-dealer firms, including the four largest. The average advisor on the list has 26 years of experience in the industry and manages an impressive $1.3 billion.
This elite group embodies some of the leading trends in the investment management industry: more than 80% of the FT 400 work in teams, a growing part of the business; and more than two-thirds of the money managed by FT 400 advisors are in accounts charging asset-based fees for advice, a business model that has overtaken commission-based accounts.
A minimum standard for qualifying advisors was set at $250 million in assets under management (AUM) and ten years of experience. Qualified advisors were then scored on six attributes: AUM, AUM growth rate, compliance record, experience, industry certifications and online accessibility. Verified assets were provided by the broker-dealer firms.
“The investing landscape has evolved since the financial crisis and with it, the demands on financial advisors. That is why we decided it was time to offer a new way to look at what makes a top advisor,” said Gavin Daly, Financial Publishing Director of the Financial Times. “This inaugural edition of the FT 400 is meant to empower investors to choose among the industry’s top advisors at a time when it is so critical for investors to get good advice.”
To coincide with the release of the FT 400 list, Money-Media also launches today Financial Advisor IQ (FA-IQ), an online publication focused on helping financial advisors effectively serve and retain their clients and reporting on industry best practices. It also offers thorough yet concise daily coverage of industry trends and emerging issues, and supplements thoughtful, original reporting with opinion pieces and interactive features. Advisors can register to receive the free daily publication.
The full list of 400 advisors is published on FT.com and in a special section of the Financial Times newspaper.
