Third-party rankings and recognitions are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a client or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance or results. These ratings should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor by any client nor are they representative of any one client’s evaluation. Mason has not paid any of the below referenced entities for inclusion on the lists.
Award and Recognition Disclosures
Barron’s – Top Independent Wealth Advisors (2016)
- Methodology: The ranking reflects the volume of assets overseen by the advisors and their teams, revenues generated for the firms and the quality of the advisors’ practices. The scoring system assigns a top score of 100 and rates the rest by comparing them with the winner. A ranking of “N” denotes an advisor who is new to the list.
Barron’s – Top Advisor Rankings by State (2014, 2015, 2020)
- About: Barron’s published its first advisor ranking in 2004 to shine a spotlight on the nation’s best wealth managers and raise standards in the industry.
- Methodology: The rankings are based on data provided by around 6,000 of the nation’s most productive advisors. Factors included in the rankings: assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory record, quality of practice, and philanthropic work. Investment performance isn’t an explicit component because not all advisors have audited results and because performance figures often are influenced more by clients’ risk tolerance than by an advisor’s investment-picking abilities. The rankings are meant as a starting point for clients looking for an advisor—a first-pass vetting that can help investors narrow a search. Every advisor will have his or her own approach to investing, financial planning, and other services. Clients are encouraged to approach a search for an advisor the way they would a search for a doctor—interviewing multiple professionals and getting opinions from multiple third parties. If you’re reading this in a Barron’s app, please head to barrons.com in your browser for a better experience.
Barron’s – Top 50 Registered Investment Advisor Firms (2019)
- About: Barron’s published its first advisor ranking in 2004 to shine a spotlight on the nation’s best wealth managers and raise standards in the industry.
- Methodology: Firms that wish to be ranked fill out a 102-question survey about their practice. We verify that data and apply our rankings formula to the data to generate a ranking, based on assets, revenue and quality of practice. The rankings are meant as a starting point for clients looking for an RIA firm — a first-pass vetting that can help investors narrow a search. Every firm will have its own approach to investing, financial planning and other services. Clients are encouraged to approach a search for an RIA firm the way they would a search for a doctor—interviewing multiple professionals and getting opinions from multiple third parties.
Barron’s – Top 100 RIA Firms (2020, 2021, 2022, 2024)
- About: The ninth annual ranking of independent advisory companies is based on assets managed by the firms, growth, technology spending, succession planning, and other metrics. For the first time, Barron’s is ranking the largest registered investment advisor firms separately from its broader RIA ranking. For the list of mega RIAs, Barron’s selected firms that manage 2% or more of the total assets of all ranking applicants. This year, that creates a threshold of $70 billion in assets.
- Methodology: “Advisors who wish to be ranked must first pass a prequalification process aimed at ensuring that those in the mix are experienced and sophisticated advisors. Those who meet the criteria then fill out a survey with more than 100 questions about their practices. For this year’s Top 100 Women Advisors ranking, 1,094 advisors submitted data. We verify that data with the advisors’ firms and with regulatory databases, then we apply our rankings formula to the data to generate a ranking. The formula features three major categories of calculations: 1) assets, 2) revenue, and 3) quality of practice.
In each of those categories, we do multiple subcalculations. For instance, we take into account not just the amount of assets an advisor manages, but also the type of assets—are they private wealth assets or institutional? If they’re institutional, are they for a foundation or an endowment, or are they corporate assets? We measure the growth of advisors’ practices and their client retention. We also consider a wide range of qualitative factors, including the advisors’ experience; their advanced degrees and industry designations; the size, shape, and diversity of their teams; their charitable and philanthropic work; and, of course, their compliance records.
The rankings are meant as a starting point for clients looking for an advisor—a first-pass vetting that can help investors narrow a search. Each advisor will have his or her own approach to investing, financial planning, and other services. Clients are encouraged to approach a search for an advisor the way they would a search for a doctor—interviewing multiple professionals and getting opinions from multiple third parties.”
Barron’s – Top 100 Institutional Consulting Teams (2018*, 2022, 2023, 2024)
- About: Many of the nation’s top wealth management teams specialize in investing for large organizations—pension plans, university endowments, charitable foundations, and the like. These teams also serve individual investors, many of whom want institutional-style oversight of their investments.
- Methodology: Advisors who wish to be ranked fill out a 102-question survey about their practice. We verify that data with the advisors’ firms and with regulatory databases and then we apply our rankings formula to the data to generate a ranking. The formula features three major categories of calculations: (1) Assets (2) Revenue (3) Quality of practice. In each of those categories we do multiple subcalculations.
*Formerly known as “Barron’s – Top Institutional Consultants”
CNBC – Financial Advisor 100 (2020, 2021)
- About: The CNBC FA 100 celebrates those advisory firms that top the list when it comes to offering comprehensive planning and financial services to help clients navigate their financial lives. The advisors at these firms assist in setting realistic financial and personal goals. And they will help a client stay on track to meet changing goals due to personal circumstances, and any life-changing events.
- Methodology: The methodology consisted of first analyzing a variety of core data points from AccuPoint’s database of financial services firms. This analysis started with an initial list of 37,369 RIA firms. AccuPoint then applied weighted categories to further refine and rank the firms, ultimately creating the list of the top 100. The primary data points used in the analysis were reviewed, either as a minimum baseline or within a range, eliminating those firms that did not meet our requirements. Once the initial list was compiled, weightings were also applied accordingly. These data points included:
- Disclosures
- Number of years in the business
- Number of employees
- Number of investment advisors registered with the firm
- The ratio of investment advisors to total number of employees
- Total assets under management
- Percentage of discretionary assets under management
- Total accounts under management
- Number of states where the RIA is registered
- Country of domicile
Financial Advisor Magazine – RIA Survey and Rankings (2013, 2021, 2024)
- Methodology: FA’s RIA survey is a ranking based on assets under management at year end of independent firms that file their own ADV with the SEC. FA’s RIA ranking orders firms from largest to smallest, based on AUM reported to us by firms that voluntarily complete and submit FA’s survey by our deadline.
Financial Times – FT 300: Top Registered Investment Advisors (2014, 2015, 2017, 2019)
- About: A snapshot of the leading advisers across the US market and the client bases they serve. Plus: we explore why the industry is still struggling to overcome a lack of racial diversity, how advisers are testing new fee models and how the pandemic is reshaping client relationships.
- Methodology: The formula the FT uses to grade advisers is based on six broad factors and calculates a numeric score for each adviser. Areas of consideration include adviser AUM, asset growth, the company’s age, industry certifications of key employees, SEC compliance record and online accessibility. The reasons these were chosen are as follows:
- AUM signals experience managing money and client trust.
- AUM growth rate can be a proxy for performance, as well as for asset retention and the ability to generate new business. We assessed companies on one- and two-year growth rates.
- Companies’ years in existence indicates reliability and experience of managing assets through different market environments.
- Compliance record provides evidence of past client disputes; a string of complaints can signal potential problems.
- Industry certifications (CFA, CFP, etc.) shows the company’s staff has technical and industry knowledge, and signals a professional commitment to investment skills.
- Online accessibility demonstrates a desire to provide easy access and transparent contact information.
Forbes – 100 Fastest Growing RIA Firms Over Ten Years (2016)
- About: RIA Channel has been producing the RIA lists for Forbes since 2006. This year’s unique ranking showcases the wealth management firms by growth in assets over the past ten years with a majority of the firms accruing more than $1 billion in assets.
- Methodology: To be considered for our ranking, each firm must be a registered investment advisor (RIA) with the SEC, provide wealth management services and serve individual clients as a primary focus. Broker/dealers, hedge funds, those managing large funds and firms with disciplinary disclosures were excluded. As the RIA market changes and grows, RIA Channel continues to adapt its criteria to the current environment.
Northern Virginia Magazine – Top Financial Professionals List (2023, 2024)
- Methodology: To compile the Top Financial Professionals listing, we sent surveys to all Northern Virginia financial professionals, asking them to recommend other financial professionals whom they would refer to friends and family. Our team then vetted those nominated by consulting various publications to determine our list of winners. Although some Top Financial Professionals winners choose to advertise in the magazine, they cannot pay to be included on the list. This listing and the advertising section are separate entities.
Washington Business Journal – Largest Wealth Management Firms in Greater Washington (2023, 2024)
- About: Ranked by Metro-area financial planners
- Methodology: The annual list from the WBJ, a prominent source of business news and information in the DC metropolitan area, ranks the wealth management firms with the most financial planners in the region.
WealthMangement.com – RIA Edge 100 List (2023)
- About: Wealth Management IQ and ISS Market Intelligences’ Discovery Data have compiled a list of RIAs growing fast while keeping sight of their priorities: the client experience and the sustainability of the business.
- Methodology: Developed by Wealth Management IQ (WMIQ) and Discovery Data, the list recognizes RIAs with the most impressive growth rates combined with the best client ratios and most CFP certifications.
