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| SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2014
The Top 1,200 Financial Advisors
By STEVE GARMHAUSEN
After last year's big rally, these pros recommend a solid dose of
caution. Our largest-ever ranking of advisors.
With a surprisingly strong 2013 in the books, many investors fret that the market is set for a
2008-style plunge. "Clients are eager to take advantage of the opportunities out there," says
Richard S. Brown, of JNBA Financial Advisors, in Minneapolis, "but they're also wondering
whether the market is for real."
Top Advisors for Last Three Years
Top 1200 Financial Advisors by State for
2014
The verdict from Brown and many of his fellow
Top 1,200 Advisors: The market is legit -- just
don't expect it to revisit last year's nearly 30%
Top 1000 Financial Advisors by State for
2013
return. A more realistic range for domestic
Top 1000 Financial Advisors by State for
2012
Merrill Lynch advisor in Montgomery, Ala.
stocks is 8% to 10%, says Robert Runkle, a
This is a group worth listening to. Barron's
Top 1,200 Advisors represent the cream of the crop from each of the 50 states and the District
of Columbia.
We've expanded this annual state-by-state listing from 1,000 advisors to 1,200 to include, for
the first time, Registered Investment Advisors, or RIAs. Ranking independent advisors
alongside those employed by the large brokerage firms presents some challenges, because they
are regulated by different agencies -- the Securities and Exchange Commission and the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, respectively. But the effort was worth it -- we've
wound up with a ranking that represents the top 1% of advisors with substantial practices.
As with all our financial-advisor rankings, this
one is based on assets under management,
revenues generated by advisors for their firms,
and quality of practices. We examine regulatory
records, internal company documents, and
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extensive questionnaires filled out by the
advisors themselves.
Investment performance isn't explicitly a
criterion, because the advisors pursue a wide
range of investment goals for their clients.
Since the clients tend to be wealthy -- typically
with a net worth north of $20 million -- the
goal is often preservation of assets. Last year,
the advisors increased their assets under
management by an average of 12%, counting both investment gains and new business, up from
10% the year before.
In assembling the rankings, we included more advisors for the larger states than for the
smaller ones, in proportion to state populations. In the end, we identified 363 new advisors -top-notch pros who weren't on the list last year. And some 26 states emerged with new No. 1
advisors.
So what, exactly, can you expect if you sign up as a client of one of our 1,200? The best
advisors, of course, don't rely on predictions. Few, after all, foresaw last year's stock market
rocket ride. Instead, they make sure you stick to well-thought-out plans that suit your longterm goals and risk tolerance. That means rebalancing portfolios even when it hurts.
"[Some clients say] they don't want to rebalance because the market is going to continue to
rally," says Shawn Fowler, with Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, in Denver.
"That's when you should probably be rebalancing."
To be sure, several of our top advisors are decidedly bullish. Rod Westmoreland, a Merrill
Lynch advisor in Atlanta, is among them: "If this was a baseball game, we'd be in the top of the
third in an extra-innings game."
James Atwood, with Merrill Lynch in Boston, believes the market will average returns of 15% a
year for the next 10 to 15 years. Merrill Lynch's Thomas Buck, in Indianapolis, is a big believer
in the U.S. economy's potential. He believes the smart money is on cornerstone businesses
such as railroads and airplane manufacturing. The best opportunities "are going to be
primarily in the fundamental building blocks of our economy," he says.
BUT MANY OTHERS are more cautious. James B. Stack, in Whitefish, Mont., warns that
only one bull market since 1930 has lasted beyond seven years. And Wells Fargo partners
Wayne Pichon and Margaret Price, in Anchorage, Alaska, are making a point to embrace
flexible investment managers who, "if things got incredibly nasty, could be out of the market
completely, say, or short the market," says Pichon.
The U.S. isn't the only place to fish for stocks, of course, and many advisors see European
issues as significantly underpriced. Steven Hefter, with Wells Fargo in Deerfield, Ill., plans to
increase allocations to Europe to 17.5% by year end, up from nothing in mid-2013.
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Meanwhile, the country's best advisors have been getting creative to find yield as bonds
continue their funk. Erik Morgan, with Seattle-based Freestone Capital Management, is
launching a fund to lend to middle-market businesses, which should generate yields of
between 8% and 12%.
On the more conventional side of fixed income, munis are regaining popularity. Fowler, for
instance, hails high-quality, 12- to 15-year issues, which have a tax-equivalent yield of 6.5% to
7%.
Munis' revival is partly a function of clients' concern over rising taxes, including the 3.8%
investment tax under Obamacare. "Tax efficiency has become a bigger part of the conversation
[with clients]," says Mark T. Curtis, an advisor with Morgan Stanley in Palo Alto, Calif.
Gregory Cash, with Merrill Lynch in Charlotte, N.C., agrees, urging clients to get their
accountants' input as they make investing decisions.
BUT IT'S NOT just taxes that can eat away at wealth, says Robert Rathbone, a Wells Fargo
Advisor in Boise, Idaho. The combination of taxes and "the invisible tax of inflation" will
combine to erode money over time, he says. Rathbone's advice: Own what he calls real assets,
such as real estate and shares of companies. "If we're going to preserve purchasing power over
time, we have to own real assets," he says.
The middle-market lending fund run by Freestone's Morgan, meanwhile, takes another tack in
hedging against inflation: The fund's floating-rate loans are designed to counter inflation.
Whatever their outlooks, this year's Top Advisors share a common view: Client money should
be invested with a clear view to personal goals. And advisors should handle that money as
attentively as if it were their own.
Most on the list have been at it for some time. The average advisor is 53 and has been in the
business for nearly 27 years. They've typically been with their current firm for 19 years.
By and large the advisors are backed by teams of financial professionals, with the typical team
handling about $2.2 billion in assets. That's up slightly from $2.1 billion a year ago -- the
additional 200 advisors, with mostly smaller practices, restrained average growth.
Perhaps the best measure of these advisors' value is their average annual retention rate of
clients: 98% in each of the past three years. If only the rest of Wall Street could put up
numbers like that.
E-mail: editors@barrons.com
Copyright 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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Best Pennsylvania Financial Advisors - 2014 Ratings - Barrons.com
Page 1 of 2
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Wednesday, February 26, 2014
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BACK TO TOP ADVISORS FROM ALL 50 STATES
2014 Top Advisor Rankings: Pennsylvania
Ranked #1: John Waldron ♦ Investors are famously driven by fear and greed. Five years ago, Waldron and his team were almost exclusively managing clients' fear.
Today, after a multiyear bull market in stocks and a sterling 2013, they are also managing greed again, Waldron says. Some clients worry that the stock market is in
bubble territory, while others fret that they're missing out on gains and should increase their allocation to U.S. equities. Waldron, 54, says coaching and education is
paramount so people stay focused on the fundamentals and their own long-term goals. U.S. stocks are no longer the value play they once were, he points out. The
big test for 2014 is whether sufficient earnings growth materializes to justify current valuations. But Waldron, for one, is optimistic. The U.S. economic environment is
the best it has been in five years, he argues, given the healed balance sheets of banks, Corporate America, and households, not to mention the recent budgetary compromise among
the political parties in Washington. -MICHAEL SISK
View a different state: Make a Selection
Rank
'14 '13 Name

Firm
Location
Individuals
(Up to $1mil)
CUSTOMERS
High
Ultra-High
Total Typical
Typical
Net Worth Net Worth Founda- Endow- Institu- Asset Account Net Worth
($1-10 mil) ($10 mil+) tions
ments tional ($mil) ($mil)
($mil)
1
1
John Waldron
Waldron Wealth Mgmt
Pittsburgh, Pa.
1048
10
25
2
2
Peter Rohr
Merrill Lynch PBIG
Philadelphia, Pa.
2570
31
100
3
N
Grant Rawdin
Wescott Financial Advisory Group
Philadelphia, Pa.
2021
7.5
24
4
N
Joshua Gross
Mill Creek Capital Advisors
Conshohocken, Pa.
3048
13
25
5
3
Walter Meranze
Wells Fargo Advisors
Yardley, Pa.
2700
3
20
6
4
Robert Fragasso
Fragasso Financial Advisors
Pittsburgh, Pa.
921
0.5
1
7
5
Sean Kelly
Morgan Stanley PWM
West Conshohocken, Pa.
1600
35
50
8 10
James W. Rimmel
UBS Financial Services
Pittsburgh, Pa.
1290
1.5
5
9
Richard Corcoran
Morgan Stanley PWM
West Conshohocken, Pa.
1600
35
50
7
10 6
Anthony DiValerio
Morgan Stanley Wealth Mgmt
West Conshohocken, Pa.
985
35
75
11 12
Joseph Ronzano
Ameriprise Financial
Exton, Pa.
913
0.6
1.4
12 N
Alan Cohn
Sage Financial Group
Conshohocken, Pa.
1250
3
4
13 N
John Parker
Wells Fargo Advisors
Philadelphia, Pa.
1430
1.5
5
14 14
Barbara Hudock
Hudock Moyer Wealth Resources
Williamsport, Pa.
494
3
5
15 11
Jay Beaulieu
Credit Suisse Securities
West Conshohocken, Pa.
1500
20
25
4
16 13
D. Scott Wisman
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
Exton, Pa.
801
2.5
17 8
John Solis-Cohen
Wells Fargo Advisors
Jenkintown, Pa.
800
3
5
18 26
Jack Hafner
Credit Suisse Securities
Conshohocken, Pa.
925
25
40
19 22
Michael Duckworth
Merrill Lynch PBIG
Pittsburgh, Pa.
737
10
15
20 N
Marc Richman
Morgan Stanley PWM
Philadelphia, Pa.
755
10
50
21 29
William Brown
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
Sewickley, Pa.
851
2
5
22 30
John Garvey
UBS Financial Services
Philadelphia, Pa.
746
5
7.5
23 18
Samuel Spanos
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
Beaver, Pa.
516
0.75
2
24 N
Albert C. Boris
Deutsche Asset & Wealth Mgmt
Philadelphia, Pa.
718
5
10
25 9
Binney Wietlisbach
The Haverford
Radnor, Pa.
814
11
15
26 19
David Eisen
UBS Financial Services
Philadelphia, Pa.
4700
20
20
3
27 24
David Jancisin
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
Pittsburgh, Pa.
750
2.5
28 16
Peter Strope
UBS Financial Services
Canonsburg, Pa.
694
3
5
29 23
John Gallagher
Morgan Stanley Wealth Mgmt
Bryn Mawr, Pa.
1410
1
5
30 N
Michael Blehar
Fort Pitt Capital Group
Pittsburgh, Pa.
1534
1.2
5
31 20
Eric Salmansohn
Morgan Stanley Wealth Mgmt
Philadelphia, Pa.
1188
3
10
32 37
Mark Eskin
Janney Montgomery Scott
Philadelphia, Pa.
990
1.5
2.5
33 38
Edward Blumenthal
Janney Montgomery Scott
Philadelphia, Pa.
990
1.5
2.5
34 21
Bryan Rogers
Credit Suisse Securities
Conshohocken, Pa.
2950
25
35
35 N
Charles Kurtzman
Credit Suisse Securities
West Conshohocken, Pa.
2950
25
35
36 N
Steve Cordasco
Cordasco Financial Network
Philadelphia, PA
400
1
2.5
37 N
Thomas A. Seiler
Raymond James
Newtown, Pa.
625
3
6
38 N
Patricia C Brennan
Key Financial
West Chester, Pa.
467
1.5
2.5
39 17
Jay Milnes
Credit Suisse Securities
West Conshohocken, Pa.
600
50
75
40 33
Joseph Flotteron
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
Yardley, Pa.
381
1.5
5
http://online.barrons.com/report/top-financial-advisors/1000/pennsylvania/2014
2/26/2014
Best Pennsylvania Financial Advisors - 2014 Ratings - Barrons.com
Rank
'14 '13 Name
41 28 Robert Boland
Firm
RBC Wealth Mgmt
Location
Philadelphia, Pa.
Individuals
(Up to $1mil)
Page 2 of 2
CUSTOMERS
High
Ultra-High
Total Typical
Typical
Net Worth Net Worth Founda- Endow- Institu- Asset Account Net Worth
($1-10 mil) ($10 mil+) tions
ments tional ($mil) ($mil)
($mil)
943
6.9
20
42 31
David Wilson
Morgan Stanley Wealth Mgmt
Bryn Mawr, Pa.
800
3
5
43 N
Theodore Bovard
Fort Pitt Capital Group
Pittsburgh, Pa.
1534
1.1
3
44 34
Lee Oleinick
UBS Financial Services
Pittsburgh, Pa.
517
1.8
2.5
45 36
Herman Rij
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
Bethlehem, Pa.
795
8
10
46 32
James Lowden
UBS Financial Services
Pittsburgh, Pa.
452
1.5
3
47 39
Douglas Simon
Deutsche Asset & Wealth Mgmt
Philadelphia, Pa.
543
8
10
48 N
Charles Petredis
Wells Fargo Advisors
Sewickley, Pa.
540
2
3
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