Business Management Skills

Unfortunately, investing is embedded into our system as a way of funding our retirements, creating a savings cushion and surviving financially. Since we weren’t all born with an inherent knowledge of stocks and other modes to financial freedom, many of us look for financial advisory services to help us find our way. Financial advisor professionals can help you decide which investments are most logical to meet your goals; they can help you make financial decisions to reach your retirement objectives; and they can steer you from disaster. As you know, many advisors dropped the ball in the last year, which cost their clients much of their savings. However, there are some advisors who steered their clients into prosperity — and these top advisors are acknowledged by Barron’s magazine in their 11th annual “Top 1,000 Independent Financial Advisors” list.

Barron’s top financial advisors are primarily listed by state, although there were also some financial advisor winners who emerged across the board. Merrill Lynch, for instance, had 239 of its advisors make the list. Even though the company was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy before being acquired by Bank of America last year, their established presence in every state has helped them remain afloat in troubled times. “We are continuing to set the standard by which other advisory firms are measured,” explains SVP Dan Sontag, head of Global Private Client’s Americas Advisory Division. “Our growing number of advisors on the Barron’s list reflects the strength and depth of our entire field.”

Wachovia Securities came in #2 for their financial advisor pool and 135 top advisors. According to Wells Fargo/Wachovia, “These rankings validate our focus on building the strongest relationships by working together with clients, vesting ourselves fully in their success, and providing exceptional service, advice, and solutions every step of the way.” Coming in third place was Smith Barney, with 122 of the best professionals, followed closely by 121 at Morgan Stanley. Other financial advisory firms to check out include UBS, JPMorgan, LPL, Raymond James, Deutsche Bank and Ameriprise, according to Barron’s.

To begin the process of selecting the right financial advisor for you, visit www.online.barrons.com/report/top-financial-advisers/alabama and select your state from the drop down menu. For each state, you’ll see a list of the top-level financial advisors, along with who their basic customers are (individual/$1 million or less, high net worth/$1-10 mill and ultra high network/over $10 mill). You’ll see their total assets, typical account size and typical net worth. The top certified financial advisor will have a brief bio and a few comments for you to read. You can also see which firms are performing the best in your state. Barron’s Top 1,000 list is a good place to start your shopping around.

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