We are pleased to announce Alpha Financial Advisors has once again been selected as a Top Fee-Only Money Adviser by Washingtonian. This nomination is the result of surveys and numerous interviews of financial professionals and experts in the field asked: Whom would you trust to manage your own money?
We are thrilled to be included in this prestigious selection and recognize we would not be in this position without your support and trust. For the past 25 years we’ve dedicated our efforts to seeking exceptional returns, providing dynamic investment management and an unyielding commitment to our clients’ best interests. Looking ahead, we reaffirm our dedication to providing an uncompromised client experience that is unmatched by our peers in the industry.
Read the article below from The Washingtonian Magazine for information regarding this process!
How We Select DC’s Best Financial Advisers
Updated on February 5, 2018
The Process
This list of good financial advisers includes both those marked by a “best adviser” badge, as well as top wealth advisers at local banks. The process to determine each set of names differed.
To arrive at the names of the area’s 201 top financial advisers—the fee-only financial planners, fee-based advisers, estate attorneys, tax accountants, and insurance advisers marked with a “best adviser” tag—we distributed surveys to hundreds of people who work in the local financial industry. We asked them whom they would trust with their own money. We also did our own research, consulting industry experts and publications. The “best adviser” names on this list are the people who received the strongest recommendations.
Most of the 201 “best advisers” are at smaller, independent firms. The surveying process does not turn up as many names at large banks and brokerages. One reason is that banks and brokerages sometimes keep more work in-house—and if a financial adviser isn’t referring clients to outside professionals, that adviser might not have a network that earns peer votes.
Some clients prefer working with smaller wealth-management firms, while others may want their money handled by a big institution such as a Wells Fargo or Morgan Stanley. So, to offer names of the area’s top “bank wealth advisers,” we asked banks and brokerages to tell us the individuals with the most assets under management, or AUM. The bank wealth advisers on this list were provided by each institution. While having the most assets under management doesn’t necessarily mean an adviser is right for you, it probably does mean the person is doing something right.
My Financial Adviser Is Not on This List. Should I Choose Another One?
Exclusion from this list does not mean the person is a bad financial adviser. People can be left off for a variety of reasons—they may have small practices and not interact much with other advisers, limiting their peer votes. If you have a financial adviser that you like and trust, there’s no reason to sever that relationship.
Isn’t Peer Voting Just a Popularity Contest?
That’s no doubt part of it. But we try to correct for that by examining voting patterns and throwing out suspicious votes.
More Frequently Asked Questions
How often do we publish this list?
The list is published every 18 to 24 months. The next list will be sometime in 2019.
How can I get included in the Top Financial Advisers list?
Because the “best adviser” list is compiled via a survey—the top vote-getters make the list—we cannot simply add an adviser to the list. If you are a wealth adviser at a bank or brokerage, the names were provided by your institution.
How can I get the next Top Financial Advisers survey?
Everyone voted a “best adviser” gets the next survey automatically. In addition, we distribute surveys through local financial membership organizations, such as the national capital area chapter of the Financial Planning Association. We do not send targeted surveys to anyone who asks for one, because that would skew the results.
Edited by Sherri Dalphonse
Executive Editor
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986. She is the editor in charge of such consumer topics as travel, fitness, health, finance, and beauty, as well as the editor who handles such cover stories as Great Places to Work, Best of Washington, Day Trips, Hidden Gems, Bikes and Hikes, Fairs and Festivals, Great Small Towns, and the Washington Bucket List. She lives in Arlington.