Ballentine Partners was named to the FT 300, Financial Times’ list of 300 RIAs in 2016.
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Methodology provided by the Financial Times: This third edition of the Financial Times 300 assesses US registered investment advisors (RIAs) on desirable traits for investors. To ensure a list of established companies with deep, institutional expertise, we examine the database of RIAs registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and select those that reported to the SEC that they had $300m or more in assets under management (AUM). The Financial Times’ methodology is quantifiable and objective. The RIAs had no subjective input. The FT invited qualifying RIA companies – more than 1,500 – to complete a lengthy application that gave us more information about them. We added this to our own research into their practices, including data from regulatory filings. Some 520 RIA companies and 300 made the final list. The formula the FT uses to grade advisors is based on six broad factors and calculates a numeric score for each advisor. Areas of consideration include advisor 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-year and two-year growth rates.
- Companies’ years in existenceindicates reliability and experiences of managing assets through different market environments.
- Compliance recordprovides 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 accessibilitydemonstrates a desire to provide easy access and transparent contact information.
Assets under management and asset growth, combined, comprised roughly 80 to 85 per cent of each advisor’s score. Additionally, the FT caps the number of companies from any one state. The cap is roughly based on the distribution of millionaires across the US. We present the FT 300 as an elite group, not a competitive ranking of one to 300. This is the fairest way to identify the industry’s elite advisors while accounting for the companies’ different approaches and different specialisations. The research was conducted on behalf of the Financial Times by Ignites Research, a Financial Times sister publication.
No fee was paid to participate.
See the complete list of RIAs here.
Please Note: Limitations: Neither rankings and/or recognition by unaffiliated rating services, publications, or other organizations, nor the achievement of any designation or certification, should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if Ballentine is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. Rankings published by magazines, and others, generally base their selections exclusively on information prepared and/or submitted by the recognized adviser. Rankings are generally limited to participating advisers (see individual post as to participation data). No ranking or recognition should be construed as a current or past endorsement of Ballentine by any of its clients. ANY QUESTIONS: Ballentine’s Chief Compliance Officer remains available to address any questions regarding rankings and/or recognitions, including providing the criteria used for any reflected ranking.
You should not infer that the rankings and awards Ballentine Partners has received provide any guarantee or assurance that you will experience the results you desire to achieve by engaging us to provide advice or services. All industry rankings and awards are based exclusively on information prepared and submitted by firms that decided to participate. No ranking or award should be construed as a current or past endorsement of Ballentine Partners, LLC by any of our clients. We will be glad to answer any questions you have regarding rankings and awards, including providing the criteria used for any ranking or award.
