Important Disclosures and Limitations

Rankings and Awards Disclosures: It is important to note that third-party rankings, awards listings, and recognitions by unaffiliated third-party rating services or publications should not be interpreted by a client or prospective client as a guarantee of specific results should the Advisor be engaged or continue to be engaged to provide investment advisory services. Nor should such rankings be construed as an endorsement of the Advisor by any of its clients, past or present. Furthermore, third-party rankings and recognitions from rating services and publications do not assure future investment success.

While working with a highly-rated investment advisor may be desirable, it does not necessarily imply that a client or prospective client will experience superior performance. Typically, though not invariably, ratings, rankings, and recognitions are based on information provided by the Advisor to be considered for the award. It’s important to note that the Advisor does not pay an application fee to participate in these rankings.

It’s essential to understand that rankings are provided for informational purposes only and should not be the sole basis for engaging the Advisor for advisory services. For a comprehensive understanding of the criteria used in these rankings, please refer to the more detailed disclosures and additional information available on the website of the publication or organization conferring such recognition.

Please Note: Limitations. Neither rankings nor recognitions by unaffiliated rating services, publications, media, or other organizations,  nor the achievement of any professional designation, certification, degree, or license, membership in any professional organization, or any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that the client will experience a certain level of results if the investment professional or the investment professional’s firm is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A fee was not paid by either the investment professional or the investment professional’s firm to receive the ranking. The ranking is based on specific criteria and methodology (see ranking criteria/methodology). No ranking or recognition should be construed as an endorsement by any past or current client of the investment professional or the investment professional’s firm.

Barron’s

Barron’s publishes four individual advisor rankings each year: Top 100 Advisors, Top 100 Women Advisors, Top 100 Independent Advisors, and Top 1,200 Advisors. We also publish two team rankings and a firm ranking: Top Private Wealth Management Teams, Top Institutional Consulting Teams, and Top RIA Firms.

The goal is to shine a spotlight on the nation’s best financial advisors, with an eye toward raising standards in the industry. The rankings serve two distinct types of Barron’s readers. For wealth management professionals, they act as an industry score card, indicating which firms have the people and the processes in place to attract clients and gather the most assets. For investors, the rankings are a tool that can help them find a financial advisor who is right for them. We recommend selecting from advisors who have a typical account size close to your own portfolio to ensure you find an advisor set up to meet your needs.

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.

Financial Times FT 300

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 both one-year and two-year growth rates.
• Companies’ years in existence indicate reliability and experience in 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) show 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.

Assets under management and asset growth, combined, comprised roughly 80 to 85 percent of each adviser’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 advisers while accounting for the firms’ different approaches and different specializations. The research was conducted on behalf of the Financial Times by Ignites Distribution Research, a Financial Times sister publication.

Family Wealth Report

Judging Process- Within our global awards programs, independence, integrity, and genuine insight are the watchwords. The judging process is always conducted by expert panels and consists of judges from family offices, private banks, trusted advisers, consultants, and other service providers each of whom has in-depth knowledge and broad experience. For an insight into what can make for an outstanding submission a selection of our judging panel have offered their experienced advice. Each judge signs an NDA to ensure that all the information that they see in submissions remains strictly confidential. The judging process is completely independent of the commercial arrangements between the participants and the organizers. Winners and commended firms and individuals will not know their status ahead of the public announcement.

Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management

Pensions & Investments partnered with Best Companies Group, a research firm specializing in identifying great places to work, to conduct a two-part survey process of employers and their employees. The first part of the process consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems, and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. For a complete list of the 2023 Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management winners and write-ups, go to https://www.pionline.com/best-places-to-work/2023/winners.

Pensions & Investments Magazine sponsors an annual survey called “Best Places To Work in Money Management.”  Companies self-select to participate.  Pensions & Investments Magazine will not disclose the number of participants or the percentage of participants that win a “Best Places To Work” award.  We suspect the ratio of award winners to participants is high because responding to the survey requires a considerable amount of work and a company will be willing to participate only if they believe they have a good chance of receiving an award.

The “Best Places To Work” survey covers a wide range of factors including employee benefits and employee recognition efforts.  Employees are given an opportunity to respond anonymously to questions about employee engagement, relationships with supervisors, corporate culture, and other relevant issues.  Employers are unable to filter employees’ responses.

The award cited here is for the year 2023.  The full list of winners was published in Pensions & Investments Magazine on December 12, 2023. Ballentine Partners did not pay or receive any compensation either directly or indirectly.  There is no fee to participate in the ranking/survey process.  Firms need only to register and complete the survey.  Winners are invited to a special recognition dinner, but there is no requirement for a winning firm to attend.

Family Wealth Alliance Young Professionals Awards

2024 Judging Process – A panel of third-party judges reviewed the nominations and selected the 2024 honorees. Winners will be announced during the annual Alliance Fall Forum on October 23rd, 2024. All nominees and winners were invited to the awards gathering; however, winners were not required to attend in order to receive their awards.

2024 Scoring Criteria – Nominees are judged based on equally weighted criteria averaged together to calculate their overall score. Weighting is executed by a computerized scoring system and not by judges’ determination. Judges will abstain from judging a category or a nominee if there is a conflict of interest. Judges provide their unbiased assessment on each candidate.

Judges look for the following elements while reviewing nominees:

• Thoughtfulness of the application
• Insights into the industry
• Introspective reflections and considerations
• Demonstrated impact
• Does the candidate demonstrate client-centricity?
• Does the candidate demonstrate high standards and values?
• Does leadership see true potential in the candidate?

All judges agree to recuse themselves from discussing and voting on nominations with which he/she could be perceived as having a conflict of interest.

InvestmentNews Rising Stars (previously 40 Under 40)

Recognizes and celebrates up-and-comers in the financial advice industry. Each year, our editorial team reviews more than 1,000 nominations to create a list of outstanding financial advisers, or industry professionals supporting advisers, who are 40 or younger. Honorees are judged on their accomplishments, contributions to the industry, leadership, and promise.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS -Nominees for Rising Stars should exhibit qualities of leadership within the financial advice field, such as the drive to succeed, along with prospects for a bright future. He or she must be under the age of 40 on July 1, 2024. Nominees will be considered by InvestmentNews editors based on the following key points:

• Accomplishments: We are looking for professionals who are successful in the advisory business, industry-related projects, and the wider world in an advisory capacity, as exhibited by their credentials and achievements.
• Contribution: We are searching for professionals who promote the financial advice profession, advocate for financial literacy, and engage in pro bono financial planning work.
• Leadership: We are interested in professionals who offer guidance and successful management within a company or the industry as a whole.
• Promise: We want to celebrate professionals who have passion, enthusiasm, and great ideas and show a commitment to the field.

Winners will be selected by InvestmentNews editors and featured in the November issue of InvestmentNews and online. Participation is absolutely free.

Boston Business Journal

Eligibility Requirements- Boston Business Journal is accepting nominations for the 2023 40 Under 40 supplement, recognizing 40 of Boston’s best and brightest young professionals. The deadline for submissions is midnight Sunday, July 30, 2023. We will celebrate the local people who are the achievers, innovators, and leaders in their field in October. Every year, our 40 Under 40 honorees reflect the mix of brains and passion that makes Boston a business powerhouse.

Nominations: A panel of editors will choose honorees based on their influence on local business and industry, and their contributions to the civic health of Greater Boston through volunteer work and other forms of philanthropy. To help the selection process, we urge those submitting nominations to be concise and to the point when referencing their nomination’s professional and civic accomplishments. Important: If the nominee has previously been recognized as a BBJ 40 Under 40 honoree, they cannot be named again. Also, nominees must be under the age of 40 at the time of the event, which will be held in October. Only the honorees will be contacted directly by the BBJ prior to an online announcement.

Boston Estate Planning Council

The Boston Estate Planning Council’s (BEPC) President may bestow the President’s Award upon an individual that has displayed exceptional service and dedication to BEPC. The recipient has shown true leadership, volunteerism, and an overall commitment to helping BEPC achieve its mission and goals through their outstanding efforts and continued participation in the Council’s activities. This award is given in May of each year since 2015, based on a 12-month period.

Worth’s Top RIA Firms

Worth’s Leading Advisors selection methodology is as follows. The core value of the Leading Advisor program to our readers lies in its rigorous selection process and the credibility it bestows upon each listed advisor. Featured Registered Investment Advisor firms has successfully cleared stringent benchmarks:

• AUM of Over $500 Million: Demonstrates substantial experience and trust in handling significant wealth.
• Predominantly High-Net-Worth Clients: Shows specialized expertise in managing the complex financial situations typical of wealthier clients.
• Substantial Planning Clientele: Indicates a focus on comprehensive financial planning rather than simple asset management.
• Independence from Broker-Dealers: Ensures advice is unbiased and purely client-centric.

The rankings were developed in collaboration with Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a proxy advisory firm that helps investors comply with SEC rules for Form N-PX disclosure of proxy voting records. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires companies to compile and present financial and business information, reports, and disclosures to provide transparency to investors and the public. Leading Advisor assessments are based on the data that firms submit to the SEC in these disclosures. The public can review SEC filings through the commission’s online database, EDGAR.

Best Companies Group

This is not a ranking nor a competition. Best Companies will use an employee survey focused on inclusivity and belonging at work to gauge how your people feel at work.
The results will only be assessed at the company level. We will survey all your employees and use the survey ratings and their comments from your employees to rate your workplace.
Eligible organizations must meet the following criteria:

1. Have an average positive response rate of 70%
2. Meet the response rate requirement.
   1. Organizations with less than 50 employees must have fifteen responses
   2. Organizations with 50 – one thousand employees must have a 30% response Rate
   3. Organizations with more than one thousand employees must have at least three hundred responses

Most Loved Workplaces®

In today’s competitive landscape, attracting and retaining top young talent is crucial for business success. Companies that prioritize young professionals are not just following trends, they are shaping the future of work. Our research clearly shows that workplaces that cultivate a culture that empowers and engages young professionals experience a surge in innovation, growth, and fresh perspectives.
Here is a breakdown of our meticulous research process to identify the Most Loved Workplaces® for Young Professionals:

Evaluation Process:
Step 1: Capturing Employee Voice and Sentiment
Love of Workplace Index® and Direct Industry Feedback: We analyze employee comments from participating companies using our Love of Workplace Index® tool. This, combined with our proprietary machine learning tool, measures the emotional sentiment of employees specifically regarding their perception of the company’s practices and values towards young professionals.

Step 2: Employee Insights Survey
We conducted a comprehensive survey among employees at these organizations to gauge their experiences and overall perception of their employers. This phase leverages over 500,000 data points from current employees, including demographics. We use this data to tailor our analysis and ensure it reflects the perspectives of diverse young professionals within the company.

Step 3: Deep Dive into Public Perception and Young Professional Focus
We conduct an in-depth review of publicly available information, including social media insights and public perception, analyzing everything through our proprietary sentiment and emotion analysis tool. This allows us to understand how young professionals perceive the company’s focus on their needs and development.

Step 4: Media Validation
We review published and validated news articles within the past 18 months regarding all analyzed companies. This step helps identify any potential legal or ethical issues related to the company’s treatment of young professionals.

Step 5: Validation and Scoring
Utilizing our proprietary workplace sentiment and emotion analysis tool, we calculate a unique “Young Professional Focus” rating for each company. The top-scoring companies are then recognized on the America’s Most Loved Workplaces® for Young Professionals list.

Employee Benefit News

Methodology: Best Companies Group compiled the list for Employee Benefit News. Best Companies Group looked at the survey and employer questionnaire data from all companies we’ve surveyed over the last 12 months and that decided to participate in this year’s Best HR Teams program. We compared the data with all participating peers, looking at not only the employee experience but also the programs, practices, perks, trainings, and depth of support for employees offered by the HR teams at each organization. With that data we picked the companies that stood out and recognized their HR teams in partnership with Employee Benefit News.

Questions?

Ballentine Partners’ Compliance team remains available to address any questions regarding rankings and/or recognitions, including the criteria used for any reflected ranking.  Please email compliance@ballentineparters.com