These top financial advisory firms in San Francisco were carefully selected based on the firms who manage the most client accounts and have the best reviews and recommendations. Use this list of top San Francisco financial advisors to help you find a reputable, capable financial advisor.
This list of top financial advisors in San Francisco, CA can help you narrow your search and give you peace of mind that you’re hiring a capable, reputable financial professional.
Reviews that the firm
has received
Firms manage at least
$100 million in assets
Firms provide financial
planning and investment servicesFirms are fee-only
Financial Advisor | Assets Managed |
---|---|
1. Financial Engines | $169,000,000,000 |
2. Fisher Investments | $96,031,566,281 |
3. Evercore Wealth Management, LLC | $7,329,619,694 |
4. Veritable LP | $15,632,140,415 |
5. Tiedemann Wealth Management | $12,301,604,643 |
6. Buckingham Strategic Wealth | $12,282,889,291 |
7. Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth, Inc. | $11,241,411,000 |
8. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. | $11,053,472,525 |
9. Aperio Group | $23,817,171,327 |
10. Personal Capital Advisors Corporation | $6,489,032,086 |
The help of an expert financial advisor can help you not only get organized, but also get prepared for your future. Read each firms description below to discern whether their advisors might be the right fit. Once you narrow your list, here are top questions to ask a financial advisor before hiring.
4040 Civic Center Drive , Suite 200
San Rafael, CA 94903
Financial Engines has been in the financial space for over twenty years and has helped many people manage their monetary assets, from everyday Americans to hundreds of Fortune 500 companies. They provide objective, fee-based advice and asset management with an aim to help you build a better financial future. They also offer fiduciary services, and are legally and ethically required to put client interests before their own.
Financial Engine’s call-in radio program, “Financial Engines’ Investing Sense”, airs in over 70 markets across the U.S. The financial advisory firm is seen as a leader in the financial space and is known for catering financial portfolios and plans based on their clients’ unique financial goals and needs.
In 2018, Financial Engines merged with Edelman Financial Services. Financial Engines remains the brand in the company’s workplace business, and is the largest independent registered investment advisor in the nation today, serving over 1 million people with over $150 Billion assets under management. In addition to the San Rafael location, there is also a Sunnyvale office.
939
Founded in 1996
Yes
Retirement Planning, Portfolio Management, Investment Advisory
Requires a $50,000 minimum investment and charges a blended rate between 1.50% and 0.90% for ongoing portfolio management services, depending on the size of the portfolio.
1450 Fashion Island Boulevard
San Mateo, CA 94404
Fisher Investments has managed portfolios for tens of thousands of investors and offers competitive, transparent fees. Their founder, Ken Fisher, believes the first step of successful investment management is putting clients’ interests first. He designed the firm with one vision in mind: “putting clients at the forefront and building an investment management firm to support long-term investments objectives.”
True to Fisher’s vision, the independent money-management firm has been enjoying the trust of businesses, individuals, couples and families for more than 35 years and manages over $100 billion in assets for individual investors and institutional investors across North America and Europe. Fisher Investments serves over 50,000 private clients and global investing expertise.
1522
Founded in 1979
Yes
Annuity Evaluation, Financial Planning, Portfolio Management
Generally works with clients who have at least $500,000 in investable assets, though they may accept smaller accounts at the advisor’s discretion. The firm has a lower expected minimum for its WealthBuilder account. For these accounts, Fisher Investments seeks a minimum of $200,000 in investable assets.
Three Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, CA 94111
Evercore Wealth Management is a global financial firm that provides financial advisory, wealth management and trust services on a fee-only basis to investors, families, banking institutions and a variety of companies and corporations. Evercore has approximately 1,700 employees and has advised on more than $2 Trillion of announced mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions since they were founded in 1995.
Evercore Wealth Management primarily offers investment management services to high-net-worth clients, as well as their associated trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, insurance companies, trust companies and other affiliated entities. Though the firm’s account minimum is relatively high at $5 million, its current client roster also includes some individual investors who fall beneath the high-net-worth threshold, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission defines as someone who has at least $750,000 under management.
In addition to helping clients, Evercore is known for helping their local communities through an Evercore Volunteers program and taking care of their employees in need through the Evercore Disaster Relief Fund.
81
Founded in 2008
Yes
Financial Advisement, Restructuring, Capital Markets Advisory, Wealth Management, Trust Services
Requires an account minimum of $5 million, but negotiable on an individual case-by-case basis.
Virtual Office
San Francisco, CA
Veritable LP is one of the largest and oldest independent investment advisors, operating as a multi-family office, serving over 200 families and managing $15 Billion. Prior to 1986, Veritable LP was compensated for their financial advice to clients, and because they did such a great job, they were encouraged to form a new financial advisement company.
Their mission for the past 30 years has been to provide “unbiased, comprehensive investment advice based on client advocacy, not salesmanship” and they seem to be succeeding as they have a loyal and growing client-base and happy employees. Veritable LP’s individual client experience consists of a consultation, investment advice, curation strategies for unique portfolios, transparent discussions about finances with benchmarking to track performance, and the protection of assets.
Veritable LP focuses on low risk, income-producing portfolios that are dominated by the analysis of client-specific inputs, rather than interest rate and economic forecasting. Higher risk market allocations are built on a capital market weighted platform that is adjusted to reflect client and market considerations. Typically, Veritable LP work with high-income clients and have a long-term approach to investing.
85
Founded in 1986
Yes
Financial Consulting, Investment Management, Tax Management, Estate Planning, Portfolio Management
$20 Million
101 California Street, Suite 1200
San Francisco, CA 94111
Tiedemann Advisors has been in the financial space for almost 20 years and was founded to address the ways the services provided by traditional investment management firms and trust companies typically fell short, such as putting the clients’ needs first and offering a myriad of offerings for unique financial situations. The firm is a New York-based independent national wealth advisor that is trusted by many clients, and has offices across the United States.
Tiedemann Advisors is 100 percent privately owned and has become one of the largest independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) in the country that offers a broad set of services. The team of expert financial advisors works across many specialties to offer comprehensive, objective advice and a partnership they feel their clients deserve.
The firm uses a trusted custodian and there is one licensed advisor for every six clients, which is significantly lower than the average. Tiedemann also requires a $0 minimum investment, which is a benefit to many investors who want to start investing but don’t have large sums of money.
119
Founded in 1999
Yes
Financial Planning, Investment Management, Impact Investment, Trust & Estate, Endowments & Foundations
Requires a $0 minimum investment and charges 1.25% for ongoing portfolio management services, depending on the size of the portfolio.
With our trusted network of advisors, we’ll connect you with up to three established planners in your area.
2445 Faber Place, Suite 250
Palo Alto, CA 94303
Buckingham Strategic Wealth federally registered in 2007 and provides investment advisory services for 7,315 clients. They offer an Investment Policy Committee, which is a full-time team made up of advisors, researchers and financial specialists who continuously study, evaluate and apply the latest peer-reviewed financial research to ensure their firm recommendations live up to their fiduciary standards.
They diligently help clients find ideal ways to balance risk while providing protection against inflation with the right balance to fit unique needs. The firm uses a transparent fee-only model with their clients as well as a trusted custodian.
The annual asset-based fee at Buckingham Strategic Wealth is between 0.40% and 1.25% per year of assets under management.
290
Founded in 2007
Yes
Financial Planning, Investment Management, Portfolio Management, Wealth Management, Tax Planning
$500,00 minimum investment required to initiate services as a new client.
1550 El Camino Real, Suite 200
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth has been an independent investment advice and financial counseling firm for clients since 1969. The firm federally registered in 2014, is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) in 21 states with a licensed staff of 47 advisors. The firm manages $11 Billion and provides investment advisory services for 947 clients.
They pride themselves on “advising clients on all aspects of their lives that have financial implications.” They customize their advice and services based on each client’s individual goals, needs and circumstances, and they boast that their “objectivity, expertise, comprehensiveness and close-working relationships” give them client trust.
Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth use a transparent fee-only model, a trusted custodian and have a good client-to-advisor ratio with one licensed advisor for every 21 clients (in an industry where the average is 1 advisor to 50 clients). Management fees typically vary from 0.15% to 1.00% of assets under management.
58
Founded in 1969
Yes
Financial Planning, Investment Management, Retirement Planning, Portfolio Management, Income & Estate Taxes, Insurance Planning
Minimum investment of $1,500,000.
90 New Montgomery Street, Suite 1250
San Francisco, CA 94105
Mercer Global Advisors federally registered in 2008 and is a Registered Investment Advisor in 52 states. Their founder, Kendrick Mercer started the firm as a law practice in 1985 to work with clients to give them the best service possible and deliver economic freedom so “they don’t have to worry about money.”
The firm follows the fiduciary standard to put clients’ needs and interests first, and they have been successful for over 30 years helping families navigate their financial needs from starting out in life and building financial portfolios to enjoying retirement. Mercer Global Advisors uses a transparent, fee-only model and a trusted custodian. The annual management fee for ongoing portfolio portfolio management services is negotiable.
238
Founded in 1985
Yes
Investment Management, Financial Planning, Estate Planning, Tax Planning & Preparation, Corporate Trustee
Requires a $250,000 minimum investment.
Three Harbor Drive, Suite 204
Sausalito, CA 94965
Aperio Group, LLC provides investment management services, with an emphasis on tax management and portfolio rebalancing. The financial advisory firm has a diverse client base, but most of the assets under their management belong to their high-net-worth clients.
Aperio Group offers a consultative approach to bring clarity, experience and comprehensive investment management through a disciplined, yet flexible approach to indexing. They offer a combination of financial analyst, investment and performance measurement expertise, and design and manage portfolios that reflect the client’s preferred risk profile and values, while also considering tax costs and fees.
Because separate account management is at the core of Aperio Group’s services, most clients will pay the below annual management fees. Aperio Group offerings are focused mainly around investment management for different phases of life.
82
Founded in 1999
Yes
Annuity Evaluation, Financial Planning, Portfolio Management, Institutional Investing, Life Planning
Minimum annual fee of $3,500. Annual rate will be divided up into four separate fees that are charged on a quarterly basis throughout the year: Domestic Indexes (0.35% fee), Foreign/Global (0.40% fee), U.S. Index Socially Responsible Indexing (0.45% fee), Foreign/Global Index Socially Responsible Indexing (0.50% fee)
250 Montgomery Street, Suite 700
San Francisco, CA 94104
Personal Capital Advisors Corporation federally registered in 2011 and focuses on helping clients create a holistic financial plan based on individual investment needs that evolves with life events, such as buying a home or planning for retirement. The Personal Capital automated investment platform is one of the largest and most comprehensive robo-advisors available today.
Personal Capital offers services in 50 states and uses modern portfolio theory which works on the idea that clients can maximize returns and minimize risk by investing in a diversified portfolio, across multiple asset classes. The company uses six asset classes to diversify client investments and rebalances portfolios frequently to ensure clients stay on track for specific financial goals. All investments are done with ETFs at Personal Capital. Individual stocks are not used in portfolios.
While Personal Capital has a high minimum payment and targets investors with a high net worth, the financial firm also offers many free tools, such as financial calculators and organization spreadsheets that investors of any level can use to monitor their financial health.
213
Founded in 2011
Financial Planning, Wealth Management, Retirement Planning, Estate Planning, Tax Management
$100,000 account minimum for financial advisory services, but no minimum to create an account. They charge a blended rate between 0.89% and 0.49% for ongoing portfolio management services, depending on the size of the portfolio.
It’s important to do your homework when choosing a financial advisor. Advisors should be able to directly answer your questions with detailed, documented proof of their fee structure, standards, code of ethics and policies.
This list of top financial advisor firms in San Francisco can help you find an advisor who not only meets your unique needs, but also gives you financial confidence for a successful future. Remember that your retirement portfolio and assets are one of the most important investments you’ll ever make, so you want to choose a financial advisor who is right for you and your financial goals
*Criteria: Compiled FINRA data and public advisory firm data for financial advisory firms who: