Award Description & Criteria

AdvisoryHQ Top Financial Advisors & Wealth Management Firms in Boston and New York City: AdvisoryHQ uses a multi-step selection methodology for identifying, researching, and generating its list of top ranked firms.  AdvisoryHQ’s review and ranking articles are always 100% independently researched and objectively written. Firms do not pay for their ranking. In fact, most firms do not even realize that they are being reviewed and ranked by AdvisoryHQ until after their reviews have been completed and published to the public. 

Banker & Tradesman Annual Readers’ Poll: Banker & Tradesman readers cast their votes for the best providers of services and goods in the banking and real estate professions. This is a subjective, not objective, poll. It does not measure who writes the most business, who has the most revenue or serves the most customers. It does measure the loyalty and satisfaction readers have with vendors. It is an opportunity for readers to speak up for those providers they believe are the best. Banker & Tradesman conducts an online survey of readers. They promote the project via ads in the newspaper, emails to readers and customers of Banker & Tradesman, and through B&T’s website. Readers respond by the thousands to voice their opinions.

Banking New England Banking Choice Awards: The Banking Choice Awards recognize the banks that receive the highest ratings from their own customers in four categories: Customer Service, Technology, Community Contribution, and Overall Quality. The rankings are based upon the Banking Benchmarks®, the industry’s gold standard of customer-experience measurement, which is conducted twice a year among hundreds of thousands of households and businesses. In an effort to get unbiased opinions, a double-blind survey is used to ask customers a variety of questions about the institutions with whom they bank. New England Banking Magazine presents the awards.

Banking New England Women of FIRE: The Women of FIRE program, presented by Banking New England Magazine and American Business Media, celebrates the most talented, the most ambitious, the most innovative and the most philanthropic women from the Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate industries. Women of FIRE recipients are chosen through a very selective process with nominations solicited from our readers and a panel of judges who weigh all of the nominees, their experience and accomplishments before choosing each winner.  

Barron’s Best RIA Firms in America: This yearly award is open to firms whose advisors are formal employees offering fee-based investment advice and financial planning services. Additional submission criteria dictates that a firm must provide advisors with technology, compliance, and investment resources that foster a consistent client experience throughout the firm’s individual advisory practices. The application consisted of questions focused on the firm’s ADV, technology spending, staff diversity, and succession planning. This ranking focuses on private wealth management assets. All application data was current as of June 30, 2021.

Boston Business Journal Corporate Citizenship Awards: The Boston Business Journal Corporate Citizenship Awards recognize the top corporate charitable contributors in Massachusetts based on total cash contributions, in-kind contributions, employee volunteer hours and employee payroll deductions paid out to charitable organizations. 

Boston Business Journal Largest Banks in Massachusetts: This list is prepared based on information obtained from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Boston Business Journal Largest Independent Investment Advisors in Massachusetts: This list is created based on total assets under management among Massachusetts-based advisers. For the 2020 list, AUM was measured as of 6/1/2021.

Boston Business Journal Largest Public Companies in Massachusetts: This list is created based on total revenue for 2019. Data for the list was obtained from the company's most-recent tax filing information at the time of publication (6/4/21).

Family Wealth Report: Family Wealth Report is a leading publication that reports on the wealth management and family office industry. The Family Wealth Report Awards reward achievement and showcase top-class performance, innovation and distinction. The award judging process comprised of more than thirty judges from family offices, private banks, trusted advisers, consultants and other service providers each of whom has in-depth knowledge and broad industry experience. 

Fernando Award Foundation, Inc. Fernando Award: The Fernando Award recognizes volunteerism and philanthropy in the San Fernando Valley. It is supported by the Valley Chambers of Commerce, civic and philanthropic organizations, entrepreneurs and corporations located in the San Fernando Valley.

Financial Advisor RIA Ranking: FA RIA Ranking candidates are ranked by AUM of the previous year. To be eligible for FA’s rankings, firms must be independent registered investment advisors and file their own ADV statement with the SEC, provide financial planning and related services to individual clients, and have at least $50 million in assets under management as of December 31, 2019. Financial Advisor Magazine does not disclose how many firms were considered or applied for inclusion on the list.

Financial Times 300 Top RIAs: The Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers is an independent listing produced annually by Ignites Research, a division of Money-Media, Inc., on behalf of the Financial Times (July 2020). The FT 300 is based on data gathered from RIA firms, regulatory disclosures, and the FT’s research. The listing reflected each practice’s performance in six primary areas: assets under management, asset growth, compliance record, years in existence, credentials and online accessibility. Over 750 qualified firms applied for the award, 300 of which were selected (40%). This award does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients and is not indicative of the practice’s future performance. Neither the RIA firms nor their employees pay a fee to The Financial Times in exchange for inclusion in the FT 300.

Financial Times 401 Top Retirement Advisors: The Financial Times 401 Top Retirement Advisors is an independent listing produced annually by the Financial Times. The FT 401 is based on data gathered from advisors, regulatory disclosures, and the FT’s research. The listing reflects each advisor’s status in six primary areas: DC plan assets under management (AUM), DC AUM growth rate, specialization in DC plans, years of experience, advanced industry credentials and compliance record. This honor is not indicative of the advisor’s future performance. Neither the advisors nor their parent firms pay a fee to the Financial Times in exchange for inclusion in the FT 401.

Forbes America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors: Forbes/SHOOK Research listings are based on data compiled by advisors, selected by their firms, which is then submitted to and judged by SHOOK Research. Both qualitative and quantitative factors are assessed, including: assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory and compliance record, and credentials/years of professional experience. Portfolio performance is not a factor. Firms do not pay for their rankings. 

Global Finance World's Best Private Bank Award: Global Finance World's Best Private Bank Award winners are those banks that best serve the specialized needs of high-net-worth individuals as they seek to enhance, preserve and pass on their wealth. The winners are not always the biggest institutions, but rather the best—those with qualities that individuals rate highly when choosing a provider.

Global Finance’s editorial board selected the winners for the Private Bank Awards with input from executives and industry insiders. The editors also use information from entries submitted by banks, in addition to independent research, to evaluate a series of objective and subjective factors. 2021 ratings were based on performance during the period covering July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.

Institutional Investor All-America Executive Team: Buy-side analysts, money managers and sell-side researchers at securities firms and financial institutions covering U.S. equities vote to determine America’s top executives, choosing their favorite CEOs, CFOs, Investor Relations professionals, and Investor Relations programs across 44 industries. They are asked to identify excellence in several core criteria including accessibility of senior executives; well-informed and authoritative investor relations professionals; timely and appropriate level of financial disclosure; quality of corporate documents, including websites; execution of company strategy and quick and thorough response from Investor Relations. Results are based on the opinions of approximately 3,400 investment professionals regarding best executive and investor relations performance across the U.S. For the 2019 list, 153 real estate companies were nominated.

InvestmentNews 40 Under 40: InvestmentNews accepts nominations of professionals from all sides of the financial advisory industry, including registered investment advisers, registered representatives, financial planners, brokers, insurance agents, certified public accountants, bank trust officers, firm executives and those working for industry organizations. InvestmentNews will determine nominees’ eligibility for the 40 Under 40 list based on the following criteria: accomplishment to date, contribution to the industry, leadership and promise.

InvestmentNews Largest Fee-Only RIAs: InvestmentNews qualified 2,206172 firms headquartered in the United States based on data reported on Form ADV to the Securities and Exchange Commission as of May 1, 20198. To qualify, firms must have met the following criteria: (1) latest ADV filing date is either on or after Jan. 1, 20187, (2) total AUM is at least $100M, (3) does not have employees who are registered representatives of a broker-dealer, (4) provided investment advisory services to clients during its most recently completed fiscal year, (5) no more than 50% of amount of regulatory assets under management is attributable to pooled investment vehicles (other than investment companies), (6) no more than 25% of amount of regulatory assets under management is attributable to pension and profit-sharing plans (but not the plan participants), (7) no more than 25% of amount of regulatory assets under management is attributable to corporations or other businesses, (8) does not receive commissions, (9) provides financial planning services, (10) is not actively engaged in business as a broker-dealer (registered or unregistered), (11) is not actively engaged in business as a registered representative of a broker-dealer, (12) has neither a related person who is a broker-dealer/municipal securities dealer/government securities broker or dealer (registered or unregistered) not one who is an insurance company or agency.

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Annual Reader Rankings: The Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Annual Reader Rankings offers a look at the companies and services that Lawyers Weekly readers have rated highly across a wide range of categories. The 2020 Reader Rankings survey generated 12,000 votes in 67 categories, with ballots cast by 2,000 voters.

NAPA Top DC Advisor Teams: The NAPA ranking recognizes advisory teams, broadly defined as being in a single physical location and having at least $100 million in DC assets under advisement. It is based on self-reported assets under advisement as of December 31, 2020.

Private Asset Management PAM Awards: The PAM Awards are awarded annually by Private Asset Management, a financial services industry trade publication. PAM invites firms to compete for awards in several categories by providing answers regarding their business model, services offered, growth in client count and assets managed, countries of operation, service innovation, and performance. In addition, PAM permits firms to provide additional information of their choosing in support of their candidacy. A panel of independent industry experts selects the nominees and winners based on a number of qualitative and quantitative performance indicators. PAM does not release statistics on the number of firms competing. Nomination or receipt of a PAM is not necessarily indicative of any particular client’s experience or a guarantee that the firm will perform in the future as it did during the period evaluated by PAM. They are sponsored by Private Asset Management magazine, a publication of Pageant Media.

PWM & The Banker: Global Private Banking Awards: The objective of the Global Private Banking Awards is to gather qualitative and quantitative information from private banking groups to be able to give a set of awards for excellence. Each year, private banks operating globally or in one or more of the following regions (Europe, Asia, North America, Middle East, Latin America and Africa) are invited to take part in the Global Private Banking Awards. Each institution must provide growth and performance measures and an executive summary, which should explain the reasons why the private bank deserves to win in the category/ies it has applied for. The submissions are judged by an expert panel of fifteen industry professionals based in North America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. A significant input in the evaluation of the quantitative aspects of the private banking groups are provided by the key performance indicators analysis, carried out by PWM.

San Francisco Business Times Largest Banks in the Bay Area: This List includes banks located in the Bay Area, which is defined as Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. Information was obtained from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., bank representatives and websites.

San Francisco Business Times Top Corporate Philanthropists: The San Francisco Business Times Top Corporate Philanthropists ranking recognize the top corporate charitable contributors in the Bay Area. Companies are required to provide a detailed breakdown of philanthropic contributions in fiscal year 2019. This list ranks companies by dollar value of cash contributions made to Bay Area-based charities in the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma.

Silicon Valley Business Journal Largest Banks in Silicon Valley: This list is ranked based on deposits in two Metropolitan Statistical Areas: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara and Santa Cruz-Watsonville. For the 2019 list, data is as of 6/30/19.

Silicon Valley Business Journal Top Corporate Philanthropists: The Silicon Valley Business Journal Top Corporate Philanthropists ranking recognize the top corporate charitable contributors in Silicon Valley. Companies are required to provide a detailed breakdown of philanthropic contributions in the fiscal year. This list ranks companies by dollar value of cash contributions made to local charities in: Santa Clara County; Fremont, Newark and Union City in Alameda County; Atherton, Belmont, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo and Woodside in San Mateo County; San Benito County; Santa Cruz County; Monterey County.