North Bay Business Journal

Welcome to the North Bay Business Journal’s inaugural survey of wealth managers serving the North Bay.

This section brings together a very broad range of wealth management advisers representing many sizes and approaches. It includes a list of managers who chose to participate in and passed the rigorous survey testing of the National Association of Board Certified Advisory Practices. [See the list "NABCAP surveyed wealth advisors serving the North Bay."]

NABCAP is a Colorado-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing the highest principles of the industry. In addition to the North Bay, NABCAP has performed similar surveys in dozens of markets across the U.S. including the greater Bay Area.

In addition to the NABCAP list, the Business Journal contacted a wide range of advisers across the North Bay to seek their insights into the current conditions of the investment markets. [See "Wealth managers talk about challenges, risk and what’s ahead."]

We hope you find the information helpful as you navigate the financial markets or as you seek out an adviser whose style and approach meets your unique needs.

About the NABCAP Premier Advisors survey

from the National Association of Board Certified Advisory Practices

NABCAP is an unaffiliated, nonprofit organization based in Colorado that was created to tackle the daunting challenge of identifying top practitioners, and through the process help reform the public’s perception of the industry and its profes­sional membership. NABCAP currently has a presence in thirty-five plus U.S. markets.

The nonprofit along with its board of directors developed a formula designed to identify the best practices as determined by NABCAP. Separating and distinguishing the strongest practitioners from the industry’s pool of advisors is a solution with merit. The difficulty lies in the clear need for transparency.

“I’m very interested and concerned about the integrity of the industry,” says Dr. Chuck King, NABCAP board vice president. “Our goal is to make sure that the people who make our list meet our guidelines. It’s not about just hanging out a shingle. One of the reasons I got involved was the need for more scrutiny.”

The public requires a reliable, independent resource to provide clarity for their financial decisions. NABCAP was formed to help clarify the picture. And while NABCAP knows there is no perfect solution, it is committed to promoting higher standards and trans­parency, which are vital to the long-term success of the investing public.

“We’re not just counting assets under management,” says King. “We’re interested in the processes used. And we don’t just take anybody. This is not a pay-to-play organization. I’m a big believer in free markets. And what makes free markets work is information, not a lot of regulations. The more perfect the information, the more perfect the regulation.”

Methodology

The accompanying list of wealth managers was developed by the National Association of Board Certified Advisory Practices — NABCAP. The prac­tices were selected for this list in a multi-step process intended to maintain integrity and objectivity.

Each participating advisory practice is evaluated on the following categories of practice management in no weighted order:

• Financial planning.
• Investment planning.
• Accountability.
• Practice management.
• Education.
• Credentials/designations.
• Cost.
• Disclosure.
• Fees.
• Compensation.
• Technology and software.
• Performance.
• Risk.
• Operations.
• Team.
• Experience.
• Personnel.
• Reporting.
• Customer service model.
• Client education model.

Each participating practice completed a question­naire structured with unbiased, fair and equal, thor­ough questions monitored and approved by NABCAP’s board of directors.

NABCAP scores the questionnaire based on a proprietary methodology.

The listing was open to all advisers in the North Bay market. Once the advisers have submitted their online questionnaire, NABCAP verifies the informa­tion submitted and checks the advisers’ compliance records and any licenses and designations they said they hold to confirm they are current and compliant.

The result is a quantitative score that enables NABCAP to objectively compare all the submissions. Practices that made the list reached or surpassed that minimum score. NABCAP does not make scores public.