CFP®

In order to receive this designation an individual must satisfy an educational and experience requirement, successfully complete a CFP®-board registered program (or be waived from the program due to another approved designation), and satisfy ongoing continuing education requirements.

For additional information, refer to the CFP® website at http://www.cfp.net/default.asp.

AIF

In order to receive this designation an individual must satisfy an experience requirement, sucessfully complete the AIF® registered program delivered/awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies and satisfy ongoing continuing education requirements. The Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF) designation represents a thorough knowledge of and ability to apply the fiduciary Practices. Through fi360's AIF® Training programs, AIF® designees learn the Practices and the legal and best practice framework they are built upon.

For additional information, refer to the website at http://www.fi360.com/products-services/designationsoverview/aif-designation.

GFS

The GFS® designation is awarded to professionals who complete an approved course of instruction on LeaderMetrics® and pass a comprehensive final exam. The GFS® is the first and only professional designation which is based on leadership, stewardship, and governance.

For additional information, refer to the website at http://3ethos.com

Firm Recognition

FT

Financial Times – Top Financial Advisors 2016

Criteria on which the rating was based:

• Calculations worked as follows:
  • Assets under management can signal experience managing money and client trust.
  • AUM growth rate (we look at both one-year and two-year growth rates) can be taken as a proxy for performance, asset retention and ability to generate new business.
  • Years of experience indicates experience managing assets in different economic and interest-rate environments.
  • Compliance record provides evidence of past client disputes. A string of complaints could signal problems.
  • Industry certifications (CFA, CFP, etc) demonstrate technical and industry knowledge and obtaining these designations shows a professional commitment to investment skills.
  • Online accessibility illustrates commitment to providing investors with easy access and transparent contact information.
• Assets under management accounted for an average of 66 per cent of each adviser’s score. Additionally, the FT places a cap on the number of advisers from any one state that roughly corresponds to the distribution of millionaires across the US

• How was the category was calculated/determined:
  • The methodology is quantifiable and objective. In autumn 2016, the FT contacted the largest US brokerages to ask for practice information and data for their top advisers across the US. In doing so, we could obtain verified data on assets under management instead of relying on self-reporting by the advisers themselves. We asked for information on advisers with more than 10 years’ experience and that had more than $300m in assets under management. Such minimum criteria filtered out most advisers. The FT then invited qualifying advisers out of this group.
• Number of advisors surveyed:
  • A list which totaled roughly 800 were asked to complete a short questionnaire that gave FT more information about their practices. FT added that information to our own research on the candidates, including data from regulatory filings
• Percentage of advisors that received the rating:
  • 50%
• Disclosure:
  • This recognition is not indicative of investment adviser’s future performance
• Who created/conducted the survey:
  • Financial Times
• Was any fee paid to participate in the survey:
  • No
• The full report can be found at www.ft.com/intl/reports/top-401-advisers.

NAPA Top DC Advisor Firms 2017, 2018

• Criteria on which the rating was based:
  • NAPA Top DC Advisor Firms, ranked by DC assets under advisement.
• How was the category was calculated/determined:
  • Survey respondents had to have in excess of $100 million in AUA at end of 2016
  • 293 teams that completed the survey met the above criteria
• Number of advisors surveyed:
  • 293 surveys were received
• Percentage of advisors that received the rating:
  • 100%
• Disclosure:
  • This recognition is not indicative of investment adviser’s future performance
• Who created/conducted the survey:
  • NAPA (National Associated of Plan Advisors)
• Was any fee paid to participate in the survey:
  • No

PlanSponsor Magazine Top 5 Advisors in the U.S. - Finalist – 2008 and 2013

• Criteria on which the rating was based:
  • The finalists were selected by an expert panel of judges from a list of semifinalists compiled from a quantitative evaluation of their current service levels and, based on interviews with their plan sponsor client.
• How was the category was calculated/determined:
  • Nominations for the Retirement Plan Adviser and Adviser Team of the Year awards were solicited online from retirement plan advisers, their employers and/or broker/dealers. and plan sponsors, as well as from working partners of these advisers. including investment vendors. accountants and attorneys. and pension administrators.
• Number of advisors surveyed:
  • The finalists were selected from the PlanSponsor Magazine Top 100 Advisors which includes advisers who reach the top of their respective peer groups in terms of assets under advisement (AUA) or number of retirement plan clients, including defined contribution (DC), defined benefit (DB) and nonqualified plans..
• Percentage of advisors that received the rating:
  • 5%
• Disclosure:
  • This recognition is not indicative of investment adviser’s future performance
• Who created/conducted the survey:
  • PlanSponsor Magazine
  • The award, launched in 2005. recognizes the contributions of the nation's best financial advisers in helping make retirement security a reality for workers across the nation.
• Was any fee paid to participate in the survey:
  • No

Plan Advisors Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisors – Small Team > $2B AUA  -  2016

• Criteria on which the rating was based:
  • The “PLANADVISER Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisers” list is compiled from responses to the PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey. The list is drawn solely from a set of quantitative variables and information in the survey supplied by the advisers themselves. For an adviser to be eligible for recognition in this year’s Top 100, he had to submit a completed entry to our 2015 Retirement Plan Adviser Survey, which was fielded this past September. A sub-segment of the questions was used to determine eligibility for the Top 100.
  • Individuals needed to have more than 100 plans or more than $1 billion in retirement plan AUA; small teams had to advise more than $2 billion in retirement plan assets or more than 100 plans; large teams needed more than $3 billion in retirement plan AUA or more than 170 plans; and mega teams had to oversee more than $5 billion in retirement plan AUA or more than 250 plan clients.
• How was the category was calculated/determined:
  • Advisers were segmented into four groups based on the number of advisers and number of total employees including support staff. Those figures assigned advisers into the following categories: individual adviser – meaning one adviser with support staff; small team – a group of 10 or fewer, comprising two or more advisers and support staff; large team – a group of 11 to 25 advisers and support staff; and mega teams – 26 or more team members. This year’s list includes 18 individuals, 43 small teams, 22 large teams and 17 mega teams,.
• Number of advisors surveyed:
  • In 2016, 27 teams qualified under the small team with < $2B in AUA
• Percentage of advisors that received the rating:
  • N/A
• Disclosure:
  • This recognition is not indicative of investment adviser’s future performance
• Who created/conducted the survey:
  • PlanAdvisor Magazine
• Was any fee paid to participate in the survey:
  • No

Advisor Recognition

NAPA Top Women Advisors, Rising Stars Award, Lauren Loehning - 2019

• Criteria on which the rating was based:
  • NAPA Top DC Advisor Firms, ranked by DC assets under advisement.
• How was the category was calculated/determined:
  • Nominees had to be women, had to be retirement plan advisors with their own book of business
• Number of advisors surveyed:
  • in 2019 502 nominations, and considered 209.  There were 50 Captains, 50 All-Stars, and 19 Rising Stars on the final list.
• Percentage of advisors that received the rating:
  • >4%
• Disclosure:
  • This recognition is not indicative of investment adviser’s future performance
• Who created/conducted the survey:
  • NAPA (National Associated of Plan Advisors)
  • Established in 2015, nominations from the list were provided by NAPA Broker-Dealer/RIA Firm Partners
• Was any fee paid to participate in the survey:
  • No

NAPA 2017 Top Women Advisors – Rising Star Award - Lauren Loehning

 Criteria on which the rating was based:

• Nominees had to be women, had to be retirement plan advisors with their own book of business.
• How was the category was calculated/determined:
  • Nominees were required to submit responses to an application comprised of a series of quantitative and qualitative questions about their experience, size and composition of their practice, awards and recognitions, and industry contributions, which were then reviewed by a panel of senior advisor industry experts, who, based on those criteria, and following a broker-check review, selected the top women advisors.
• Number of advisors surveyed:
  • In 2017, we received nearly 587 nominations, and considered 201. There were 50 Captains, 50 All-Stars, and 10 Rising Stars on the final list.
• Percentage of advisors that received the rating:
  • > 2%
• Disclosure:
  • This recognition is not indicative of investment adviser’s future performance
• Who created/conducted the survey:
  • NAPA (National Associated of Plan Advisors)
  • Established in 2015, nominations from the list were provided by NAPA Broker-Dealer/RIA Firm Partners
• Was any fee paid to participate in the survey:
  • No