March 16, 2020 BARRON’S S3
AMERICA’S TOP 1200 FINANCIAL ADVISORS 2020
Financial advisors are scrambling
to react to coronavirus headlines—
reassuring clients, reviewing alloca-
tions, and rethinking how their teams
work together. As that story develops,
however, they are preparing for an-
other that’s nearing its peak: Regula-
tion Best Interest, or Reg BI, which
takes effect in June.
The legislation, enacted by the Secu-
rities and Exchange Commission, bars
broker-dealer advisors from placing
their own interests, or their employers’,
above those of their clients. Previously,
only Registered Investment Advisors,
or RIAs, were held to a similar stan-
dard of care; those working at Wall
Street firms adhered to a looser stan-
dard that required them to make “suit-
able” investment recommendations.
Regulatory differences between
RIAs and Wall Street advisors will
remain, but Reg BI brings the wealth
management industry a giant step
closer to a uniform standard of care—
a big win for clients.
“I think it’s going to raise the qual-
ity of advice for the industry,” says Jim
Hays, president of Wells Fargo Advi-
sors, which comprises about 13,500
financial advisors.
As they race to comply with the
new rules, advisors find themselves
guiding clients through the market
roller coaster. They say clients are
generally calm but have questions. “It
basically boils down to, ‘Am I gonna
be OK?’ ” says Andy Sieg, who over-
sees more than 14,700 brokers as
head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Man-
agement. “They’re not panicked,
though. They just want reassurance.”
Erin Scanell, CEO of Mercer Island,
Wash.–based Heritage Wealth Advi-
sors, says his team members have sent
letters to all of their 5,000 clients, and
most of the 200 or so who have re-
sponded want to stay the course or
look to buy more stock.
In selecting our Top 1,200 advisors
each year,Barron’saims to pinpoint
those who already provide exceptional
client care. The group this year—state-
by-state listings start on page S17—is a
little grayer but more prosperous than
it was five years ago. The average age of
the advisors on our list has climbed to
55 from 54, while the client assets man-
aged by their teams have grown 24%
since 2016, to an average of $2.8 billion.
What hasn’t changed is the Top
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SEC regulations taking effect in June will require
morewealthmanagerstoputclientinterestsirst.
It’s a development the best inancial advisors welcome.
By STEVE GARMHAUSEN
Illustration by KEITH NEGLEY