More than investment track record, fees or commissions charged or referrals or recommendations, a financial advisor’s perceived honesty and trustworthiness are considered by wealthy investors to be the most important factor in selecting a new advisor. Which firms make the grade for America’s ultra-wealthy households?

According to a new Spectrem Group’s wealth level study of households with a net worth of at least $25 million (not including primary residence), the firms ranked most trustworthy are:

• Fidelity Investments (83 percent)
• Vanguard (82 percent)
• Charles Schwab (80 percent)
• AllianceBernstein (77 percent)
• Northern Trust (74 percent).

It might even be more instructive to see which firms advisor-dependent respondents consider to be the most trustworthy. These are investors who rely on their financial advisor to make all of their investment decisions. Among this group, these firms were unanimously (100 percent) considered to be the most trustworthy:

• AllianceBernstein
• BMO (Harris myCFO)
• BNY Mellon
• Capital Guardian
• Neubeger Berman
• PNC (Hawthorne)
• Sun Trust
• U.S. Trust
• Wilmington Trust Company

 

 

For more information on the Ultra-Wealthy investor, click here