Top Financial Professionals in the USA Showcase Excellence Amid Market Volatility
Published February 25, 2026
While 2025 saw robust market returns—with the S&P 500 gaining 16% and the Nasdaq Composite boasting a remarkable 20% annual return—the real challenge for financial advisors was navigating the volatility underlying those gains. Against this backdrop, InvestmentNews has identified the Top Financial Professionals in the USA for 2026, highlighting those who demonstrated exceptional skill, prudence, and foresight in managing client portfolios.
Evaluating the Best in Wealth Management
The selection of the top 100 financial professionals was based on a rigorous weighted evaluation, considering:
- 50%: Total Assets Under Management (AUM) in 2025
- 25%: AUM growth during the evaluation period
- 25%: Client growth during the same period
The landscape of wealth management continues to evolve, with larger Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and technologically advanced platforms capturing a disproportionate share of new assets through consolidation, alternative investments, and operational efficiencies enabled by technology.
The Role of Technology and Alternatives
Technology’s integration into asset management has freed advisors to focus more on business development and delivering personalized services to high-net-worth clients. Additionally, according to a 2025 McKinsey report, active Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have played a growing role, with roughly half of active ETF flows substituting legacy investment vehicles such as mutual funds. This trend reflects clients’ rising appetite for active strategies, even sometimes at the expense of passive investing.
Andrew Blake, Associate Director of Wealth Management at Cerulli Associates, notes how top advisors have embraced education around alternative investments, which tend to perform with less volatility compared to traditional equity or fixed income products—an asset during turbulent markets.
Discipline and Risk Management: Keys to Success
Market cycles in 2025 exhibited elevated valuations and late-cycle characteristics, prompting savvy advisors to emphasize discipline, rigorous risk management, and thoughtful portfolio construction. As Terri McGray, President of Longevity Capital Management LLC, underscores, “protecting capital is often the difference between a plan that works and one that doesn’t.”
Spotlight on Industry Leaders
Jerry Davidse, CEO of Presilium Private Wealth, exemplifies a strategic approach rooted in disciplined planning and preparation. By adhering to a rules-based Investment Policy Statement, Presilium successfully navigated the April 2025 tariff-driven selloff, using market downturns as buying opportunities rather than reacting emotionally. Beyond investments, the firm integrates tax and estate planning to support holistic, multigenerational wealth management. Davidse’s firm recorded a 29% increase in AUM and 21% client growth.
Scott Van Den Berg, President of Century Management Financial Advisors, achieved 8% AUM growth and 6% client growth through diversified portfolio management. His firm eschews model portfolios in favor of tailored strategies ranging from aggressive equity to conservative fixed-income, a personalization that has built strong client trust and performance consistency. Notably, gold was a standout contributor to performance, with diversified sector participation across communications, technology, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and energy.
Van Den Berg emphasizes structuring client assets in "buckets" aligned to time horizons—conservative investments for near-term needs and growth-focused allocations for long-term objectives—ensuring clients avoid forced sales during market downturns.
Trevor Scotto, Co-Founder of Fiduciary Financial Group, stands out for his integrated tax and financial planning frameworks, which particularly serve business owners, retirees, and tech professionals with concentrated stock positions. Scotto differentiates between superficial and actionable tax advice, deploying timely strategies such as Roth conversions during downturns to relax clients’ tax burdens and optimize their portfolios. His firm recorded a strong 34% AUM growth and 13% client increase.
Thomas Ruggie, CEO of Destiny Wealth Partners, focuses on managing the psychological impact of market swings to prevent emotional decision-making at critical moments. His firm supports clients primarily with public securities blended with alternative investments via a proprietary fund. This offering affords clients access to investments traditionally reserved for qualified purchasers, including late-stage private companies such as SpaceX, Stripe, Anthropic, and others. Ruggie’s approach helped the firm achieve 24% growth in AUM and a 5% increase in clients.
The Broader Implications for Investors
The overarching theme among these top professionals is a blend of proactive management, risk awareness, tax efficiency, and psychological understanding amid a dynamic market environment. Their success reflects an ability not only to grow assets but to shield client wealth from unnecessary risk while capitalizing on opportunities.
Investors seeking sophisticated wealth management should consider advisors who balance growth ambitions with protection strategies, utilize technological tools effectively, and offer holistic planning that integrates tax and estate considerations.
For full details on the methodology and a complete list of winners, readers can view the official InvestmentNews report and PDF publication.