About the Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards
The Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards are designed to recognise and celebrate the best products and services in the personal finance space. We asked the Kiplinger community to choose the products and services they believe have provided great value over the past year.
The findings shared here in our second annual Readers' Choice Awards provide valuable insight into which providers excel in your daily interactions and experiences. Our awards recognize excellence in everything from credit cards, banks and brokers to insurance companies, tax software and finance apps. In each category, we've listed the overall winners who received the highest scores. We've also highlighted other products and services that received above average scores across the various criteria that we asked our readers to rate.
Through your votes, our community has helped us create the best financial products guides – these are the products and companies that you believe stand out above the rest.
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards: Wealth Managers
These companies take a holistic look at your finances. In addition to helping with investment strategies, advisors can help you manage your savings, estate, tax planning and more. Readers rated wealth managers based on the quality of financial advice they received, the credibility of the advisor, how likely they were to recommend the firm to others and their overall satisfaction with the wealth manager.
Overall Winner: JPMorgan Wealth Management
Advantages:
- Trusted Advisor
- Quality of advice
- Most Recommended
- Overall Satisfaction
JPMorgan Wealth Management came out on top among wealth management firms, thanks in particular to its high overall satisfaction score. The firm characterizes its approach as “disciplined, comprehensive and personalized,” and offers several advice options.
JPMorgan Personal Advisor offers financial advice via video or phone from a team of advisors, and clients who qualify for Private Client Advisor can meet face-to-face with a dedicated advisor to develop a custom strategy.
Edward Jones
Advantages:
- Trusted Advisor
- Quality of advice
- Most Recommended
- Overall Satisfaction
Edward Jones has approximately 19,000 dedicated financial advisors who provide one-on-one advice to clients around the long-term investment philosophy. The firm also offers a range of other planning services, from tax strategy to investment management, insurance and annuities.
“I feel like my Edward Jones advisors have my best interests in mind,” says one reader. “They get to know you, your family, your needs and your goals,” says another.
Morgan Stanley
Advantages:
- Trusted Advisor
- Quality of advice
- Most Recommended
- Overall Satisfaction
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management offers advisory services in two formats: You can work virtually with an advisor over the phone whenever you need to, or you can work with an advisor in person.
With either option, your advisor will create a personalized plan for you in areas such as retirement and college savings, tax savings, generational wealth, philanthropy, etc. “Thanks to their advice, I'm doing very well financially. I feel like my advisor has prepared me well for the future,” says one reader.
Fisher Investments
Advantages:
- Quality of advice
- Overall Satisfaction
Fisher Investments clients work with a dedicated advisor who understands their unique goals, finances, health, family and lifestyle, and readers love the response and educational resources they receive from Fisher.
“Fisher has great client service. Regular in-person lunches and dinners that combine presentations and Q&A sessions are very well done. His market outlook is realistic and usually accurate, unlike the noisy crowds,” said one reader. “Fisher is unique in that he actually teaches you about investing and the stock market,” said another.
Raymond James
Advantages:
Raymond James' wealth management services include insurance solutions, estate planning, charitable giving, trust services, retirement planning and investment management assistance.
“I've been with the wealth management group for over 30 years and am treated like family,” says one reader.For more information on Raymond James, see our brokers section.
U.S.
Advantages:
UBS applies a framework called the “UBS Wealth Way” to create your financial plan. First, you answer a few core questions: What do you want to achieve in life? What do you want to leave as a legacy? Then UBS helps you organize your finances with a three-pronged strategy: wealth now, wealth for the future, and wealth for others. “The personal attention is great,” says one reader.
For more information on UBS, please see our brokers section.
Bank of America/Merrill Wealth Management
Advantages:
Bank of America and its securities affiliate, Merrill, offer wealth management services in a variety of ways, including through Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, which provides access to dedicated advisors. “I've been with Merrill Lynch for over 20 years, and my advisors are responsive and understand my needs,” one reader said. High-net-worth clients can get help with the complexities of wealth management through Bank of America Private Bank.
