What the ranking measures, and what it leaves to you.
Foster & Motley has been named to CNBC's Financial Advisor 100 for 2026, our eighth consecutive appearance on the list!
CNBC builds the ranking from regulatory data. It begins with roughly 40,000 registered investment advisors in the SEC's database, narrows the field to approximately 1,000 firms, verifies each firm's survey responses against those filings, and applies weighted criteria to arrive at the final 100. The criteria include a firm's compliance record, years in business, number of CFP® professionals on staff, the proportion of employees who serve as investment advisors, assets and accounts under management, and the number of states served.
These are structural measures. They describe how a firm is built.
Two of them reflect intentional decisions. 14 of our professionals hold the CFP® designation, which requires rigorous coursework, a comprehensive examination, documented experience, and an ongoing obligation to act in your interest. And 9 of our 57 employees are CFA® chartholders. The decision to invest in team members with these credentials determines how much of our payroll sits across the table from you.
The amount of money we manage for clients and our almost 30 years in business are the other half of the picture. Neither is interesting on its own. Together with the rest, they describe a firm built to last longer than any individual market cycle.
What the ranking cannot measure is advice. No list can tell you whether a firm's recommendations held up in March of 2020, or whether a retirement date was set correctly, or whether you advisor supported you through a difficult moment. Those judgments belong to the clients who lived through them with us, and we are grateful for the ones you have made.
Three things have not changed across eight years. Foster & Motley remains independent and employee-owned by current and former employees, with no parent company setting sales targets. We remain fee-only, compensated by our clients and by no one else. And we keep planning and investment management under one roof, because a tax decision, a retirement date, and a portfolio allocation are a single conversation.
Nothing in your plan changes because of a ranking, and a recognition of this kind says nothing about how any portfolio will perform. If it is useful to you, it is as independent confirmation that the way we have chosen to build this firm is sound.
Thank you for your trust and support!
You can view the complete CNBC FA 100 list HERE.
Please view our disclosure HERE.