Top Financial Advisors in Albany, NY

Find an Advisor

Graypoint is a fee-based advisory firm whose client base is dominated by high-net-worth individuals, as none of its individual clients come in below the high-net-worth threshold. Institutional clients of the firm include charitable organizations, businesses, retirement plans and government entities. There is a $500,000 minimum investment requirement for new clients of Graypoint. However, the firm may be willing negotiate this minimum.

The services at Graypoint are split into two general categories: investment advisory services and holistic family office/financial planning services. Its set of investment offerings includes helping client build a portfolio according to their needs. Financial planning services are holistic and can involve tax and cash flow planning, retirement planning, estate planning, death and disability planning, insurance review and planning, budget planning and more.

Graypoint Background

Graypoint is one of the most recently formed firms on this list, as it was established in 2019. The firm came about following the merger of two former Albany-based firms called Hugh Johnson Advisors and Bender Lane Advisory. While both of these firms still operate as subdivisions of Graypoint, they are no longer independent.

On-staff at this firm, there are such certifications as chartered financial analyst (CFA), certified financial planner (CFP) and certified public accountants (CPAs).

Graypoint Investment Strategy

Graypoint bases every client portfolio it creates on what the client is looking for. More specifically, the firm will focus on important factors like your time horizon, risk tolerance, income needs, liquidity needs and overall financial and investment goals. To further flesh out the picture of your finances, the firm may also look into your past investment history, tax situation, background and family composition.

When it comes to the management and investment of your assets, the firm can do so on either a discretionary or non-discretionary basis. The firm is open to investing in a number of different securities, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), certificates of deposit (CDs), corporate and government debt securities, options and structured notes. On some occasions, the firm may even invest in hedge funds and private equity/venture capital partnerships.

Find an Advisor

Independent Family Office is perhaps the most high-net-worth-centric firm on this list. In fact, the firm’s entire client base is comprised of individuals and families with a high net worth. So while the firm does not state a specific account minimum, it’s clear that its focus is on affluent clients.

This fee-only firm does not receive any third-party commissions, as the entirety of its compensation comes from client-paid fees. The firm's website mentions that some associates hold JDs and others are CPAs. No other information on staff certifications is currently available. The firm has four staffers who perform investment advisory functions.

Independent Family Office Background

Managing member W. Michael Reickert is majority owner and managing member of Independent Family Office. The firm has been in business since 2005.

Investment supervisory services at this firm include asset allocation planning, risk tolerance assessment, tax liability planning, cash flow projections and more. On the other hand, financial planning is much more open and revolves around tax planning, charitable gift planning, retirement planning, estate planning and risk management.

Independent Family Office Investing Strategy

Independent Family Office isn’t shy about using a wide range of securities when investing client assets. In fact, according to its Form ADV, the firm considers investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), equities, corporate bonds, mutual funds, U.S. government securities, options contracts, municipal bonds and CDs.

Not all of the above investments will make the cut into your portfolio. Instead, your risk tolerance, time horizon and other applicable factors will determine the makeup of your portfolio.

Find an Advisor

The majority of the clients of WealthOne, formerly known as Wealthpoint, are individuals with less than a high net worth. The fee-based firm also provides advisory services to high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, businesses and charitable organizations.

Many of the programs WealthOne come with minimums, and these can vary. Some of the firm's advisors can also sell insurance products or securities on a commission basis, which represents a potential conflict of interest. The firm is still a fiduciary, though.

WealthOne Background

WealthOne was originally opened in 2003, but it achieved its status as a registered investment advisor (RIA) in 2016. Managing member and chief compliance officer (CCO) Todd Slingerland founded the firm and remains its principal owner today.

Long-term investment management and financial planning services are available through this firm. While investment management is fairly straightforward, financial planning encompasses retirement planning, investment planning, personal savings planning, education funding planning and more.

WealthOne Investing Strategy

WealthOne believes long-term investing is the safest route to solid returns. More specifically, this long-term angle means the firm prefers to leave investments in a client’s portfolio for at least a year at a time. Should your income needs or rebalancing call for it, though, the firm may sell securities before you reach that mark.

Find an Advisor

Curran Wealth Management has a large advisory staff, members of which hold certifications such as certified financial planner (CFP) and certified public accountant (CPA). The firm is known to work with individuals with and without a high net worth, businesses, pension and profit-sharing plans and charitable organizations.

The minimum account sizes and annual fees at this firm vary depending on the services you’re looking for. Here's a breakdown:

• Portfolio management accounts: $100,000, with a $2,500 minimum annual fee
• Institutional accounts: $3,000,000, with a minimum annual fee of $15,000 to $22,500

This fee-based firm employs advisors that can earn commissions when they sell certain insurance products or securities, which has the potential to be a conflict of interest. Regardless, the firm is a fiduciary and is therefore legally bound to act in your best interest.

Curran Wealth Management Background

Thomas J. Curran founded Curran Wealth Management in 2004, and currently acts as co-CEO. He runs the firm with co-CEO and chief investment officer (CIO) Kevin T. Curran, and the duo have about 60 years of combined experience managing client assets. Thomas Curran is the firm’s sole owner.

The firm splits its services into investment management and financial planning offerings. The former involves investing assets according to the firm’s overarching philosophy, whereas financial planning is more goal-based. Some examples of this are retirement planning, education cost planning, tax preparation services, insurance analysis and more.

Curran Wealth Management Investing Strategy

When you become a client of Curran Wealth Management, your advisor will go over your personal risk tolerance, time horizon, investment goals and income needs. Based on this all-important information, the firm will throw together an asset allocation that fits what you’re looking for. When it comes to specific investments, Curran normally utilizes equities, bonds, warrants, commercial paper, CDs, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), money market accounts and more.

Find an Advisor

Greenbush Financial Group offers both investment management and financial planning services to clients. Financial planning can cover a range of topics, such as investment consulting, tax planning, risk management, retirement planning, estate planning, cash flow optimization and more. Investment management involves the design and supervision of a personally created investment portfolio.

Generally speaking, you'll need at least $50,000 in investable assets to become a client of Greenbush Financial Group, though this requirement is negotiable. The firm's client base is dominated by non-high-net-worth individuals, but it also includes high-net-worth individuals, retirement plans and businesses.

As a fee-based firm, certain on-staff advisors at Greenbush can receive commissions from the sale of specific insurance products or securities. Although this presents a potential conflict of interest, the firm is legally bound by fiduciary duty to act in clients' best interests at all times.

Greenbush Financial Group Background

Greenbush Financial Group has been around since 2000, though it was registered with the SEC in 2012, when it was founded by partner David Wojeski. Today, the firm is owned by Wojeski, partner/chief investment officer (CIO) Michael Ruger and partner/chief compliance officer (CCO) Robert Mangold, Jr.

Despite its relatively small team of advisors, Greenbush boasts a number of advisory certifications, including certified financial planner (CFP), certified public accountant (CPA) and certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA).

Greenbush Financial Group Investment Strategy

When deciding which investments to invest client assets in, Greenbush Financial Group utilizes a combination of fundamental and technical analysis. Fundamental analysis uses an evaluation of a security or company's tangible and intangible factors, economic factors, qualitative factors and more to determine its intrinsic value. On the other hand, technical analysis evaluates the value of a security by looking at overall market activity, historical prices and past volume.

Greenbush uses both long- and short-term purchases within its clients' portfolios, which gives it the flexibility to meet clients goals regardless of their associated time horizon. The firm sometimes uses other investment strategies as well, including option writing, short sales and trading.

Find an Advisor

AllSquare Wealth Management is a fee-based firm that comes in next on our list. Most of AllSquare’s client funds belong to high-net-worth individuals, but non-high-net-worth individuals comprise the majority of its client base. The firm also maintains relationships with pension and profit-sharing plans and charitable organizations. There is no minimum needed to become a client here.

Some advisors at this firm can earn commissions off the sale of specific insurance products or securities. While this has the potential to be a conflict of interest, the firm is a fiduciary and must act in its clients’ best interests at all times.

AllSquare Wealth Management Background

AllSquare Wealth Management has been providing advisory services since 2010. Principals Douglas J. Bauer and Daniel D. Bauer own the firm and boast more than 60 combined years of experience in the financial services industry.

Financial planning services at this firm cover retirement income projections, financial statement development, income tax planning, college education funding, existing investment analysis, risk management review and more. If you’d prefer a more general approach, the firm offers investment management as well.

AllSquare Wealth Management Investing Strategy

In its Form ADV, AllSquare Wealth Management states that its strategy is “based on the underlying premise that publicly traded financial markets are efficient and that any attempt to distinguish attractive from unattractive securities is futile.” The firm will work to develop a specific asset allocation for you that features passively-managed securities, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), open-ended mutual funds and individual treasury securities.

Should your asset allocation stray from its target, the firm will rebalance your portfolio as needed. The same may be done if your overall investing goals shift at all.

Find an Advisor

Each advisor at AlbanyAdvisor Group holds a certified financial planner (CFP) designation. One of them also holds a certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA) designation. This team works exclusively with individuals, most of whom are below the high-net-worth threshold. There is no specific account minimum for prospective clients of this firm.

Certain advisors at AlbanyAdvisor can sell insurance products or securities on a commission basis. Although this represents a potential conflict of interest, the firm’s fiduciary duty means it must act in clients’ best interests at all times.

AlbanyAdvisor Group Background

AlbanyAdvisor Group is one of the youngest firms on our list, as it was founded in just 2021. It’s currently under the ownership of its three founding partners: Marc Agel, Susan Hart and Lori Murphy.

This firm provides services within both investment management and financial planning. While the former is customized to your needs, the latter is defined by a number of offerings. These include retirement planning, long-term goal planning, education fund planning, insurance needs analysis and more.

AlbanyAdvisor Group Investing Strategy

Generally speaking, AlbanyAdvisor Group tends to invest in some combination of ETFs, mutual funds, stocks and bonds when managing client assets. The determination of your portfolio’s asset allocation will depend entirely on your needs and goals. This includes your risk tolerance, time horizon and income needs.

The firm also states that it prefers to invest for long-term gains as opposed to trying to beat the market in the short term. Tax considerations are also made when choosing investments for client portfolios.

Find an Advisor

Arista Advisory Group is up next. As all of the firm's compensation comes from client-paid fees, this firm is a fee-only operation. This is a different from a fee-based firm, which can receive client fees in addition to third-party sales commissions.

There are far more non-high-net-worth individual clients at this firm than their high-net-worth counterparts. Charitable organizations, businesses and pension and profit-sharing plans also hold accounts at this firm. Arista Advisory does not have a minimum investment needed to become a client.

Arista Advisory Group Background

Having been established in 2016, Arista Advisory Group is one of the youngest firms on this list. Managing partner and chief compliance officer (CCO) Gerald Max Schwartz both principally owns the firm and founded it. Schwartz is a true veteran of the financial services industry, having worked in it for over 40 years.

If you subscribe to portfolio management services at Arista Advisory, you’ll receive asset allocation planning, investment strategy customization and regular portfolio monitoring. Financial planning clients will have access to retirement planning, college fund planning, debt/credit planning, tax planning, life insurance analysis and investment planning.

Arista Advisory Group Investing Strategy

For the most part, Arista Advisory Group tends to use long-term trading strategies during its investment process. What this really means is that the firm looks to make investments in securities that it will ideally hold onto for at least one year. This approach is intended to reduce transaction costs and keep your returns more stable.

Broadway Advisor Group, which also goes by is a fee-only firm that primarily services individuals, most of whom are non-high-net-worth individuals. There is no set account minimum.

Besides portfolio management, which is offered on a discretionary and a non-discretionary basis, the firm provides financial planning services, which may include but are not limited to investment planning, life insurance, tax concerns, retirement planning, college planning and debt and credit planning. 

Broadway Advisor Group, which manages clients funds on both a discretionary and non-discretionary basis, also administers a wrap-fee program.

Broadway Advisor Group Background

The firm was founded in 2022, and Jason Michael Sgroi and Michael Anthony Sgroi are its principal owners.

It offers a range of services, including:

• Investment strategy
• Personal investment policy
• Asset allocation
• Asset selection
• Risk tolerance
• Regular portfolio monitoring 

Management fees range from 1.50% for assets under management (AUM) less than $1 million to 0.75% for AUMs greater than $6 million. The fee for creating client pension consulting plans is between $1,000 and $25,000.

Broadway Advisor Group Investment Strategy

The firm generally limits its investment advice to mutual funds, fixed-income securities, real estate funds (including REITs), insurance products including annuities, equities, hedge funds, private equity funds, ETFs (including precious metal sectors), Treasury inflation-protected and inflation-linked bonds, commodities, non-U.S. securities, venture capital funds and private placements.

Broadway Advisor Group uses several methods to analyze investment opportunities for clients, including fundamental analysis, technical analysis, cyclical analysis, charting, modern portfolio theory and quantitative analysis.