Top Financial Advisors in Exton, PA

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At the top of our Exton list, Prowell Financial Management works specifically with individuals and families that own closely held companies. As a result, the majority of clients have a high net worth. Still, there is no required account minimum to become a client at Prowell Financial Management. 

For financial management, the firm typically charges a fixed fee, starting at $50,000 per year. It may also charge a more common asset-based annual fee for stand-alone portfolio management services. The advisory also works with trusts, corporations and charitable organizations.  

Prowell Financial Management is considered a fee-based firm, meaning its employees may earn commissions for recommending or selling insurance products to clients. Despite the potential conflict of interest commission-based compensation can create, the firm has a fiduciary duty to always act in the client's best interests. 

Prowell Financial Management Background

Prowell Financial is a one-advisor shop founded by Mark Prowell in 2016. On top of having a master’s degree in financial services, he is an accredited estate planner (AEP) and an accredited investment fiduciary (AIF).

In addition to investment management and financial planning, the firm provides what it calls “management of financial circumstances,” which entails the coordination of business issues, tax concerns and investments to ensure the continuity of a company.

As above, the firm primarily helps owners of large private businesses with their complex financial matters. Specifically, it helps with lifetime asset transfer planning, trust strategies, life insurance and business succession planning. It also provides investment services on either a discretionary or non-discretionary basis.

Prowell Financial Management Investment Strategy

Prowell Financial generally recommends that clients keep their current money managers with whom they have pre-existing relationships. The firm will seek to manage those relationships, adding value by synchronizing investments with clients’ overall financial plans, pressing for fee discounts and adding restrictions to prevent over-concentration in portfolios. At times, the firm may recommend a new manager for his or her specific expertise.

Of the assets under Prowell Financial’s management, the majority is in cash or cash equivalents and low-cost mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are highly liquid. Individual equities and bonds may also be held, though these investment accounts are meant to be liquid and in coordination with clients’ other accounts.

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Warren Financial Service, the next firm on our list, is headquartered in Exton but has branch offices in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Atlanta. 

The fee-only firm’s client base is about one-third of individuals who have a high net worth and two-thirds of individuals who don’t. Warren Financial also works with family offices, small- and medium-sized corporations, pension funds, trusts, endowments, investment companies and other similar entities. It does not have a set investment account balance minimum requirement. 

Warren Financial has one chartered retirement planning counselor (CRPC) working out of the firm's Hilton Head office. 

Warren Financial Service Background

The firm’s roots go back to 1965 when Clarence Warren was helping pastors and missionaries of the Presbyterian Church in America with their pension issues, initially as a volunteer. He eventually started charging for his help in the 1980s and incorporated the firm in 1999. His son Randy Warren joined the firm a year later and is currently the chief investment officer and sole owner.

Warren Financial is primarily in the business of providing investment management services on a discretionary basis, meaning its advisors have full authority to make trading and management decisions. The firm also offers a wrap fee program, where generally all fees are bundled into one.

Additionally, Warren Financial provides financial planning as part of its overall investment advisory services. It does not currently provide stand-alone financial planning on an hourly basis.

Warren Financial Service Investment Strategy

The firm generally practices tactical asset allocation, which seeks to time the market. It considers market indicators to determine how much risk to take on, within the client’s level of risk. The firm notes that this is neither rebalancing nor day trading. But tactical asset allocation does involve trading often enough to tap major market trends. The firm also uses fundamental and technical analyses and other strategies.

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Wealth Management Solutions (WMS), No. 3 on our list, is a fee-based firm working with individuals and high-net-worth individuals. The firm has three certified financial planners (CFPs) on staff, one of whom is also a chartered financial consultant (ChFC).

WMS also offers its services to trusts, charitable organizations, foundations, pensions and corporations. The minimum investment account size is $500,000, though WMS may waive this requirement at its discretion.

Because WMS advisors can earn commissions for selling or recommending insurance products to clients, the firm is considered fee-based. Commission-based compensation can be a potential conflict of interest, because the advisor may be incentivized to recommend certain third-party products. However, WMS is a fiduciary and must act in its clients' best interests. 

Wealth Management Solutions Background

After working in wealth management at ING Financial Planners and other firms, M. Tanu Happonen founded WMS in 2015. He serves as the president and is the sole owner.

The firm specializes in helping small business owners who tend to fall through the cracks of the financial advisory industry, the firm says. These clients have “somewhat complex concerns as to family issues, estate and tax concerns, and wealth accumulation for specific goals." WMS provides discretionary investment advisory services, which include financial planning for clients with more than $500,000 in their accounts. It also offers stand-alone financial planning and consulting, a wrap fee program, recommendations of third-party investment managers, insurance products and pension consulting.

Wealth Management Solutions Investment Strategy

WMS primarily believes that asset allocation is the key driver of portfolio performance. It also focuses on keeping costs low, so generally recommends exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but also considers individual stocks, bonds and mutual funds. According to SEC data, assets under its management were more than half in exchange-listed equities (52%) and a little less than half in securities issued by registered investment companies like mutual funds and ETFs (44%). The rest was in cash and cash equivalents (4%).

EHB is a fee-only financial advisory firm that provides financial planning and investment supervisory services. The firm works with individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations and corporations. There is no known minimum account size required in order to work with the firm. 

EHB Financial Resource Management Background

EHB Financial Resource Management was founded in 1985 by Kurt M. Ebner. The firm has served its clients for over 35 years, providing the same financial and portfolio management services. Mr. Ebner is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) holder. 

EHB Financial Resource Management Investment Strategy

EHB Financial Resource Management develops an asset allocation plan, without charging the client, to guide the definition of each client's personal investment objectives. This creates a unique and disciplined portfolio for every client that meets their individual needs. The firm invests in a variety of products including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), individual stocks, and bonds. 

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Summit Group Retirement Planners rounds out our list of the top-rated financial advisory firms in Exton. With no set account minimums, Summit primarily works with individuals who do not have a high net worth. The firm also advises pension and profit-sharing plans, charities and high-net-worth individuals. 

Summit's two advisors hold a number of professional certifications, including the certified plan fiduciary advisor (CPFA), accredited investment fiduciary (AIF), certified 401(k) professional (C(k)P) and professional plan consultant (PPC) designations.

Because both advisors can earn commissions for recommending investment and insurance products, Summit is a fee-based firm. Despite the potential conflict of commission-based compensation can create, Summit has a fiduciary responsibility to always act in its clients' best interests.  

Summit Group Retirement Planners Background

Anthony John Fiorenza founded the firm with his son Derek in 2013. He established the firm after a career at Vanguard and his first firm, Summit Group Associates, Inc. The elder Fiorenza serves as president and CEO of the Summit Group Retirement Planners. The younger Fiorenza serves as vice president, chief operating office and chief compliance officer.

Summit mainly provides investment advisory services, as well as qualified retirement plan consulting services. It also offers financial planning, brokerage services and insurance products. 

Summit Group Retirement Planners Investment Strategy

Like Warren Financial (No. 2, above), Summit Group Retirement takes a tactical asset approach, which seeks to tap market trends. The firm generally relies on long-term purchases, securities that are held at least for one year. As far as methods of analysis go, the firm uses fundamental, technical and cyclical techniques to formulate investment advice and manage portfolios.

The firm invests in exchange-listed securities (like common stocks), exchange-traded funds, over-the-counter securities, foreign securities, corporate debt securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit (CDs), municipal securities, variable life insurance, variable annuities, municipal securities, mutual funds and U.S. government securities.