Finding a Top Financial Advisor Firm in Mill Valley, California
If you’re having trouble finding the right financial advisor, we’ve arranged a list to aid your decision process. SmartAsset conducted extensive research to find the top financial advisors in Mill Valley, California. If you’d prefer an alternative route, SmartAsset’s free financial advisor matching tool pairs you with up to three local advisors.
Find a Fiduciary Financial Advisor
We match more than 50,000 people with financial advisors per month. Get connected to an advisor that serves your area today.| Rank | Financial Advisor | Assets Managed | Minimum Assets | Financial Services | More Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brouwer & Janachowski, LLC  Find an Advisor | $2,309,962,389 | $1,000,000 |
| Minimum Assets$1,000,000Financial Services
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| 2 | Private Wealth Partners  Find an Advisor | $1,313,093,350 | $1 million |
| Minimum Assets$1 millionFinancial Services
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| 3 | Gordian Wealth Advisors, LLC  Find an Advisor | $251,668,917 | $500,000 |
| Minimum Assets$500,000Financial Services
|
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| 4 | Schmitz Capital Partners, LLC  Find an Advisor | $106,066,659 | No set account minimum |
| Minimum AssetsNo set account minimumFinancial Services
|
What We Use in Our Methodology
To find the top financial advisors in Mill Valley, we first identified all firms registered with the SEC in the city. Next, we filtered out firms that don't offer financial planning services, those that don't serve primarily individual clients and those that have disclosures on their record. The qualifying firms were then ranked according to the following criteria:
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AUMFirms with more total assets under management are ranked higher. -
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Individual Client CountFirms who serve more individual clients (as opposed to institutional clients) are ranked higher. -
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Clients Per AdvisorFirms with a lower ratio of clients per financial advisor are ranked higher. -
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Age of FirmFirms that have been in business longer are ranked higher.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article. This list may include firms that have a business relationship with SmartAsset, in which SmartAsset is compensated for lead referrals. Such relationships have no impact on our rankings, and firms are included and ranked based strictly on the above criteria.
Brouwer & Janachowski
Brouwer & Janachowski, LLC is the top firm on our list. The firm’s advisors offers a range of services to various clients, especially high-net-worth individuals. Brouwer & Janachowski also serves non-high-net-worth individuals, corporations and business entities, nonprofit organizations and pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm's investment advisory fee is based on a percentage of client assets.
The firm requires each client to have at least $1 million in assets. Additionally, its fee structure is fee-only, which means advisors won’t be compensated for selling products. The firm’s advisors have a range of certifications, including the certified financial planner (CFP) and certified financial accountant (CFA) designations.
Brouwer & Janachowski Background
Founded in 2007, Brouwer & Janachowski is a financial life planning and wealth management firm. It’s also a subsidiary of Brouwer & Janachowski, Inc., and it was founded by Steve Janachowski. The firm offers financial planning, portfolio management and third party money manager referrals. Its wealth management services also encompass estate planning and retirement planning.
Brouwer & Janachowski Investment Strategy
The firm says it considers a number of factors when crafting a personalized client portfolio. This includes client assets, liabilities, income and financial goals. It implements numerous security analysis methods, such as fundamental, charting and technical analysis. Brouwer & Janachowski also employs “top-down,” “bottom up” and risk management methods.
In its top down strategy, the firm says it selects assets from fixed income, equity and alternative categories. Through its bottom up approach, it utilizes index or active mutual funds, collective investment trusts (CITs) and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The firm manages investment risk levels with its risk management method.
Private Wealth Partners
Private Wealth Partners works primarily with high-net-worth and non-high-net-worth individuals, as well as banking or thrift institutions, pension and profit sharing plans, and charitable organizations.
As a fee-based firm, some advisors could be licensed to sell insurance and investment products, and could earn sales commissions from third parties like insurance companies on those transactions. However, the firm has a fiduciary duty to put client interests first.
Private Wealth Partners generally requires $1 million minimum to engage in services. Clients are charged investment management fees that are based on a percentage of assets under management, ranging between .4% and 1%.
Private Wealth Partners Background
Headquartered in Mill Valley, California, the firm was founded in 2005. The principal owner of Private Wealth Partners is William F. Dagley.
The advisor team includes one master of laws (LLM) and one chartered financial analyst (CFA).
Private Wealth Partners Strategy
The firm manages and evaluates portfolios based on client goals and objectives. Its investment strategies include long-term and short-term purchases, trading, short sales, marginal transactions and option writing.
Services include:
- Financial planning
- Investment management
- Tax strategies
- Estate planning
Gordian Wealth Advisors
Gordian Wealth Advisors, LLC serves clients that are mainly high-net-worth individuals. Gordian’s clients also include pooled investment vehicles.
Gordian is a fee-based firm, which indicates that some of its advisors may earn compensation from recommending or selling insurance products. This has the potential to create a conflict of interest if advisors become incentivized to sell such products. However, the firm is a fiduciary, so it must serve its clients’ best interests and not merely propose investments that meet a "suitability" standard.
Gordian bases its investment advisory fee on a percentage of client assets, and the firm doesn't charge a separate fee for financial planning services. The account minimum here is $500,000.
Gordian Wealth Advisors Background
Elliot Elbaz founded Gordian Wealth Advisors in 2011. The firm provides investment management and financial planning to various clients, but it operates in two different areas of advisory activity. It advises pooled investment vehicles apart from its other clients. The firm has one private investment fund: Gordian Capital Strategy L.P. Additionally, Gordian also recommends independent managers to certain clients, and it offers estate planning as part of its wealth management services.
Gordian Wealth Advisors Investment Strategy
Gordian Wealth Advisors says it strongly prioritizes risk management, money manager research and due diligence, asset allocation, tax-efficient solutions, wealth transfer and philanthropic strategies. When creating client-targeted investment advice, it mainly uses short sales, margin transactions, long- and short-term purchases, options trading and independent manager selection.
Schmitz Capital Partners
Schmitz Capital Partners, LLC is a fee-based firm, so some of its advisors can sell securities on a commission basis. While this could create a potential conflict of interest, the firm is bound by its fiduciary duty to place clients’ best interests first.
Non-high-net-worth individuals make up the majority of the firm’s client base, but Schmitz also serves high-net-worth individuals. The firm has no set account minimum, although it generally requests an investment of $50,000. Additionally, Schmitz charges a minimum fee of $1,500 for written financial plans.
Schmitz Capital Partners Background
Founded in 1988, Schmitz Capital Partners functions as an independent, employee-owned investment advisory firm. Clients can receive financial guidance through the firm’s financial planning and consulting, investment management and pension consulting services. The firm also uses a wealth program, titled the Advisors Managed Portfolios Program, that utilizes asset allocation planning software to enhance client portfolios.
Schmitz's financial planning and consulting may also include one or more of the following areas of service: retirement planning, estate planning, charitable planning, education planning, corporate and personal tax planning, investment planning and insurance analysis. The firm may provide further management in areas related to real estate, mortgages and debt.
Schmitz Capital PartnersInvestment Strategy
Schmitz Capital Partners' top investment strategies include fundamental and cyclical analysis, and it employs short- and long-term purchases in its asset management. The firm also interviews and analyzes sponsor personnel, and it reviews and analyzes other investment sites.
Schmitz may invest clients' cash balances in FDIC-insured certificates of deposit (CDs), high-grade commercial paper and/or goverment related debt instruments.
