Finding a Top Financial Advisor Firm in Oakland, California
Oakland, California is a large city with many financial advisor firms, making it tough to find the the right financial advisor for you. To make it easier, SmartAsset created this list of the top Oakland financial advisor firms. Below, you can compare and contrast the firms’ services, fee structures and account minimums. SmartAsset's financial advisor matching tool is another way to find a financial advisor who serves your area, as it can pair you with up to three.
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 | Liberty Wealth Management, LLC  Find an Advisor | $986,640,795 | $50,000 |
| Minimum Assets$50,000Financial Services
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| 2 | Bell Investment Advisors, Inc.  Find an Advisor | $577,553,614 | $750,000 |
| Minimum Assets$750,000Financial Services
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| 3 | Brooker Wealth Management  Find an Advisor | $507,587,809 | $100,000 |
| Minimum Assets$100,000Financial Services
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| 4 | Financial Avengers, Inc.  Find an Advisor | $312,066,586 | No set account minimum |
| Minimum AssetsNo set account minimumFinancial Services
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What We Use in Our Methodology
To find the top financial advisors in Oakland, 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 obtained through public records and is updated annually after the firms’ form ADV filing. 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. SmartAsset is not a client of the aforementioned firms, and did not receive compensation for including any of the firms on the aforementioned list.
Liberty Wealth Management, LLC
Liberty Wealth Management is a fee-based financial advisor firm with offices in Oakland and Irvine. You'll need at least $50,000 in assets under management to become a client of this firm.
Liberty’s client base is made up of non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as corporations, pensions and profit-sharing plans.
Advisors at this firm may earn commissions from selling insurance policies or from trading certain securities in your portfolio. However, the firm is a fiduciary and therefore it must act in your best interests.
Liberty Wealth Management Background
Liberty Wealth Management has been in business since 1999. President David Hollander independently owns the firm.
A wide range of services is made available by Liberty Wealth Management, including the planning and creation of trusts and estates, retirement planning, insurance analysis, tax management and mitigation and general investment management.
Liberty Wealth Management Investment Strategy
Liberty Wealth Management places an emphasis on long-term investing. The firm relies on the investment philosophy of modern portfolio theory to guide how it handles the relationship between investment risk and the ensuing returns. Modern portfolio theory states that you can maximize gains and minimize risk by constructing a balanced and diversified portfolio.
Liberty Wealth Management uses a number of specific investment strategies, including long-term and short-term purchases, margin transactions, option-writing and trading.
Bell Investment Advisors
A fee-only financial advisor firm, Bell Investment Advisors has an advisory team that holds multiple certifications, including certified financial planner (CFP) and chartered financial analyst (CFA) designations.
You will, however, need at least $750,000 in investable assets prior to opening an account with this firm. The firm principally serves high-net-worth clients. Its client base also includes non-high-net-worth individuals, charitable foundations and pensions and profit-sharing plans.
As a fee-only financial advisor, Bell is compensated through client fees, including a percentage of assets under management. Its advisors do not earn commissions for selling securities or insurance.
Bell Investment Advisors Background
Husband and wife duo James and Bonnie Bell founded Bell Investment Advisors in 1991. James Bell serves as the firm’s chairman. Bonnie Bell passed away in 2019. The firm’s team boasts more than 100 years of combined financial advisory experience.
Depending on what type of financial management help you’re looking for, a different set of advisory services will be offered to you. As a whole, the firm can handle:
- Current financial evaluations
- Employee stock option analysis
- Education funding plans
- Insurance review
- Estate planning
- Cash flow management
- Retirement planning
Bell Investment Advisors Investment Strategy
Bell Investment Advisors is a major believer in utilizing various index funds to build its clients’ portfolios. It primarily uses no-load mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It will occasionally invest in individual securities. The firm says that it believes these investments will offer both strong diversification and low trading fees, increasing the odds that your portfolio is successful.
However, your portfolio’s success also depends on the exact investment choices made. To make investment decisions, the firm uses a combination of technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Fundamental analysis looks at the economic and company-specific factors of an investment opportunity to determine its value. Technical analysis is much more driven by statistics, like past prices of an investment and overall market activity, to forecast how an investment’s price will change over time.
Brooker Wealth Management
Brooker Wealth Management is a division of John, W. Brooker & Co. CPAs, which can also handle your tax preparation needs. In support of this service, there are certified public accountants (CPAs) at this firm, as well as certified financial planners (CFPs) and chartered financial analysts (CFAs).
Brooker Wealth Management says it serves both non-high-net-worth individuals and high-net-worth individuals, as well as employer-sponsored pension and profit-sharing plans and charitable foundations. This fee-only firm calls for a minimum of $100,000 in investable assets to open an account.
Brooker Wealth Management Background
As it was established in 1983, John W. Brooker & Co., CPAs, PC is one of the oldest financial advisor firms on this list. Partners Daniel Beatty, Larry Jakubowitz and Joseph Wells independently own the firm.
The firm offers comprehensive financial planning, which takes into account all aspects of your financial life to create a workable plan. It also offers more goal-based services, like retirement planning, real estate investment analysis, higher education funding analysis, estate plan creation and review, mortgage and refinancing evaluation and insurance review.
Brooker Wealth Management Investment Strategy
Your personal risk tolerance, liquidity needs and time horizon will dictate how your assets are ultimately invested at this firm. However, the firm does have its own set of preferred investment types that it tends to use in client portfolios. These include domestic and foreign stocks and bonds, no-load mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), certificates of deposit (CDs) and U.S. government securities.
The firm says it is focused on long-term, sustainable portfolio growth, but it also utilizes shorter-term investments to meet clients’ liquidity needs.
Financial Avengers, Inc.
Financial Avengers is a fee-based firm that serves non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as corporations.
This fee-based firm has a small advisory team. Clients of this firm may be offered insurance policies and sales may result in commissions for advisors. But because this firm is a fiduciary, it is required to act in your best interest.
Financial Avengers does not require a minimum account size.
Financial Avengers Background
CEO Thomas Swift and COO Arthur McCord opened Financial Avengers in June 2000. They remain the principal owners of the firm.
Financial Avengers customizes its services to fit clients’ individual needs and financial situations. The firm has experience with areas like debt management, estate transfer and investment management.
Financial Avengers Investment Strategy
Financial Avengers self-identifies as a buy-and-hold investor. It focuses on the long term and it avoids strategies like market-timing, short selling and margin transactions.
Where your money is ultimately invested is determined based on your stated level of risk tolerance and any personal financial objectives you may want to achieve. The firm invests in exchage-traded equity securities, mutual funds, as well as cash and equivalents.
