Top Financial Advisors in San Francisco, CA

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Hall Capital Partners is San Francisco's top-rated financial advisor firm is also on the SmartAsset's state rankings for the state of California. With offices in San Francisco and New York, HCP's portfolio management team includes several advisors with the chartered financial analyst (CFA) designation.

HCP does not require a minimum account size, but it does charge an annual fee of $400,000, or $300,000 for accounts that pay performance-based fees. 

This fee-only firm's individual client base comprises high-net-worth individuals and families. It also serves institutions (including endowments and foundations), pooled investment vehicles, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and other investment advisors.

HCP has tens of billions of dollars in assets under management (AUM). In fact, it manages more money than the next five firms on this list -- combined. 

Hall Capital Partners Background

Founded in 1994, HCP is an independent firm that is privately owned, primarily by the firm's partners. HCP started out managing portfolios for select family offices and their private foundations. Today, the firm offers three main services:

• Customized global multi-asset class portfolios
• HCP pooled vehicles: Unregistered funds of funds that the firm or its affiliates manage 
• Specialized mandates: Client investments in a certain asset class, including hedge funds, private equity or real assets

Hall Capital Partners Investment Strategy

HCP creates its global multi-asset class portfolios based on each client's unique financial situation. The firm also sticks to certain core investment principles across its client portfolios. Generally, the firm maintains a long-term horizon, investing assets globally and in a highly selective manner. It diversifies portfolios by investing in fixed income, equities, hedge funds, private equity and real assets. 

HCP seeks to build "relatively concentrated but diversified portfolios of complementary managers with asymmetrical return profiles." The firm is specifically focused on risk-adjusted returns and has an entire team, The Research Group, devoted to analyzing investment opportunities. 

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Jordan Park Group, LLC is a multi-family office that has billions in assets under management (AUM) and several advisors on staff. The firm, which has offices in San Francisco and Hampton, New Hampshire, generally works with clients who have more than $100 million in investable assets. However, it reserves the right to accept clients with less. As such, it primarily works with high-net-worth individuals and families and their related trusts and estates.

Other clients include charitable organizations, business entities and managed access vehicles, which are essentially used to aggregate client capital.

There is a performance-based fee associated with the access vehicles that the firm manages. While this could create a potential conflict of interest by incentivizing advisors to take more risks to generate higher returns, the firm is a fiduciary and must act in its best interests as a client. The firm does not earn fees or commissions associated with selling financial products.

Jordan Park Group Background

Established in 2017, Jordan Park Group is owned by its CEO and president, Frank Ghali.

The firm offers investment management services, which it provides through separate accounts and the access vehicles that it manages. Jordan Park also provides family office services, which include the following financial planning services:

• Cash flow analysis and reporting
• Budgeting and forecasting
• Tax and insurance analysis
• Charitable and estate gift planning

Jordan Park Group Investment Strategy

Jordan Park Group provides its clients with discretionary investment management services through both separate accounts and its access vehicles. Separate accounts are used to directly take advantage of public market investment opportunities, while access vehicles are used when direct investment isn't the best option.

Jordan Park Group works with each of its clients to devise an investment policy statement that outlines his or her constraints and objectives. The firm's investment process is led by its chief investment officer and carried out by the firm's 21-person investment team.

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Baker Street Advisors, No. 3 on our list, caters to high-net-worth investors. The firm, which has a $5 million account minimum, also provides services to high-net-worth individuals' associated trusts and estates, pension and profit-sharing plans and other legal entities. Under certain circumstances, the firm may waive the aforementioned minimum requirement.

The fee-only firm has multiple financial advisors overseeing its billions in assets under management (AUM). The team included certified public accountants (CPAs), chartered financial analysts (CFAs), certified financial planners (CFPs) and a certified private wealth advisor (CPWA).

Baker Street Advisors Background

Baker Street Advisors has been in business since 2003. AMG Wealth Partners holds the majority equity interest in the firm, and the firm’s principals hold the remaining shares.

Baker Street Advisors offers clients investment management services, wealth planning, alternative investments, family office services and taxable transition management.

Baker Street Advisors Investment Strategy

Baker Street Advisors' investing philosophy rests on several core beliefs, including asset allocation being the primary determinant of long-term returns and volatility of returns. The firm holds that investors who take a long-term approach can withstand short-term volatility.

The firm notes that active managers are unlikely to overcome the obstacles of fees and costs, so index-oriented equity strategies are a preferable option. The firm believes that reducing fees and taxes can boost a portfolio's overall returns.

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Parallel Advisors is a fee-only firm providing an array of advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit plans, business entities, trusts, estates and charitable organizations. 

The firm’s fee-only structure means that it’s only compensated for the advisory services it provides and not for the commissioned products it sells. Parallel Advisors’ main fees include asset-based fees, hourly fees and fixed fees.

Its advisors offer a range of certifications, including the certified financial planner (CFP), chartered financial analyst (CFA), chartered financial consultant (ChFC), certified public accountant (CPA), accredited investment fiduciary (AIF) and certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA) designations. 

The firm does not have a set account minimum.

Parallel Advisors Background

Principally owned by Jerry E. Rendic, Parallel Advisors provides portfolio management, financial planning, retirement plan services, and philanthropic planning and evaluation. The firm also offers investment manager due diligence, intergenerational wealth transfer strategies and more.

Parallel Advisors Investment Strategy

Parallel Advisors says on its website that it creates portfolios positioned for the long term. The firm constructs portfolios by following an asset allocation that lines up with a client's investment objectives, income and liquidity needs and risk tolerance. "We believe that not all asset classes are created equal. We think about asset classes from not only a return perspective but also a risk perspective and diversify with satellites and alternatives to help reduce core equity risk concentration," the firm states on its website. 

Parallel Advisors use a variety of methods when conducting investment research, including fundamental analysis, technical analysis and cyclical analysis. The firm also employs strategies that utilize long-term purchases (holding securities for over a year), short-term purchases (holding securities for less than a year) and options.

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Perigon Wealth Management, a fee-based company, rounds out our list of San Francisco's top-rated financial advisory firms. Perigon primarily advises individuals and high-net-worth individuals but also works with pensions, profit-sharing plans, as well as corporations. The firm does not have a minimum account size requirement. 

Perigon's expansive team of advisors includes 11 certified financial planners (CFPs), five chartered financial analysts (CFAs), two certified divorce financial analysts (CDFAs), an accredited investment fiduciary (AIF), one certified public accountant (CPA) and a retirement income certified professional (RICP).

Because some Perigon advisors earn commissions for selling insurance or third-party financial products, the firm is considered fee-based. Despite the potential conflict of interest that commission-based compensation can create, Perigon is a fiduciary and must act in its client's best interests. 

Perigon Wealth Management Background

Founded in 2004, Perigon is owned by Perigon Financial Holdings, LLC. The firm offers wealth management, which includes a broad range of financial planning and consulting services, as well as portfolio management, retirement plan advisory services and Perigon180, an automated investment solution provided through TD Ameritrade Clearing, Inc. 

Perigon Wealth Management Investment Strategy

Like other financial advisor firms, Perigon works with clients to understand their investment goals, risk tolerance and financial situation. Based on those factors, the firm will either use an independent manager to manage portions of a client's portfolio or place their assets in one of Perigon's model portfolios.  

Perigon typically assumes a long-term investment approach, but advisors may sell or reallocate positions that have been held for under a year. Advisors may use mutual funds, ETFs, individual stocks and bonds or options contracts, depending on an individual client's needs. 

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Seven Post Investment Office has one of the highest account minimums on this list. To be a client, you’ll need a minimum portfolio value of at least $50 million. Moreover, the firm says that it “generally seeks” to advise clients who have $100 million or more in investable assets.

As the firm’s account minimum makes abundantly clear, the firm principally serves clients with significant assets. The firm's clients include high-net-worth individuals, families, endowments, foundations and other institutions. Seven Post is a fee-only firm, which means that it does not accept commissions for selling or recommending certain products.

Seven Post Investment Office Background

Seven Post Investment Office was founded in 2011. The firm is entirely owned, directly or through BlackOak GP LLC. Several people have a 25% or more ownership stake in the business. They are Ali Bastani, Bruce Bligh and Eldridge Gray. 

The firm manages broadly diversified, global, multi-asset class portfolios that include real estate and private assets. Seven Post customizes its services to fit clients' specific investment and management needs. 

Seven Post Investment Office Investment Strategy

The firm constructs its portfolios based on the investment objectives and constraints that its clients lay out in introductory and ongoing conversations. Typically, the firm will invest its client's assets in both passive indices through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and active strategies. 

"Seven Post has developed a framework for identifying potential investment risks and opportunities across various global investment classes," the firm states in its Form ADV. Its analysis of investments is often based on fundamental factors, qualitative research and asset valuation. 

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Wetherby Asset Management, a fee-only firm that primarily serves high-net-worth individuals, has an impressive array of expertise on its team. The firm has 12 chartered financial analysts (CFAs), 20 certified financial planners (CFPs), two chartered alternative investment analysts (CAIAs), three certified private wealth advisors (CPWAs), two certified public accountants (CPAs), two certified divorce financial analysts (CDFAs), one retirement income certified professional (RICP) and other accredited professionals. 

Wetherby's clients are primarily high-net-worth individuals and associated trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, foundations, endowments, private funds and other legal entities. The firm institutes a general minimum investment of $10 million.

Wetherby Asset Management Background

Wetherby Asset Management was founded in 1990 by Debra Wetherby. Today, the firm has 26 individual owners, 21 of whom are employees of the firm.

Wetherby focuses on portfolio management and wealth planning, services that it customizes to individual client needs and objectives. It advises its clients on a wide range of topics, including asset allocation, manager selection, cash flow analysis, tax and estate planning, intergenerational wealth transfer, impact investing, retirement planning, philanthropic planning, education funding, insurance analysis, equity ownership and stock option advice and tax efficiency.

At Wetherby, wealth managers are typically required to have a professional license, advanced degrees or certification, such as a CFP, CPA, CFA or CPWA.  

Wetherby Asset Management Investment Strategy

Wetherby Asset Management takes a research-driven approach to investing. The firm has an in-house research team responsible for evaluating asset classes and making recommendations on investment strategies and vehicles.

At the start of each client relationship, Wetherby does a complete assessment of the client’s financial objectives, life goals and risk tolerance. This assessment informs the investment approach that the firm takes on that client’s behalf. Wetherby typically invests its clients’ assets in no-load mutual funds or other pooled investment vehicles. It may also invest in individual equities, exchange-traded funds or fixed-income securities and other closed-end mutual funds.

In certain instances, the firm may use private investment funds or other separate account vehicles that are managed by other advisors.

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Osterweis Capital Management is a fee-only firm that primarily works with high-net-worth individuals, although it can also provide advisory services to trusts, institutions, mutual funds, and individual investors who don't have a high net worth. The firm's account minimum requirement varies by account type, ranging from $5 million for core equity, emerging growth and balanced portfolios up to $250 million for strategic income portfolios.

The firm's team includes chartered financial analysts (CFAs) and a certified financial planner (CFP). Though certain employees are also representatives of the registered broker-dealer Quasar Distributors, LLC, they do not earn sales commissions. Employees are compensated entirely by the firm, mitigating potential conflicts of interest. The firm typically charges clients a management fee based on a percentage of assets under management.

Osterweis Capital Management Background

Osterweis Capital Management was founded in 1983. The firm is independently owned by a number of the firm's employees, as well as two outside directors. No one person owns more than 25% of the firm.

Osterweis' primary offering is investment advisory services. The firm offers its clients a number of investment strategies, which include equity securities, fixed-income securities or some blend of the two. As it's customizing investment advice, the firm may offer supplemental financial planning services such as cash flow projections and net worth statements. However, the firm does not provide services like estate planning, tax advice or trust administration. 

Osterweis Capital Management Investment Strategy

Osterweis Capital Management offers five different investment strategies, each of which uses equity securities and/or fixed-income securities. The Core Equity Strategy, which is one of two accounts with the lowest account minimum of $5 million, attempts to identify out-of-favor companies with clear growth potential. The other investment strategy with a $5 million account minimum is the Flexible Balanced Strategy, which combines equity and fixed-income tactics to capitalize on the potential for growth and preservation.

The Emerging Growth Strategy requires a $25 million account minimum and is focused on identifying high-quality companies in emerging and growing industries. The Total Return Strategy, which has a $100 million minimum, primarily uses investment-grade securities in an effort to produce attractive returns. The strategy with the highest minimum is the Strategic Income Strategy, which has a $250 million account minimum. The Strategic Income Strategy uses top-down and bottom-up analysis to identify investment opportunities.

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Asset Dedication is a fee-only firm serving San Francisco, meaning its advisors do not receive additional compensation for the sale of securities. The firm offers financial planning, consulting and investment management services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations and small institutions. The firm does not have a minimum account requirement to obtain its services. The firm does utilize third-party advisors that may have their own minimum account requirements. 

Asset Dedication Background

The firm was founded in 2002 by Stephen J. Huxley and Brent Burns. The firm boasts 10 advisors on the team today and one team member is a chartered financial analyst (CFA). The firm is owned by Huxley (31.7%), Burns (31.7%), Jeremy Fletcher (18.3%) and Dan Yeoman (18.3%). 

Asset Dedication Investment Strategy

The Asset Dedication strategy syncs equity securities with investment-grade fixed-income securities to match the client's long-term goals and short-term cash flow needs. Client portfolios of the firm may see a mix of these investments: 

• Government bonds
• Inflation-index bonds
• Municipal bonds
• Corporate bonds
• Stocks and other equity securities
• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
• Mutual funds
• CDs
• Money market funds

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Robertson Stephens is a fee-based firm that offers the financial services of investment management, pension consulting, estate planning, insurance planning, retirement planning, tax planning and financial education. The services are offered to individuals, high-net-worth individuals, trusts, estates, family offices, charitable organizations, pension and profit-sharing plans and other legal entities. There is no set minimum initial investment size. 

As a fee-based firm, there is a potential conflict of interest as the advisors can earn commissions for the sale of certain securities. However, the firm is bound to a fiduciary duty that requires them to put the needs of the client first. 

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management Background

Robertson Stephens was founded in 2017. The firm has many locations and more than 40 advisors across 8 states. The firm manages more than $3.5 billion in assets under management (AUM) today. 

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management Investment Strategy

The firm develops, recommends and implements investment strategies for its clients in accordance with each client’s individual investment profile. RSWM makes asset allocation recommendations along with recommendations for third-party account managers, public and private fund managers, and individual investments designed to achieve the recommended asset allocations.