Top Financial Advisors in Virginia Beach, VA

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Financial Security Advisory ranks first on our list of the top financial advisor firms in Virginia Beach. The fee-based firm has offices in Virginia Beach and in Newport News, Virginia. Outside of Virginia, the firm has offices in West Mystic, Connecticut, and Jacksonville, North Carolina. The firm employs advisors with certifications such as certified financial planner (CFP), chartered financial analyst (CFA), chartered financial consultant (ChFC), chartered life underwriter (CLU) and more.

While there isn’t an asset minimum requirement, clients are subject to a $1,200 minimum annual fee. The firm's clients are primarily individuals who don't have a high net worth. It also serves high-net-worth individuals, trusts, estates, corporate pension and profit-sharing plans, charities and corporations or business entities.

Some of the advisors who work here can receive commissions for insurance sales. Despite this, the firm is legally required to act in clients' best interests due to its fiduciary duty.

Financial Security Advisory Background

Financial Security Advisory was established in 1997. It has several owners, all of whom are employees at the firm.

Clients can choose from financial planning and investment strategies. 

Financial Security Advisory Investment Strategy

Similar to many financial advisor firms, Financial Security Advisory believes in asset allocation as a bedrock of its investment strategy. Advisors try to find the right mix of securities, fixed income and cash to suit a client's investment objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon and cash flow needs. 

This firm provides advice and portfolios consisting of mutual funds, stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other securities. To choose these investments, the firm uses fundamental analysis and technical analysis and third-party research.

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Compton Wealth Advisory Group, LLC lands in second in our ranking of the top Virginia Beach financial advisor firms. The firm has a small team of advisors on staff. Certifications at the firm include chartered retirement planning counselor (CRPC) and certified public accountant (CPA).

Compton is primarily focused on providing customized investment management services to high-net-worth individuals, specifically owners and executives of private and public corporations. It also works with those individuals' associated trusts, estates and other legal entities. While the firm does not impose a minimum account size requirement, third-party investment managers may impose their own requirements. The firm charges a minimum annual fee of $2,500. Fees for investment management are typically based on a percentage of assets under management, while financial planning services fees are charged on an hourly basis at a rate of $250 an hour.

In addition to the fees it charges clients, certain employees of the firm may also earn commissions in their roles as licensed insurance agents. While this presents a potential conflict of interest, clients are allowed to purchase recommended insurance products elsewhere. Moreover, the firm is bound by fiduciary duty to put clients' best interests before its own.

Compton Wealth Advisory Group Background

Compton Wealth Advisory Group was founded in 2009. Mark Compton, managing member at Compton, wholly owns the firm.

Services offered by the firm include financial planning and investment advisory and management services. Financial planning services cover topics including retirement, education funding, insurance and estate planning.

Compton Wealth Advisory Group Investment Process

Compton Wealth Advisory Group starts the process by holding an initial meeting with each prospective client. During this meeting, the firm explains its services and both its own responsibilities and those of client. If both parties decide to proceed, the firm will then learn more about the client's financial situation and help the client to define his or her goals, objectives and risk tolerance. This will include retirement goals, income needs, education funding, family legacy or estate planning, charitable gifting, tax considerations and risk tolerance.

Compton will then determine appropriate investment strategies based on the above information. Once it has the client's approval, it will implement its plan. The firm meets regularly with clients to discuss progress and also provides quarterly account statements through Schwab.

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Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors, Inc. is the next firm on our list of the top financial advisors in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This small advisory firm works almost exclusively with individuals, and most of those individuals are those without a high net worth. It also works with a small number of pensions, profit sharing plans, charities and businesses. The firm has a $2,000 minimum account size requirement, which is quite low.

Beacon Harbor is a fee-only firm. Despite having some insurance affiliations, advisors who sell insurance do not receive commissions. As a result, the firm is not fee-based because it doesn't receive any third-party commissions, instead receiving advisory fees directly from clients for services rendered.

Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Background

Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors was founded quite recently, in December of 2018. The firm is co-owned by Jeremy W. Ingram, co-president, CEO, chief investment officer and chief compliance officer and George G. MacDonald, Jr., co-president and CEO. Ingram is a chartered financial analyst (CFA). 

Beacon Harbor provides its clients with investment management and financial planning services. Its financial planning services include a wide range of focuses, including:

• Business planning
• Cash flow and debt management
• College savings
• Employee benefits optimization
• Estate planning
• Financial goals
• Insurance
• Investment analysis
• Retirement planning
• Risk management
• Tax planning strategies

Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Investment Strategy

Beacon Harbor, like many other firms, tailors its investment strategies based on each of its clients. Advisors work with clients to determine an overall financial profil, taking into account risk tolerance, financial goals, investment history, time horizon and any other relevant information.

Advisors at Beacon Harbor use fundamental, technical, charting and cyclical analysis to help inform their investment decisions. They also use a combination of active and passive management techniques. The firm may also use unaffiliated investment managers to help build client portfolios. 

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Waypoint Advisors is the next firm on our list of the top financial advisory firms in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The firm has a small team of advisors and is fee-only.

Waypoint is the only firm on our list founded and majority-owned by a woman. In fact, of its seven total employees, six are women. The firm primarily works with high-net-worth families and individuals, pensions, profit-sharing plans and charities. 

Waypoint Advisors Background

Elizabeth Patterson founded Waypoint in 2001 “to help families fit all the pieces of their financial puzzle together in a way that reflects their unique goals and values.” Patterson serves as the firm’s president and is the majority owner of the firm. She has an MBA from Old Dominion University and is a certified financial planner (CFP). 

Waypoint Advisors Investment Strategy

One of Waypoint’s investment strategy tenets is to follow the “manager of managers” approach explained by modern portfolio theory. This is the idea of having multiple managers for portfolio management. Waypoint has an evaluation and selection criteria for each money manager. This means the firm looks for those with deep experience and proven skills. 

Your portfolio will be designed with your goals, investment objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, cash flow needs, tax situation and personal preferences in mind. Like most modern financial advisors, Waypoint believes in broad diversification across asset classes for risk mitigation and wealth building. Overall, the firm generally recommends mutual funds, separately managed accounts, pooled accounts and limited partnerships The firm generally does not give advice on specific stock selection. 

Toner Asset Management Group has a tiny team of advisors on staff. The firm is so small it doesn’t have a website. It is a fee-only firm.

With a $2 million account minimum requirement, Toner Asset Management has the highest barrier to entry for new clients out of the other Virginia Beach firms we profiled. The firm serves individuals, high-net-worth individuals and corporations and other business entities.

Toner Asset Management Group Background 

Troy Toner is the founder and sole owner of the firm. Before founding the business in 2002, he was a financial advisor at Prudential Securities and an accounting analyst at Airlines Reporting Corporation. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Central Florida and an MBA in Finance from American University.  

Toner Asset Management Group offers a large variety of services, including investment management, tax services, financial planning, educational training, trust services and more. 

Toner Asset Management Group Investment Strategy 

While this firm doesn’t offer much information on its portfolios, Toner uses charting analysis fundamental analysis, technical analysis and cyclical analysis to evaluate securities. Most firms use fundamental and technical only. Charting and cyclical analysis involves evaluating patterns in performance and finding favorable conditions within business cycles for buying a security.  

If you become a client, Toner can give investment advice and money management for “mutual funds, equities, bonds, fixed income, debt securities, ETFs, real estate, hedge funds, REITs, private placements and government securities."