Finding a Top Financial Advisor Firm in Virginia Beach, Virginia
You want to carefully consider all your options before choosing a financial advisor. After all, it’s your retirement and investment future that’s at stake. To make it easier, we gathered the top advisors in Virginia Beach, Virginia and researched each business. Below we give you details on the final five firms. If you’re interested in receiving a more tailored recommendation, try our financial advisor matching tool, which will pair you with an advisor in your area.
| Rank | Financial Advisor | Assets Managed | Minimum Assets | Financial Services | More Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Financial Security Advisory  | $619,847,700 | Minimum annual fee $1,200 |
| Minimum AssetsMinimum annual fee $1,200 Financial Services
|
| 2 | Waypoint Advisors  | $136,020,600 | $1,000,000
|
| Minimum Assets$1,000,000
Financial Services
|
| 3 | Toner Asset Management Group  | $131,543,700 | $2,000,000 |
| Minimum Assets$2,000,000 Financial Services
|
| 4 | Monaco Capital Management  | $74,007,300 | $100,000 for investment management
|
| Minimum Assets$100,000 for investment management
Financial Services
|
How We Found the Top Financial Advisor Firms in Virginia Beach, Virginia
SmartAsset only considered firms registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) for this list. SEC-registered financial advisors have a fiduciary duty to act in your best interest. They’re also subject to stricter government rules and regulations. Any firm with disciplinary issues or disclosures was excluded, as were firms that don’t manage individual accounts. The remaining advisors are ranked from most assets under management to least.
Financial Security Advisory
Financial Security Advisory comes in at the top of the Virginia Beach list. Established in 1997, the fee-based firm has 17 advisors and $619 million in assets under management. Clients can choose from financial planning and investment strategies.
While there isn’t an asset minimum, you are subject to a $1,200 minimum annual fee. With the 1.5% fee for accounts up to $249,999, that works out to an ideal account minimum of $80,000.
The firm has two offices in Virginia Beach and two in Newport News, Virginia, and one office each in Mystic, Connecticut, and Greensboro and Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Financial Security Advisory Background
The firm has seven owners. Six out of the seven are certified financial planners (CFPs), two have MBAs, two are chartered financial consultants (ChFC) and one is a chartered life underwriter (CLU). Overall, 14 employees work at the Virginia Beach office including six of the partners.
Financial Security Advisory Investment Strategy
Similar to many financial advisor firms, FSA 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 your investment objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon and cash flow needs.
This firm provides advice and portfolios consisting of mutual funds, stocks, bonds, ETFs and other securities. To choose these investments, the firm uses fundamental analysis and technical analysis and third-party research.
Waypoint Advisors
With an account minimum of $1 million, Waypoint Advisors has the second-highest asset requirement on this list after the No. 4 firm Toner Asset Management. This firm of five advisors has $136 million in assets under management and is fee-based. Waypoint is the only firm on our list founded and majority-owned by a woman.
Waypoint primarily works with high-net-worth families and individuals, foundations, trusts and estates.
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).
Jane Short, CFP, serves as the executive vice president. She has more than 20 years of experience as a wealth advisor and previously held positions at U.S. Trust and UBS Financial Services.
Waypoint has a total of seven professionals: six women and one man. That’s the highest ratio of women to men we’ve seen at a financial advisory as of yet.
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 a 24-point 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
Just one person works at Toner Asset Management, making this the firm with the fewest advisors. While the firm might be small - so small it doesn’t have a website - it still has $131 million in assets under management and offers a large variety of services, including investment management, tax services, financial planning, educational training, trust services and more.
With a $2 million account minimum requirement, Toner Asset Management has the highest barrier to entry for new clients out of the five Virginia Beach firms we profiled.
Toner Asset Management Group Background
Troy Toner is the founder, sole owner and advisor at the firm. Before founding the business, 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 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."
Monaco Capital Management
Monaco Capital Management, another fee-based firm, was founded in 2003 and has $74 million in assets under management. Two advisors work for the firm, and services offered include portfolio management, financial planning, third-party portfolio analysis and corporate budgeting. With an investment management account minimum of $100,000, Monaco Capital is more affordable than Toner Asset Management (No. 4) and Waypoint Advisors (No. 3).
Typical clients include “individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates and charitable organizations, corporations or other business entities,” according to the firm’s SEC brochure.
Monaco Capital Management
Joseph Monaco founded the firm in 2003 after working as a vice president at UBS Financial Services and a branch manager for Prudential Securities. He has an MBA in finance and a Ph.D. in economics, and is one of the few owners we’ve seen with a doctoral degree.
Andrea McMurran serves as the director of operations and as a financial advisor. She is a certified financial planner (CFP) and holds the Series 7 and 66 licenses.
Two additional employees work for the firm: a client services specialist and an executive assistant.
Monaco Capital Management Investments
Monaco Capital partners with Raymond James for asset management. The PASSPORT account is an investment advisory account administered by Raymond James and requires at least $100,000. All of Monaco Capital’s client accounts assets are held by Raymond James and invested primarily in mutual funds and ETFs. Your portfolio will be guided by your initial conversations with your advisor where you cover your risk tolerance, cash flow needs, time horizon and financial objectives and goals.
