While this task is never easy, it was particularly difficult this year. The hundreds of advisors who answered our Top 100 questionnaire offered keen insights into the current investment climate. A number of the responses we received were exceptionally thorough and original, evidencing the kind of comprehensive financial expertise and client focus that elevates advisors to the pinnacle of their profession. Some who made the list in the past are noticeably absent this year; others who have never participated before make their debut.

In anticipation of the inevitable questions about how we choose the individuals we honor, please know that our methodology is straightforward. While our weighing of the various criteria may change in response to market shifts or economic activity, the methodology we use to gather, organize and analyze the information remains constant.

The process begins with an invitation to our readers to nominate those wealth advisors who have truly gone above and beyond the call of duty in meeting their clients’ needs. We also solicit nominations from private banks, wealth management and investment firms and industry associations. Nominated advisors, and others who wish to participate, then complete a detailed online questionnaire in which they provide their educational and professional credentials, work history, compensation structure, client retention rate and other background information. We then ask about areas of expertise, their approaches to working with new clients and how they meet the unique needs of the affluent clientele they serve.

While we give this information considerable weight in our selection process, we place the greatest importance upon each candidate’s ability to intelligently discuss the current investment climate, the markets and their strategies for success. At this point, the competition becomes fierce. Affluent investors pay their wealth advisors to be independent thinkers, and based on the spectrum of analyses we read, many earn their keep. This year, very few agreed on the best way to invest in a global market where phenomenal growth—and risk—can be found offshore, and dramatic market swings have become daily events. Even fewer claimed that their strategies were foolproof. Many, however, explained their insights clearly, concisely and with conviction—exactly how they should communicate with their clients.

Following our compilation of a preliminary list, the final step in the selection process is one of verification. Worth’s editorial staff confirms, to the extent possible, that the information advisors provide is accurate and truthful. We run background checks and occasionally ask additional questions of both advisors and their clients. By the time this step is completed, spring is just a memory and the dog days of summer are upon us. With deadlines approaching, we finalize our list, confident in the choices we’ve made.

The competition this year was extremely tough. But that’s how it should be. Wealth management is not an easy profession—the men and women who guide their clients through life’s triumphs and challenges must be smart, resilient, decisive and dedicated. Those honored in the following pages embody all these qualities and more. We salute them. They are Worth’s Top 100 Wealth Advisors for 2007.

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