A Billion Here, A Billion There: Meet The Top 20 Wealth Management Advisors In America, 2016

Jeff Erdmann of BofA Merrill Lynch has been named as America’s top wealth management advisor for 2016 by Forbes Magazine in its annual list of the America’s top wealth management advisor. Others making the list included Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management’s Brian C. Pfeifler, at 2nd place, and UBS Private Wealth Management’s Christopher Errico, at third.

Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management’s Andy Chase is ranked at number 4 on the list, followed by Merrill Lynch-Private Banking & Investment Group’s Patrick Dwyer at number 5.

Jeff Erdmann’s typical account size is $36.7 million and he asks for new accounts to be a minimum of $2.5 million. He manages a total of $5.5 billion in assets.

So you think that money is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked what is the root of all money? – Ayn Rand

Here are top 20 wealth management advisors in the United States, 2016

1. John F. Erdmann III (Jeff Erdmann)
Company: Merrill Lynch – Private Banking & Investment Group – Greenwich, CT
Typical account size: $36.7 million
New account minimum: $2.5 million
Total asset under management: $5.5 billion

2. Brian C. Pfeifler, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management- New York, NY
Typical account size: $50 million
New account minimum: $25 million
Total asset under management: $7.7 billion

3. Christopher Errico, UBS Private Wealth Management- New York, NY
Typical account size: $10 million
New account minimum: $5 million
Total asset under management: $3.1 billion

4. Andy Chase, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management – Menlo Park, CA
Typical account size: $25 million
New account minimum: $500,000
Total asset under management: $37 billion

5. Patrick Dwyer, Merrill Lynch – Private Banking & Investment Group – Miami, FL
Typical account size: $20 million
New account minimum: $10 million
Total asset under management: $2.7 billion

6. Rob Clarfeld, Clarfeld Financial Advisors – Tarrytown, NY
Typical account size: $20 million
New account minimum: $5 million
Total asset under management: $5.5 billion

7. Mark Curtis, Graystone Consulting, Palo Alto, CA
Typical account size: $10 million
New account minimum: $5 million
Total asset under management: $20 billion

8. Rod Westmoreland, Merrill Lynch – Private Banking & Investment Group, Atlanta, GA
Typical account size: $10-75 million
New account minimum: $10 million
Total asset under management: $3.8 billion

9. Gregory Vaughan, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, Menlo Park, CA
Typical account size: $75 million
New account minimum: $10 million
Total asset under management: $17.3 billion

10. Ric Edelman, Edelman Financial Services, Fairfax, VA
Typical account size: $500,000
New account minimum: $5,000
Total asset under management:     $15.5 billion

11. Andy Burish, UBS Financial Services, Madison, WI
Typical account size: $1-10 million
New account minimum: $500,000
Total asset under management: $3.7 billion

12. Shelley Bergman, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, New York, NY
Typical account size: $15 million
New account minimum: $3 million
Total asset under management: $6 billion

13. Ron Carson, Carson Wealth Management Group     Omaha, NE
Typical account size: $500,000
New account minimum: $100,000
Total asset under management: $6.6 billion

14. Richard Saperstein, HighTower Advisors/Treasury Partners, New York, NY
Typical account size: $15 million
New account minimum: $5 million
Total asset under management: $11.2 billion

15. Marvin McIntyre, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, Washington, DC
Typical account size: $2-100 million
New account minimum: $2 million
Total asset under management: $3.3 billion

16. Charles Zhang, Zhang Financial, Portage, MI
Typical account size: $1-5 million
New account minimum: $250,000
Total asset under management: $3.4 billion

17. Raj Sharma, Merrill Lynch – Private Banking & Investment Group, Boston, MA
Typical account size: $10 million
New account minimum: $5 million
Total asset under management: $6.0 billion

18. Steve Hefter, Wells Fargo Advisors, Highland Park, IL
Typical account size: $5-50 million
New account minimum: $3 million
Total asset under management: $2.7 billion

19. James Hansberger, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, Atlanta, GA
Typical account size: $25 million
New account minimum: $2M
Total asset under management: $2.5 billion

20. Jon Goldstein, First Republic Investment Management, Menlo Park, CA
Typical account size: $25-100 million
New account minimum: $20 million
Total asset under management: $6.7 billion