The 20 Best Financial Advisers

These are the Boston area's best high-end investment managers and financial planners, chosen from thousands of nominations made by securities firms, banks, and others, and based on assets managed, customer satisfaction, community involvement, compliance, experience, and assessments by coworkers and clients.

 

1. Raj Sharma
Merrill Lynch, Boston, 800-926-5579, www.fa.ml.com/sharmagroup
Typical account size: $10 million; typical net worth of clients: $10 million; total team assets: $4.5 billion; percentage of accounts worth under $1 million: 1
An Emerson grad who once worked as a DJ in India, Sharma started his own team, the Sharma Group, inside Merrill Lynch.

2. Marc A. White Jr.
JPMorgan Private Bank, Boston, 617-310-0715, www.jpmorgan.com/privatebank
Typical account size: $20–30 million; typical net worth of clients: $30–50 million; total team assets: $2.6 billion; percentage of accounts worth under $1 million: n/a
White is managing director of JPMorgan Private Bank here.

3. John D. Spooner
Citigroup Smith Barney, Boston, 617-589-3500, www.smithbarney.com
Typical account size: $1–2 million; typical net worth of clients: $5 million; total team assets: $2.7 billion; percentage of accounts worth under $1 million: 40
In his trademark bow tie, Beacon Hill money man Spooner is adviser to the stars (Jack Nicholson was his guest last summer for 18 holes at The Country Club) and author of such books as Do You Want to Make Money or Would You Rather Fool Around?

4. William J. Sullivan
UBS Financial Services, Boston, 617-261-1000, www.ubs.com
Typical account size: $5 million; typical net worth of clients: $25 million; total team assets: $700 million; percentage of accounts worth under $1 million: n/a
Sullivan works with a team of four that includes his wife, Sarah.

5. Andrew H. Zimmerman*
Merrill Lynch, Boston, 800-723-7934, www.fa.ml.com/zt_group
Typical account size: $5 million; typical net worth of clients: $10 million; total team assets: $850 million; percentage of accounts worth under $1 million: 5
An avid squash player, Zimmerman manages money for a select group of around 200 families, endowments, and corporations.

6. Susan C. Kaplan
Kaplan Financial Services/Linsco/Private Ledger, Newton, 617-527-1557, www.kaplan-financial.com
Typical account size: $2 million; typical net worth of clients: $10 million; total team assets: $720 million; percentage of accounts worth under $1 million: n/a
In addition to her day job, Kaplan moonlights as cohost of WTKK's The Money Show.

7. Donald Little
UBS Financial Services, Boston, 617-261-1000, ubs.com
Typical account size: $2–5 million; typical net worth of clients: $15–20 million; total team assets: $750 million; percentage of accounts worth under $1 million: 15
Little founded the regional institutional equity sales department at Kidder, Peabody before it became part of UBS. He's also a horseman who established the Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic.

8. Michael A. Trethewey*
Merrill Lynch, Boston, 888-682-3530, www.fa.ml.com/zt_group
Typical account size: $2–20 million; typical net worth of clients: $5–100+ million; total team assets: $850 million; percentage of accounts worth under $1 million: 5
Trethewey is a member of the Beacon Society, which promotes Sherlock Holmes stories to kids.

9. James Minchello
Citigroup Smith Barney, Boston, 617-589-3500, www.smithbarney.com
Typical account size: $5–20 million; typical net worth of clients: $10 million; total team assets: $4.8 billion; percentage of accounts worth under $1 million: n/a
Barron's named Minchello one of America's top 100 financial brokers last year.

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