By Amy Parvaneh, Founder of Select Advisors Institute
The Top Wealth Managers by Scale
BlackRock - over $13 trillion AUM (Financial Times)
Vanguard - about $11 trillion AUM (Wikipedia)
Fidelity, State Street, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Capital Group - each manage $2 – 5 trillion (ADV Ratings)
These are America’s largest asset managers.
They shape markets and retirement plans worldwide.
According to research from Select Advisors Institute (SAI), these giants set the tone for investment trends, but their scale often limits personalization for high-net-worth families seeking deeper guidance.
The Private Wealth Leaders
Top private-bank divisions include:
J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management
Bank of America Private Bank
These firms dominate Barron’s and Forbes rankings.
They work with ultra-wealthy families and institutional executives.
Select Advisor Institute’s advisor-benchmarking studies show that boutique RIAs—though smaller—often rival these divisions in client retention, access, and responsiveness.
Why Rankings Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Rankings measure assets, growth, and compliance.
They don’t measure trust, transparency, or listening.
That’s why Amy Parvaneh and her team at SAI encourage investors to pair data with dialogue—understanding not just who’s top-ranked but why.
How to Check Credibility
Use verified public databases:
SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure – adviserinfo.sec.gov
FINRA BrokerCheck – finra.org
Cross-check registration, disciplinary history, and fiduciary status.
SAI routinely uses these same tools when auditing advisory firms for investors.
Six Questions to Ask Before You Choose an advisor:
You talk a lot about your large number of firmwide assets. Is that from acquisitions or actual organic growth? (hint, anyone can do an acquisition with PE money behind them; it’s organic growth that shows real interest from NEW investors).
How does your fee structure work? If 1% on assets, am I paying additional for the mutual funds and ETF’s you manage?
How do you get paid? How are your incentivized?
How many clients do you personally advise? Red flag is If over 100 clients, unless they have great systems, infrastructure and technology in place to provide customized, hands-on services to you.
Who manages my portfolio daily? Do you outsource this entire process? If so, what am I paying you for then?
Do you coordinate tax and estate planning? If so, what does that mean? What do I have to do, what do YOU do?
These are a sliver of the core questions Select Advisors’ Vetting Framework - a checklist built from reviewing hundreds of firms nationwide.
Select Advisors Institute has worked with over 1,000 financial advisors and firms.
What to Look for Beyond AUM
A 2025 MarketWatch survey ranked:
Charles Schwab — most trusted brand
Fidelity — top for service reputation
Vanguard — leader in long-term value
Trust is now the industry’s real performance metric.
According to Amy Parvaneh, “Scale wins attention. Trust keeps clients.”
That principle guides SAI’s consulting work with both investors and advisory firms.
The Select Advisors Institute View
Select Advisors Institute, founded by Amy Parvaneh, helps investors and advisory firms raise the standard of trust, communication, and transparency.
As a former private-wealth executive, Amy built SAI to bridge institutional discipline with boutique care.
SAI analyzes firm data—AUM, structure, client ratio, leadership stability—and translates it into what clients can actually feel: consistency and clarity.
“A top wealth manager isn’t the one with the largest book,” Amy says.
“It’s the one who earns your calm when markets move.”
The Takeaway
Big firms manage the most money.
Boutiques often manage the most trust.
Both matter—but only one fits you.
Check the data.
Read the rankings.
Then listen to the people behind them.
Because wealth isn’t about the firm you choose.
It’s about the relationship you build.
For tools to evaluate your advisor through the Select Advisors Institute Vetting Framework, visit
selectadvisorsinstitute.com/investor/how-to-find-a-trusted-financial-advisor.
References
Financial Times — “BlackRock’s assets surge to $13.5 tn”
Wikipedia — “The Vanguard Group”
Barron’s — “Top 1200 Financial Advisors 2025”
U.S. SEC — Investment Adviser Public Disclosure
How to find a trusted wealth manager in 2026. Expert insights from Amy Parvaneh and Select Advisors Institute on trust, alignment, and transparency.