Our Approach & Methodology
How Veritant’s rankings are built, verified and maintained
Our approach to rankings is centered around recognizing advisors, teams, and firms who embody the characteristics that clients value most.
Research on how clients choose and evaluate an advisor points to a consistent set of priorities: confidence that the advisor is acting in their interest, clear and responsive communication, fees appropriate for the advice and service provided, demonstrated expertise and experience, and advice built around their full financial picture.
Our framework measures those qualities by combining verified quantitative data with direct, firsthand diligence rather than relying on either alone.
Our Approach
Every ranking begins with research.
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Who We Rank
Only those who complete an application will be considered for our rankings.
Any advisor, team or firm that meets our minimum eligibility criteria is invited to participate, regardless of firm size, business model, or affiliation. There is no cost to apply, and Veritant does not receive compensation from advisors, firms, or any other source in exchange for placement in our rankings.
Eligibility differs by list, because an individual advisor, team, and RIA are not measured the same way. Every applicant is evaluated against the same criteria for that ranking.
What we evaluate
What can be measured and what can only be assessed firsthand.
Quantitative factors are drawn from verified data, and qualitative factors from advisor submissions, our own research, and direct interviews. Our focus is the quality of each advisor’s investment process, not returns that are difficult to verify.
- Size and scale
- Growth
- Productivity
- Pricing
- Business mix
cycle
- Culture
- Services provided
- Client service approach
- Investment process
and governance - Technology utilization
- Experience and professional
qualifications
Verifying What We Collect
Self-reported data is one input, not the final word.
These conversations let us confirm what has been reported, ask about areas a data field cannot fully capture, such as investment process or succession planning, and form an independent view of an advisor, team or firm’s qualitative strengths.
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Applications provide the foundation for our research, capturing information about each advisor, team, or firm’s business, investment process, and approach to serving clients.
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Through telephone, video, and in-person conversations, we verify submitted information, explore what the data cannot capture, and form an independent view of each applicant’s strengths.
Regulatory and reputational review
We review regulatory disclosures through FINRA BrokerCheck, SEC filings, NAIC databases, and state insurance registries, and screen for adverse media. An unresolved material disclosure may make an advisor or firm ineligible for a given year’s ranking.
Independence and Objectivity
Who can be considered.
We design the methodology to decide who is ranked, without influence from advisors, firms, sponsors, or commercial partners. Firms help us confirm submitted data, but their role ends there. They have no input into how we evaluate or who makes the list.
Every application is measured against our published criteria, regardless of firm, distribution channel, or affiliation model.
Every application is evaluated without bias.
Scoring Integrity
There is no cost to apply and there is no cost to be ranked
We keep the exact formula behind our methodology confidential to protect the integrity of the process. We continually review our methodology and update it accordingly.