Finding a Top Financial Advisor Firm in Burlington, Vermont
If you’re on the prowl for a financial advisor, it can be tough to know which one is best suited for your needs. To help you find a fitting option, SmartAsset did the research to locate the top firms in Burlington, Vermont. Our experts sifted through company records and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings to find pertinent details about these firms' investment strategies, minimums, services and more. SmartAsset’s free financial advisor matching tool can also match you with as many as three financial advisors who serve your area.
Find a Fiduciary Financial Advisor
We match more than 50,000 people with financial advisors per month. Get connected to an advisor that serves your area today.Rank | Financial Advisor | Assets Managed | Minimum Assets | Financial Services | More Information |
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1 | Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Find an Advisor | $638,927,297 | $500,000 |
| Minimum Assets$500,000Financial Services
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2 | One Day In July LLC Find an Advisor | $569,936,310 | $25,000 |
| Minimum Assets$25,000Financial Services
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3 | Rock Point Advisors, LLC Find an Advisor | $553,585,275 | $500,000 |
| Minimum Assets$500,000Financial Services
|
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4 | WestView Investment Advisors, LLC Find an Advisor | $180,748,262 | $500,000 |
| Minimum Assets$500,000Financial Services
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What We Use in Our Methodology
To find the top financial advisors in Burlington, we first identified all firms registered with the SEC in the city. Next, we filtered out firms that don't offer financial planning services, those that don't serve primarily individual clients and those that have disclosures on their record. The qualifying firms were then ranked according to the following criteria:
- AUMFirms with more total assets under management are ranked higher.
- Individual Client CountFirms who serve more individual clients (as opposed to institutional clients) are ranked higher.
- Clients Per AdvisorFirms with a lower ratio of clients per financial advisor are ranked higher.
- Age of FirmFirms that have been in business longer are ranked higher.
All information is obtained through public records and is updated annually after the firms’ form ADV filing. This list may include firms that have a business relationship with SmartAsset, in which SmartAsset is compensated for lead referrals. Such relationships have no impact on our rankings, and firms are included and ranked based strictly on the above criteria. SmartAsset is not a client of the aforementioned firms, and did not receive compensation for including any of the firms on the aforementioned list.
Hanson & Doremus Investment Management
Hanson & Doremus Investment Management, the top-ranked firm in Burlington, has more assets under management than any other firm on our list. The firm employs five certified financial planners (CFPs) and four chartered financial analysts (CFAs). Hanson & Doremus is also the No. 4-ranked firm in the state.
A fee-only firm, Hanson & Doremus works with non-high-net-worth individuals, high-net-worth individuals, pension plans, charitable organizations and corporations. In order to become a client of the firm, you’ll need at least $500,000 in investable assets, though this requirement is waivable.
Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Background
Hanson & Doremus is the oldest firm on our list, having first set up shop in 1995. Today, the firm has several owners: Julie A. Won, Eric Sven Eklof Jr. and Arthur P. Wright.
Portfolio management and investment planning are the primary service offerings at Hanson & Doremus. This involves the creation of an investment portfolio, as well as ongoing monitoring and review of that portfolio. To the extent that a client explicitly requests it, the firm may also provide financial planning or consulting services, which may touch on subjects like estate planning, tax planning and insurance.
Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Investment Philosophy
Hanson & Doremus offers a tailored investment experience to each of its clients, as the firm centers its approach based on their investment goals, timeline until retirement and tolerance for risk. Once these factors are established, the advisor will go about devising an asset allocation that accounts for all of these factors. Portfolios will be revisited regularly to see if adjustments should be made.
The firm employs fundamental, technical and cyclical analysis when vetting potential securities. Fundamental analysis is the practice of examining the financial documents of a company or fund in order to gauge its intrinsic value, which can then be compared with its current market price. Technical and cyclical analysis both involve analyzing historical stock prices as a way to forecast future trends. The latter does this within the context of larger business cycles, though.
One Day In July LLC
One Day In July (ODIJ) is next on this list. Its minimum account size is not very exclusive, sitting at just $25,000. Most of the firm’s clients are individuals with and without a high net worth. A handful of pension plans, charities and businesses fill in the edges of the firm’s client base.
This is a fee-only firm, meaning it's compensation comes solely from the advisory fees that clients pay. ODIJ advisors do not sell financial products or insurance for commissions. The firm also appears on SmartAsset's list of the top firms in the state.
One Day In July Background
One Day in July was established in 2016. The firm's founder, Daniel Patrick Cunningham, acts as principal owner. Cunningham, a Vermont native, founded the firm after a career starting and running several businesses.
ODIJ provides clients with discretionary investment management and financial planning services. Additionally, the firm advises retirement plans on a non-discretionary basis. The firm also publishes an informational newsletter regularly that it circulates to its clients.
One Day In July Investment Strategy
ODIJ typically advises clients on securities like exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, fixed-income securities, equities, real estate investment trusts (REITs), treasury bonds, treasury inflation-protected bonds, treasury inflation-linked bonds, commodities and international securities.
When it comes to the creation of each client’s portfolio, the firm prefers taking a long-term view. In turn, it prioritizes asset allocation over individual security selection. The firm believes that a portfolio made up of a diverse array of asset classes holds the best chance for efficient returns in the long run.
Rock Point Advisors, LLC
Next up on our list is Rock Point Advisors, which is also ranked among the top financial advisory firms in the state. This firm employs three chartered financial analysts (CFAs) and one certified financial planner (CFP) on its small team.
At this fee-only firm, the majority of clients are high-net-worth individuals, with the rest being non-high-net-worth individuals, charitable organizations and businesses. The firm imposes an account minimum of $500,000.
As a fee-only firm, Rock Point's advisors do not sell financial products or insurance for commissions. Fees are charged as a percentage of a client's assets under management.
Rock Point Advisors Background
Founded in 2004 by firm president Michael Huffman and vice president Todd Wulfson, Rock Point Advisors has been serving clients for more than 15 years. Huffman and Wulfson continue to own the firm today, along with Timothy Humphrey.
Services at the firm include portfolio management and investment counseling, as well as financial planning to interested client. In additon to this, the firm provides portfolio management to certain clients via a wrap fee program that's sponsored by an external broker.
Rock Point Advisors Investment Strategy
Rock Point Advisors prizes value when it comes to considering potential investments for clients' portfolios. The firm believes that the most surefire way to achieve long-term returns is to invest in good companies at favorable prices. To find these companies and prices, the firm relies on fundamental analysis, which involves identifying undervalued companies by examining their primary financial documents.
When constructing client portfolios, advisors at Rock Point typically opt for some combination of equities, fixed-income securities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), open-end mutual funds, closed-end mutual funds and cash. The firm will diversify your funds across a selection of these asset classes.
WestView Investment Advisors, LLC
Rounding out our Burlington list is WestView Investment Advisors, which has two certified financial planners (CFPs) on staff, one of who, is also a chartered retirement plans specialist (CRPS).
Most of WestView's clients are high-net-worth individuals, but the firm works with almost as many non-high-net-worth individuals. The practice also works with charitable organizations and retirement plans.
The firm imposes a minimum account size of $500,000. WestView is a fee-only firm, meaning it earns revenue exclusively from the advisory fees that clients pay. Fees for portfolio management are based on a client's assets under management. The firm also offers standalone financial planning and consulting services for an hourly or fixed fee.
WestView Investment Advisors Background
WestView's predecessor firm was founded in November 1997 under the name Sokolowski Investment Advisors, LLC, although Westview was officially founded in 2019. The firm is owned by CEO Benjamin Nostrand.
Investment advising and financial planning are the premier offerings at WestView. The former comes on both a discretionary and non-discretionary basis. The latter can touch on investment or non-investment issues, including estate planning, insurance needs analysis, retirement planning and more. The firm also provides consulting services to qualifying retirement plans.
WestView Investment Advisors Investment Strategy
WestView applies several techniques when analyzing potential investments. This list includes cyclical analysis, technical analysis, fundamental analysis and charting. Technical and cyclical analysis are similar, in that they involve attempting to identify trends in historical price and volume data; cyclical analysis does so specifically in the context of the business cycle.
On the other hand, fundamental analysis is the practice of analyzing a company or fund’s financial documents and the overall economy in an attempt to gauge that entity's intrinsic value. From there, the firm can try to identify investments that the market is undervaluing. Charting is simply the act of visualizing price analyses through charts and graphs in order to better identify trends.