Top Financial Advisors in Columbus, OH

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Hamilton Capital leads off our list of the top financial advisors in Columbus. The fee-only firm's staff includes Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®), chartered financial analysts (CFAs), certified public accountants (CPAs) and a number of other financial certifications.

The firm has a $500,000 suggested asset minimum, and it requires wealth and investment management clients to pay a minimum quarterly annual fee of $1,250. Fees are based on a percentage of assets under management.

In the past, Hamilton Capital has been also named to the Financial Times' Top Financial Advisors list a number of times, including every year from 2014-2020. 

This firm offers investment management, wealth management, services to fiduciaries and 401(k) plans.

The firm believes its process is what sets it apart from other financial advisors. The investment committee uses fundamental analysis to assess asset classes, not just individual securities, which is the common method. The company looks at a six-month to 24-month timeline and invests for the long term.

Hamilton Capital doesn’t use model portfolios. The firm specializes in top-down portfolio management and selects outside management firms for bottom-up security selection. This helps each manager complement each other’s style.

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Windsor Advisory Group is an advisory firm serving both individual and institutional clients. The majority of the firm’s individual clients have a high net worth. Its institutional clients include pooled investment vehicles, retirement plans, charitable organizations and corporations. Windsor's staff includes advisors with professional designations like the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), certified investment management analyst (CIMA), certified public accountant (CPA) and more.

Fees at Windsor may be based on a percentage of assets under management, a fixed rate or some combination of the two. Advisors do not make commissions for selling securities or financial products, making this a fee-only firm. The firm generally wants clients with a net worth of at least $10 million, but it has the discretion to lower this threshold.

Founded 2002 Windsor Advisory Group offers consulting on tax, estate, charitable giving, insurance, banking and private business matters, as well as portfolio management. The firm also acts as a personal CFO and coordinates with clients’ professional teams.

Windsor Advisory Group builds customized investment plans based on each client’s goals, liquidity needs and financial objectives. Portfolios may include private investments, separately managed accounts (SMAs), ETFs, mutual funds and proprietary Windsor investment funds. The firm emphasizes third-party manager selection using both qualitative and quantitative analysis, with ongoing reviews and a focus on alignment and process consistency.

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Summit Financial Strategies is a fee-only firm that has Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®), chartered financial counselors (ChFCs), chartered financial analysts (CFAs) on staff, as well as other credentialed professionals.

There is no minimum account size requirement, but you are subject to a $2,500 minimum annual fee for investment advisory services. The minimum fee is $10,000 for wealth management services and $500 for eSummit, an automated portfolio management system, more commonly referred to as a robo-advisor.

Founding 1994, Summit Financial offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory services, as well as comprehensive wealth management services that combine investment advice and financial planning. The firm also offers stand-alone financial planning, eSummit services for smaller relationships and a separate tax planning service. Clients may also request implementation assistance for non-investment matters like estate or insurance planning.

The firm primarily allocates client assets among mutual funds, ETFs, individual securities, and cash equivalents, based on each client’s investment objectives. The firm uses fundamental and cyclical analysis and employs strategies including long- and short-term purchases, and, if directed by the client, may also use options, short sales or margin transactions.

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Gryphon Financial Partners is a fee-based financial advisor firm with billions in client assets under management. The majority of the firm’s individual clients have a high net worth, though it also manages money for non-high-net-worth clients, charitable organizations. The firm also has a small institutional business managing money for pension and profit-sharing plans.

Gryphon's team includes Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®), certified private wealth advisor (CPWA), among others. Fees for services may be based on a percentage of assets under management, a fixed fee or an hourly fee. There is no minimum fee or investment at Gryphon, though it does state that its services and fees may be cost-prohibitive for those with less than $1 million in investable assets.

Some of the advisors at Gryphon can sell securities on a commission basis, making it a fee-based firm. While this presents a potential conflict of interest, the firm's fiduciary duty means it must act in clients' best interests. 

Gryphon Financial Partners was founded in 2014 and now offers the following services:

• Investment management
• Non-discretionary investment consulting
• Financial planning
• Estate planning
• Retirement planning
• Tax planning
• Wrap fee programs

The firm uses an active, diversified, total-portfolio investment approach. Strategies include fundamental and technical analysis, asset allocation and both long- and short-term investments. The firm may use margin, options and third-party managers. Its Gryphon Global Equity Portfolio applies quantitative and qualitative methods to select all-cap global stocks aiming for long-term returns.

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AA Financial Advisors (Antolio & Associates) is a fee-based firm that works mostly with individual clients who do no have a high net worth. Among the hundreds of clients AA Financial Advisors serves, others are high-net-worth individuals, those with pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and corporations.

The AA team includes advisors who hold the Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®) and chartered financial consultant (ChFC) designations. In addition, the firm has no minimum account size requirement.

AA Financial Advisors, which was founded in 1985, offers financial planning through its UltraVision System®, which includes data gathering, modeling and recommendations. It also provides ongoing support via The UltraVision Club™, portfolio management services using strategies such as active/passive investments and automated digital portfolios.

When it comes to investing clients' assets, the firm's strategy consists of three main components: a foundational approach, strategic asset management and intelligent portfolios.

The foundational approach is designed to allow the firm to customize client's portfolios with mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), diversified passive or active portfolios, individual bonds real estate investments and private equity. The firm will also incorporate tax management strategies to help improve after-tax returns.

The firm's strategic asset management is a defensive, technical analysis-based approach that relies on ETFs and low-cost mutual funds. Intelligent portfolios, meanwhile, include automatic rebalancing and no transaction fees. 

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The Joseph Group Capital Management has a $500,000 minimum asset requirement, though the firm may be willing to waive this at its discretion. This is also a fee-only operation, meaning all of its compensation comes from client-paid fees.

The firm's staff includes certifications such as Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), chartered financial analyst (CFA), chartered alternative investment analyst (CAIA), qualified kingdom advisor (QKA), certified public accountant (CPA), chartered retirement plans specialist (CRPS) and more.

The Joseph Group, which opened its doors in 1999, ooffers discretionary investment management and financial planning services. It also provides consulting services to retirement plan sponsors, including investment guidance, fiduciary education and platform evaluation. Planning services cover areas such as retirement, taxes, insurance and estate planning, typically at no additional cost to clients.

Working with The Joseph Group means your portfolio will use a set strategy developed by the firm’s advisors. The five strategies are: the conservation strategy, the provision strategy, the harvest strategy, the abundance strategy and the home grown stock portfolio. Each strategy corresponds with a risk level (volatility) and objective. If you have a smaller account, the firm has the provision seed strategy, the harvest seed strategy and the abundance seed strategy. 

The firm developed the strategies based on the idea that clients have one of four common goals for their money: to protect principal and maintain liquidity, to sustain a certain lifestyle over an extended period of time, to grow assets toward a long-term goal or to get to a higher level of wealth by growing capital.

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Frazier Financial Advisors, a fee-based firm, works with hundreds of individual clients both above and below the high-net-worth threshold. Members of the Frazier Financial Advisors team hold several professional certifications, including the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), chartered financial analyst (CFA), certified fund specialist (CFS), retirement plan advisor (RPA) and enrolled agents (EA) designations. 

Founded in 1997, the firm has no minimum account size requirement. Its advisory services include investment management, financial planning, as well as the selection of third-party advisors, platforms and programs. In terms of financial planning, Frazier Financial Advisors offers services for estate planning and trustee oversight, integrated tax planning, family philanthropy planning and risk management. 

Frazier Financial Advisors constructs portfolios using a range of securities, including equities, debt instruments, mutual funds, ETFs, options, futures, limited partnerships, and annuities. The firm applies strategies such as fundamental, technical and cyclical analysis, as well as modern portfolio theory. Investment advice is based on each client’s risk tolerance and objectives.

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TSG Advice Partners, a fee-only firm that's been in business since 2019, does not have a minimum investment or account size requirement. It's no surprise that the vast majority of invidividual clients do not have a high net worth, although the firm also works with high-net-worth individuals, charitable organizatoins, corporations and other businesses. 

The firm offers financial planning, consulting, investment management and retirement plan consulting services. Financial planning includes cash flow, tax, retirement, education, estate and protection planning. Investment services are delivered on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis and often use ETFs. TSG also offers tax preparation and retirement rollover consulting.

As a client, you'll have access to a team that includes Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®), chartered retirement planning counselors (CRPCs), certified public accountants (CPAs), among other credentialed professionals. 

TSG Advice Partners builds portfolios primarily using ETFs, favoring them for their lower costs and tax efficiency. The firm uses a third-party institutional modeling system to guide portfolio construction across risk tolerances, ranging from aggressive equity to conservative allocations. TSG may also incorporate mutual funds, options, inverse ETFs or alternative investments when appropriate.

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Up next on our list of the top advisors in Columbus is John E. Sestina and Company, a firm that works exclusively with individual clients, both above and below the high-net-worth mark.

Financial planning services at the firm carry a minimum $4,000 annual fee. Portfolio management services, on the other hand, carry a minimum investment requirement of $100,000. John E. Sestina and Company is a fee-only firm, meaning its advisors do not earn third-party commissions.

John E. Sestina and Company was founded in 1970, making it the oldest firm on our Columbus list. The firm provides clients with full service financial planning, portfolio management and financially educational seminars. It may provide multiple services at the same time.

John E. Sestina and Company tailors its advisory services to the financial needs and investment objectives of its clients. It does so on a client-by-client basis, so it's rare that two investment strategies are exactly the same. Advisors primarily use mutual funds to invest client assets, but may also use fixed-income securities, real estate funds, insurance products, equities, ETFs, bonds, commodities, venture capital funds and more.

Advisors at John E. Sestina and Company heavily rely on modern portfolio theory to inform their investment decisions, which means the f firm believes in diversification. It primarily trades investments on a long-term basis.

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Waller Financial Planning Group (WFPG) caps off our list of the top financial advisors in Columbus. This fee-only firm manages hundreds of millions in client assets. The firm's clients include individuals with and without a high net worth and charitable organizations. For advisory services, clients either pay asset-based fees, hourly fees or fixed fees. 

Some of WFPG’s advisors’ industry credentials include the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), chartered financial consultant (ChFC), accredited estate planner (AEP), chartered financial analyst (CFA) and chartered advisor in philanthropy (CAP) designations. The firm does not have a minimum account size requirement, but it does have a $3,000 minimum annual fee.

WFPG began its operations in 1985. Founded by Larry Waller, the firm's primary advisory services include portfolio management and financial planning. The firm also sponsors its own wrap fee program through a partnership with Charles Schwab, and offers periodicals and newsletters. 

The firm builds and manages investment portfolios based on each client’s financial situation, goals and investment objectives. The firm uses a defined list of approved investments, primarily ETFs and mutual funds. It applies both fundamental and technical analysis, monitors market conditions, and may trade actively or hold securities long term. Discretionary authority is typically granted, meaning clients give the firm authority to make individual trades and transactions within their accounts without getting their approval each time.