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Top Financial Advisors in Lafayette, LA

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This review was produced by SmartAsset based on publicly available information. The named firm and its financial professionals have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed this review and are not responsible for its accuracy. Review content is produced by SmartAsset independently of any business relationships that might exist between SmartAsset and the named firm and its financial professionals, and firms and financial professionals having business relationships with SmartAsset receive no special treatment or consideration in SmartAsset’s reviews. This page contains links to SmartAsset’s financial advisor matching tool, which may or may not match you with the firm mentioned in this review or its financial professionals.

Finding a Top Financial Advisor Firm in Lafayette, Louisiana

Trying to find a financial advisor in Lafayette, Louisiana? We can help. SmartAsset conducted in-depth research to find the top financial advisor firms in Lafayette. These firms have comprehensive services, clean records with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and more. You can also find an advisor by using SmartAsset's free financial advisor matching tool, which can connect you with up to three advisors who serve your area.

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Rank Financial Advisor Assets Managed Minimum Assets Financial Services More Information
1 Summit Financial Wealth Advisors Summit Financial Wealth Advisors logo Find an Advisor

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$1,430,463,689 $50,000
  • Financial planning
  • Portfolio management
  • Pension consulting
  • Selection of other advisors (including private fund managers)
  • Business consulting
  • Credit and cash management solutions
  • Divorce consulting

Minimum Assets

$50,000

Financial Services

  • Financial planning
  • Portfolio management
  • Pension consulting
  • Selection of other advisors (including private fund managers)
  • Business consulting
  • Credit and cash management solutions
  • Divorce consulting
2 BCM Advisors, LLC BCM Advisors, LLC logo Find an Advisor

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$578,113,956 Varies based on account type
  • Financial planning
  • Portfolio management

Minimum Assets

Varies based on account type

Financial Services

  • Financial planning
  • Portfolio management
3 Cullen Asset Management Cullen Asset Management logo Find an Advisor

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$675,404,152 $500,000
  • Financial planning
  • Portfolio management

Minimum Assets

$500,000

Financial Services

  • Financial planning
  • Portfolio management

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What We Use in Our Methodology

To find the top financial advisors in Lafayette, 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:

  • AUM
    Firms with more total assets under management are ranked higher.
  • Individual Client Count
    Firms who serve more individual clients (as opposed to institutional clients) are ranked higher.
  • Clients Per Advisor
    Firms with a lower ratio of clients per financial advisor are ranked higher.
  • Age of Firm
    Firms that have been in business longer are ranked higher.
  • Fee Structure
    Firms with a fee-only (as opposed to fee-based) compensation structure 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.

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors sits atop our list of top-rated firms in Lafayette, Louisiana. This fee-based firm also employs broker-dealer representatives and insurance agents who receive commissions from third parties in addition to client fees. That said, as an SEC-registered registered investment advisor, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors must uphold its fiduciary duty to always provide advice in the best interest of the client. 

To open an account with the firm, you’ll generally need a minimum investment of $50,000. The firm works with individuals, high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations and other business entities. 

In addition to being the No. 1 firm in Lafayette, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors is also ranked among the top 10 firms in the state of Louisiana by SmartAsset. 

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors Background 

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors was founded in 2010 as Summit Financial of Louisiana, Inc. It's a wholly owned subsidiary of Focus Operating, LLC, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of the Focus Financial Partners, LLC, a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

The firm provides portfolio management services and individual financial planning on topics such as saving for retirement and estate planning. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors also offers an automated model portfolio program through Charles Schwab, called Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. 

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors Investment Strategy

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors typically allocates clients’ assets into a model portfolio that the firm deems suitable based on the client’s risk tolerance, investment goals and other factors. These model portfolios are generally built with equity and fixed-income mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and individual bonds.

The firm uses both long- and short-term purchase strategies. Long-term purchases are securities that are held for at least one year, while short-term purchases are typically sold within a year of being acquired. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors may also use margin transactions and option writing. 

BCM Advisors, LLC

BCM Advisors is a fee-only advisory firm whose clients include individuals, high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans. The majority of the firm's assets under management belong to high-net-worth individuals and corporations. 

BCM's minimum account size for portfolio management is $250,000 and $500,000 for financial planning. Its advisory team holds certified financial planner (CFP) and certified public accountant (CPA) designations.

As a fee-only firm, BCM advisors do not receive transaction-based compensation. Instead, the firm's revenue comes solely from the fees that clients pay for services. 

Like Summit Financial Wealth Advisors, BCM Advisors is ranked among the top 10 firms in the state by SmartAsset. 

BCM Advisors Background

Founded in 1987, BMC Advisors is one of the longest-tenured firms on our list. Joseph Billeaud, the firm’s chief investment officer, is the majority owner of BCM through his sole ownership of JSB Investment Holdings, Inc. Director of advisor services George Holland, chief compliance officer Hille Domingue and Montgomery Gossen are all minority owners of BCM. 

BCM primarily focuses on financial planning and portfolio management. Advisory accounts are managed on a discretionary basis, meaning the firm's advisors have full control over portfolio decisions. 

BCM Advisors Investment Strategy

BCM offers a variety of investment portfolios based on a strategy that invests in stocks, bonds, precious metals and cash through various funds. BCM actively manages its portfolios using its proprietary Market Risk Model, which factors in current financial, economic and monetary data to assess market risks. 

Within portfolios, BCM takes a broad asset-based approach by owning mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), instead of focusing on individual securities. When evaluating individual mutual funds and ETFs, the firm examines a managers’ track record of investing through different economic conditions, as well as underlying assets of those funds.

Cullen Asset Management

Cullen Asset Management, also known as Cullen Investment Group, rounds out our list and ranks among the top 10 firms in the state by SmartAsset. 

In addition to being an investment advisor, the firm is also a broker-dealer. This means advisors may earn commissions in addition to advisory fees by investing client assets in particular securities. While this presents a conflict of interest, the firm has a fiduciary duty to always make recommendations in the best interests of its clients. 

To open an account with Cullen Asset Management, you generally need to make a minimum investment of $500,000. At its discretion, though, the firm may waive this requirement. Most of its clients are non-high-net-worth individuals, but the fee-based firm also works with high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, charities and corporations. 

Cullen Asset Management Background 

Cullen Asset Management opened for business in 1987. Founder and president David C. Bordes is the majority owner, while vice president Stephen L. Nickel owns a minority stake in the business. 

Bordes, who has about 40 years of experience in the financial services space, leads a team that primarily focuses on portfolio management services. To a limited extent, they also offer financial planning services covering non-investment-related topics such as budgeting and saving for retirement.

Cullen Asset Management Investment Strategy 

Cullen Asset Management generally invests client assets in portfolios built with stocks and bonds, and in some cases, mutual funds. The firm tailors these portfolios to the client’s risk tolerance and time horizon. It primarily relies on fundamental analysis when evaluating securities. This strategy entails deciphering the intrinsic value of a stock by exploring the company’s financials, the overall state of the market and other economic factors.

How Long $1mm Lasts in Retirement

SmartAsset's interactive map highlights places where $1 million will last the longest in retirement. Zoom between states and the national map to see the top spots in each region. Also, scroll over any city to learn about the cost of living in retirement for that location.

Least
Most
Rank City Housing Expenses Food Expenses Healthcare Expenses Utilities Expenses Transportation Expenses

Methodology We analyzed data on average expenditures for seniors, cost of living and investment returns to determine how many years of retirement a $1 million nest egg would cover in cities across America.

First, we looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the average annual expenditures of seniors. We then applied cost of living data from the Council for Community and Economic Research to adjust those national average spending levels based on the costs of each expense category (housing, food, healthcare, utilities, transportation and other) in each city. Using this data, SmartAsset calculated the average cost of living for retirees in the largest U.S. cities.

We assumed the $1 million would grow at a real return (interest minus inflation) of 2%. Then, we divided $1 million by the sum of each of those annual numbers to determine how long $1 million would cover retirement expenses in each of the cities in our study. Cities where $1 million lasted the longest ranked the highest in the study.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Council for Community and Economic Research