Top Financial Advisors in Madison, WI

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Madison Investment Advisors is by far the oldest and largest financial advisor on our list. Madison specializes in managed account services, so it may be a more suitable firm for individuals who seek a strategically managed investment portfolio as opposed to general financial planning advice. 

Madison provides these services on a wrap-fee basis. Account minimums for its equity portfolio management are generally $500,000 while the minimum for its fixed-income portfolio is typically $1 million.

Madison has a massive client base primarily made up of individuals without a high net worth. However, the firm also works with a substantial number of high-net-worth individuals, as well as banking institutions, retirement plans, charitable organizations, government entitites, insurance companies, businesses and other investment advisors.  

The firm has a large team of advisors that includes numerous chartered financial analysts (CFAs) and several Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®). This firm is fee-only.

The firm's core expertise lies in active bond management (including corporate, government, and municipal bonds), risk managed equity management (primarily common stocks) and customized multi-asset portfolios.

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Baker Tilly Wealth Management is another large firm based in Madison with billions of dollars in assets under management. The firm does not have a specific minimum investment required of new clients, and it works primarily with individuals. High-net-worth individuals make up the largest portion of the firm's client base, with non-high-net-worth individuals coming in a close second. The firm also maintains advisory relationships with government entities and retirement plans.

Outside of its Wisconsin offices, Baker Tilly has advisors stationed in 16 other states, as well as Washington, D.C. The firm even has an international presence, with offices in Australia, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Germany, Singapore, Dubai and the U.K.

Certain advisors who work at Baker Tilly have the ability to receive commissions from insurance policy sales to clients. While this can induce a potential conflict of interest, the firm's fiduciary duty requires it to act in clients' best interests no matter what. This fee structure is different from a fee-only firm, which only collects payments from advisory clients, not third parties. 

Baker Tilly's services can be divided into two main categories: consulting and portfolio management. The former is focused on clients' various financial planning needs, like retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, education planning, insurance needs analysis and divorce planning. 

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Despite a low minimum account size of $5,000, Resonant Capital Advisors mainly works with high-net-worth individuals. This fee-based firm also serves individual clients below the high-net-worth threshold, as well as pooled investment vehicles, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and insurane companies.

Advisors at the firm have earned various certifications including Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), chartered financial consultant (ChFC) and chartered financial advisor (CFA).

Fees are generally charged either hourly or based on a percentage of assets under management. At least one advisor can earn commissions, though, which may pose a conflict of interest. But as fiduciaries,  Resonant advisors must act in the best interest of their clients. 

Services offered at the firm include portfolio management, financial planning, investment consulting, insurance planning, retirement planning, charitable giving, tax planning, estate planning and others. While each service is offered on a standalone basis, some of them are included in comprehensive wealth management. The firm uses a variety of strategies to build portfolios. Asset allocation is at the center, with four basic types of investments: cash and equivalents, fixed income, equities and non-traditional or alternative assets. 

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Madison Partners is a fee-only practice that primarily works with individual clients below the high-net-worth threshold. However, the firm also serves high-net-worth individuals. 

As a fee-only firm, Madison Partners and its advisors do not sell securities or insurance. As a result, the firm's compensation comes solely from the fees that clients pay for advisory services, not third-party commissions. Those fees are based on a percentage of a client's assets under management. 

Madison Partners, which does not impose a minimum account size, has advisors on staff who hold the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) and accredited asset management specialist (AAMS) designations. 

Madison Partners specializes in wealth management, an offering the combines portfolio management and financial planning. The firm also provides retirement plan advisory services, which may include vendor analysis, plan participant enrollment tracking, investment oversight and other options. 

Madison Partners works closely with each client to identify their investment goals and objectives, assessing both their risk tolerance and overall financial situation. The firm then uses this information to design an investment portfolio that consists of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and/or mutual funds. Advisors may also incorporate individual stocks, bonds, alternative investments and other types of assets into a client's portfolios. 

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Goldstein Advisors is a fee-based financial advisory firm that offers services to individuals, high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, corporations and other business entities. The firm typically does not impose a minimum account size in order to work with its advisors.

As a fee-based advisory firm, its advisors may earn a commission for the sale of certain securities. While this may create a potential conflict of interest, the firm is bound by a fiduciary duty. This means that it and its advisors must put the needs of the individual client first.

The advisors at Goldstein determine an investment strategy for each individual client based on their specific financial situation. Investment strategies and allocations are determined by pre-determined objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, financial information, liquidity needs and other factors. The client's individual restrictions may affect the composition of the overall portfolio. 

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Isthmus Partners' minimum account size for clients varies based on account type, but it starts at $2 million. As you may suspect from the high asset minimum, the firm primarily works with high-net-worth individuals and families. However, Isthmus also has non-high-net-worth individuals, retirement plans, charities and businesses as clients.

As a fee-only firm, Isthmus advisors do not earn commissions. Fees are generally based on a percentage of assets under management.

The team, which serves clients across the country out of an office in Madison, includes advisors who are chartered financial analysts (CFAs) and Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®).

Isthmus Partners offers portfolio management, investment advice, financial planning and institutional portfolios. This firm has two main strategies of portfolio management for individual clients: a large cap core equity counseled portfolio and a small cap core equity counseled portfolio. 

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Walkner Condon Financial Advisors is a fee-only firm that requires a minimum account size of $500,000. As a result, a substaintial portfolio of its client base comprises high-net-worth individuals. However, a majority of Walkner Condon clients fall below the high-net-worth threshold. The firm also works with charitable organizations. 

The firm's relatively small staff includes Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®), a chartered financial analyst (CFA) and a certified exit planning advisor (CEPA).

Services that the firm offers include portfolio management services, the selection of other advisors, financial planning and pension consulting. Its ongoing portfolio management services are based on the individual goals, objectives, time horizon, and risk tolerance of each client, and may include investment strategy, personal investment policy, asset allocation, asset selection, risk tolerance and regular portfolio monitoring.

The main strategies that Walkner Condon advisors use are modern portfolio theory (maximizing a portfolio's expected return for a given amount of risk, or minimizing risk for a given level of expected return) and long-term trading. A majority of assets under the firm's management are invested in exchange-traded equity securities.

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Park Capital Management is a fee-based firm with a team of advisors whose certifications include Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) and accredited investment fiduciary (AIF).

There is no explicitly stated investment minimum to become a client of Park Capital Management, though certain third-party managers or specific strategies may impose minimums depending on the circumstances.

A majority of the firm’s clients are individuals, both with and without high net worth. The firm also serves pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations and other business entities.

Park Capital Management tailors its investment advisory services to each client’s unique financial circumstances, goals, risk tolerance, time horizon and liquidity needs. The firm provides both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, as well as financial consulting and 401(k) consulting services. 

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Poehling Capital Management, Inc. (PCM) is a fee-based investment advisory and financial planning firm headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, with a branch office in La Crosse. The firm offers a variety of services, including financial planning, estate planning, discretionary and non-discretionary investment management. PCM’s team includes a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®). 

PCM generally requires a minimum account size of $250,000 for its core discretionary investment management services. Clients with less than $250,000 are served through a diversified mutual fund portfolio aligned with PCM’s value-oriented philosophy. 

The firm serves a range of clients, including individuals and high-net-worth individuals, trusts, pension and profit-sharing plans and charitable organizations. Portfolios are managed with an emphasis on value investing, typically using large-cap companies trading below intrinsic value, complemented by non-correlated assets to reduce risk and volatility. PCM also utilizes a combination of individual equities, mutual funds, ETFs, fixed-income securities and options as part of its strategic and tactical asset allocation process. 

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EnRich Financial Partners is a fee-based financial advisory firm that offers services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations and other business entities. The firm typically imposes an account minimum of $250,000. 

As a fee-based advisory firm, its advisors may earn a commission for the sale of certain securities. While this may create a potential conflict of interest, the firm and its advisors are bound by a fiduciary duty that requires that the client's needs take precedence above all else. 

All clients start working with the firm by conducting a discovery meeting to best understand the individual's needs, goals, values and more. This helps the advisors create a financial profile for that client before ever investing. Then the client will go through a number of specific meetings starting with a wealth planning meeting, then investment strategy and finally a meeting on their estate plan. This helps give each area of their financial picture the right attention that it needs. The specific investments depends on all of the factors covered in these meetings and is always individualized.