Bailard Named ‘Top 100’ Firm in Two Prestigious Industry Awards
– Bailard celebrates 3 consecutive years on CNBC’s FA 100 list
– Awards recognize Bailard’s growth, diversity, industry tenure, and more
Bailard, an independent, values-driven wealth and asset management firm in the San Francisco Bay Area, is thrilled to announce it has been named to two prestigious industry award lists: Barron’s Top 100 RIA Firms and CNBC’s Financial Advisor 100.
The awards recognize numerous factors integral to Bailard’s culture and success, including diversity of staff, assets under management, investment in technology, succession planning, and number of years in the business.
This year is Bailard’s third consecutive year on CNBC’s FA 100 list. Out of 38,802 RIA firms, Bailard ranked ninety-seventh on CNBC’s list. And, in its first appearance, Bailard ranked ninety-eighth on Barron’s list. The rankings come on the heels of Bailard CEO Sonya Mughal, CFA’s recognition as one of the Most Influential Women in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times.
“In our fifty-second year of business, it is an incredible honor to be recognized–not once, but twice–as one of the top 100 firms in our space,” said Mughal. “We believe our values-driven culture, focused on core principles like independence, excellence, and accountability, fuel not only our commercial success, but also our close-knit culture and long-standing client relationships.”
Bailard is an employee-owned firm: 68 percent of employees are shareholders in the business, and 49 percent of shareholders are women or members of minority groups. Bailard manages $5.3 billion (a 33 percent year-over-year increase) and maintains a 98 percent client retention rate.* The firm is tenured enough to endure and thrive through market cycles, but small enough to remain responsive and selective.
Bailard’s personal, high-touch approach to wealth management fuels its success. Bailard focuses first on getting to know each client personally.
“A strong understanding of a client’s goals, as well as their attitudes toward money, is essential to building the right financial strategy,” said Michael Faust, CFA, President of Wealth Management. “Our client-first approach inspires trust and enables us to build with clients over time. We’re so pleased to be recognized again for our strengths in wealth management.”
The CNBC FA 100 and the Barron’s Top 100 RIAs both take a data-driven approach to each ranking. CNBC partnered with an independent data provider to analyze and force-rank the top 100 firms from an initial list of 38,802 RIA firms. Barron’s applies multiple layers of data analysis on a 102-question survey that each firm responds to. The goals of the awards are to recognize the best firms in the industry, with an eye toward improving industry standards overall.
* AUM as of 9/30/2021. The Bailard Wealth Management client retention rate for the five years ending December 31, 2020 was 98%. This number does not include terminations due to estate distributions, depleted accounts, accounts terminated by Bailard, or MY-FLEX® or MY-KIN® accounts.
About Bailard, Inc.
With over 50 years of experience, Bailard is an independent wealth and investment management firm that combines proven, proprietary methodologies with innovative new strategies to drive success for clients. For individuals and institutions alike, Bailard proudly serves as a trusted partner focused on achieving long-term results aligned with client values and goals. An independent firm since our founding in 1969, we stand committed to our values and, most importantly, our clients. With more than $5 billion AUM as of September 30, 2021, Bailard’s high-touch client service and proven track record are grounded in the firm’s core values of accountability, compassion, courage, excellence, fairness, and independence. To learn more about Bailard, please visit: https://bailard.com.
About the CNBC FA 100 methodology
CNBC enlisted data provider AccuPoint Solutions to assist with delivering the CNBC FA 100 ranking of registered investment advisors. The methodology consisted of first analyzing a variety of core data points from AccuPoint’s database of financial services firms from an initial list of 38,802 RIA firms. The list was cut to 749 RIAs that met CNBC’s proprietary criteria. (All the data collected from the RIAs was culled from the firm’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.) AccuPoint then applied weighted categories to further refine and rank the firms, ultimately creating the list of the top 100. These data points included: Advisor’s compliance record; Years in business; Number of employees; Number of investment advisors registered with the firm; Ratio of investment advisors to total number of employees; Total assets under management; Percentage of discretionary assets under management; Total accounts under management; Number of states where the RIA is registered; and Country of domicile. Bailard ranked 97 out of 100 in 2021, 86 in 2020, and 54 in 2019. This award does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients and is not indicative of the practice’s future performance. Neither the RIA firms nor their employees pay a fee to CNBC in exchange for inclusion in the FA 100.
About the Barron’s Top 100 RIA methodology
The 2021 Top 100 RIA Firms is Barron’s 6th annual ranking of independent advisory companies is based on assets managed by the firms, technology spending, staff diversity, succession planning and other metrics. Advisors who wish to be ranked fill out a 102-question survey about their practice. Barron’s then verifies that data and applies its rankings formula to generate a ranking. The formula features three major categories of calculations—Assets, Revenue, Quality of practice—with multiple sub-calculations in each. Bailard ranked 98 out of 100 on the 2021 list; this was Bailard’s first appearance. This award does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients and is not indicative of the practice’s future performance. Neither the RIA firms nor their employees pay a fee to Barron’s in exchange for inclusion in the Top 100 Advisors.
Bailard CEO Named Among “Most Influential Women in Business”
It’s not often that a CEO is recognized for their achievements just a few short months after taking the helm of a company. But those who know Bailard understand that Sonya Mughal has been influential in this business for decades –27 years, to be exact. Sonya’s long and impressive career at Bailard has taken her through various positions in the company, starting as an entry-level analyst to working her way to Chief Investment Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Chief Operating Officer. It’s no surprise, then, that upon her promotion to Chief Executive Officer in April, the San Francisco Business Times recognized her among their 2021 class of Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business.
The list honors women who work in a variety of fields from financial services, law, and technology to real estate, healthcare, and more. The Class of 2021 Most Influential Women have led their companies and teams through a period of unprecedented challenge. What they all share is an uncommon knack for leadership. And, in the words of Mary Huss, publisher of the San Francisco Business Times, the list is an opportunity to “recognize inspiring women leaders who individually and collectively have the strength, wisdom and influence to forge a better future.”
Sonya embodies Bailard’s shared company values of independence, courage, excellence, fairness, accountability, and compassion. She has played a key role in keeping Bailard independent over its 52-year history, and Sonya continues today, as only the third person to hold the title of CEO at the firm. Having accepted the post in the middle of the pandemic, Sonya has led with courage and compassion and her oversight helped maintain Bailard’s its focus on serving its clients with excellence, even as we continue in the virtual work world.
The San Francisco Business Times asked each recognized leader to share their wisdom, how they lead, what inspires them, and how they pay it forward. The videos were an important and inspirational part of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business virtual celebration held on October 7. Here’s what Sonya had to say about the importance of leading with compassion:
We are so proud of Sonya for having dedicated her career to Bailard and the financial services industry, helping to both further advance the industry and foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in financial services. Sonya has done this through her current role as a member of the Forbes Finance Council, and her prior roles of serving on the Schwab Advisor Services Advisory Board from 2018 to 2020 and on the Silicon Valley Community Foundation investment committee from 2012 to 2018.
Kenneth Blanchard, author of more than 60 books on work and leadership, once said, “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” Sonya’s compassionate, courageous, and values-driven approach has earned her influence not only at Bailard, but in the Bay Area community at large.
This recognition does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients and is not indicative of Bailard’s future performance. There was no cost to enter the program. Nominees are evaluated on their influence in their industries as well as in their communities. Board affiliations and other leadership roles are considered. To qualify for this honor, women must be based in the SFBT coverage area, which includes the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda, and Contra Costa. Previous honorees will only be eligible if they have changed companies or received a promotion. For more information about the 2021 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business list, please visit: https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2021/10/07/sfbt-influential-women-in-bay-area-business-2021.html