Schwab Institutional announced the winners of its second annual IMPACT Awards at the IMPACT 2007 conference in Las Vegas yesterday. The awards honor advisors and firms that have advanced the industry through leadership, operational excellence, technological innovation and extraordinary growth. Winners were presented with a trophy and a donation from Schwab to the charity of their choice.

Dr. Lewis J. Altfest, president of L.J. Altfest & Co. in New York City, won the Charles R. Schwab IMPACT Award for his impressive contributions to the financial services industry. Once a one-man shop, Altfest has grown his firm to include a 21-person staff managing $550 million in client assets. The firm's annual growth is now 20% to 25%. Altfest developed Total Management Portfolio, a wealth management system built on the idea that an advisor must understand how a client thinks in order to create a successful financial plan. He also helped to create the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, the leading organization of fee-only planning professionals in the United States.

The Best-in-Business Award was presented to Moneta Group of St. Louis, for its success in delivering a broad range of services. Moneta has doubled its assets under management to more than $6 billion in the last five years without taking on any new clients. The firm focuses on being the "Family CFO" for all of its clients, with a commitment to providing them with high quality services and close relationships.

Friedman & Associates of Novato, Calif., received the Best-in-Tech Award. Using technology to increase productivity, Friedman was able to double its number of clients, triple its assets under management and add a variety of services without hiring additional staff. President Greg Friedman also helped create Your Silver Bullet, an organization dedicated to developing software applications that share data more easily, enabling advisors to spend more time serving clients.

The Pacesetter Award was presented to Abacus Planning Group of Columbia, S.C., which has grown from a two-person staff with a small number of clients to 16 employees serving 145 clients with more than $500 million in assets. The firm applies various practice management tactics in order to improve the company's team-based culture and develop employees focused on company growth.