News Feed

Brian Bova didn't expect to become a wealth manager. After graduating from the University of Washington, he got his law degree from the University of Arizona.

For Adam Estes, getting into the financial advisory business meant entering the family business. His father started his practice at Hilliard Lyons in 1972. "So it's always been in my blood," Estes says.

Sean Yu's career epitomizes the level of persistence and resilience required of young financial advisors.

Many of the Top 40 Advisors Under 40 can trace their success back to an early start. But it would be tough to beat Levi Nagel, who discovered his passion for investing when he started trading commodities in his father's brokerage account at the age of eight.

Shifting his skill set allowed Pastolove to provide services like philanthropic work, high-end accounting, tax, trust and estate work. As a result, his practice "became much more focused on clients, their families and their businesses," he says.

The Lincoln, Neb.-based financial advisor and his team spend 20 hours a week with clients' children to teach them how to make good decisions with money.

This year's #3 top advisor under 40 believes his deep understanding of the tax issues that affect his clients, many of whom are retired or are nearing retirement, is a key differentiator that sets his practice apart from other advisors.

Unlike most of the advisors on this list, this year's #2 top advisor under 40 is generating production off of investment ideas and trade execution for clients--some of which are hedge funds--whose assets are custodied outside the firm.

All young advisors can relate to the difficulties of starting out, but what separates top advisors is that they have been able to overcome the second major challenge to their career, the plateau, says this year's #1 top advisor under 40.

A new advisory firm plans to build its business by buying the practices of retiring advisors.