Forbes Top Financial Security Professionals 2022
Forbes is unveiling its annual ranking of America’s Top Financial Security Professionals (FSPs)—the professionals families rely on for wealth planning and protection, including insurance. Extensive research is conducted by our partner SHOOK Research.
SHOOK Research’s rankings are based on one simple notion: “Would we recommend these professionals to a family member or a friend?”
We’ve all seen rankings based on how much money people make—athletes, entertainers, artists, company founders, billionaires, corporate executives, and even rankings of financial professionals.
Numbers don’t tell enough of the story.
If you needed a life-critical operation, would you choose a surgeon solely based on how much money he or she makes? Arguably the most important quantitative element would be how many surgeries the doctor performed and the success rate.
But there is much more to our rankings. We look for individuals who are best prepared to engage in more meaningful conversations about life while protecting against the perils posed by disability, death or job loss.
To accomplish this task, we collect quantitative data, but we also interview FSPs to see if they are a role model we would recommend to the world.
There is a lot riding on our recommendations. More than 6 million Forbes readers and 116 million unique monthly visitors to Forbes.com have come to rely on our research to plan their financial futures.
The SHOOK Process
Our process begins by scouring the financial services industry—life insurance companies, banks, brokerages, agencies, custodians, and others for nominations. SHOOK accepts professionals who meet pre-determined minimum thresholds and acceptable compliance records.
FSP refers to professionals who are properly licensed to sell life insurance and annuities. FSPs may also hold other credentials and licenses which would allow them to offer investments and securities products through those licenses.
To date, SHOOK has evaluated more than 15,000 professionals for consideration in its rankings published by Forbes. Industry executives and peers nominated double that figure to 35,465. Not all met our standards for consideration and ranking.
SHOOK Research does not receive a fee in exchange for rankings.
Basic Requirements
Quantitative Elements
Qualitative Elements
U4/Compliance Issues
Once a FSP’s compliance rating falls into a tenable category, the following conditions must be met:
Ranking Algorithm
The algorithm we developed is designed to fairly compare the business practices of a large group of FSPs based on quantitative and qualitative elements. Data is weighted to ensure priorities are given to dynamics such as best practices, business models, recent business activity, among others. Each variable is graded and represents a certain value for each measured component. The algorithm measures thousands of FSPs against one another.
SHOOK Disclosures
Neither SHOOK nor Forbes receives any compensation in exchange for placement on its Top Financial Security Professional (FSP) rankings, which are determined independently (see methodology). FSP refers to professionals who are properly licensed to sell life insurance and annuities. FSPs may also hold other credentials and licenses which would allow them to offer investments and securities products through those licenses. Ranking algorithm is based on qualitative measures learned through telephone, virtual and in-person interviews to measure best practices, client retention, industry experience, credentials, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, such as: assets under management, sales figures and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and these professionals rarely have audited performance reports. Individuals must carefully choose the right FSP for their own situation and perform their own due diligence. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help individuals choose the right FSP and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com. SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC.
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Forbes Top Financial Security Professionals 2022
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