The 2012-2017 Five Star Wealth Manager Award is based on the following criteria:
Eligibility Criteria (Required)

1.Credentialed as an investment advisory representative (IAR), a FINRA registered representative, a CPA or a licensed attorney.
2. Actively employed as a credentialed professional in the financial services industry for a minimum of five years.
3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review. *
4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal firm standards.
5. Accepting new clients.

Evaluation Criteria (Considered)
1. One-year client retention rate.
2. Five-year client retention rate.
3. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered.
4. Number of client households served.
5. Education and professional designations.

A favorable regulatory and complaint history review is defined by Five Star Professional, as the person cannot have: (1) Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended ore revoked, or payment of a fine, (2) Had more than a total of three customer complaints filed against them (settled or pending) with any regulatory authority or Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process, (3) Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint filed with a regulatory authority, (4) Filed for personal bankruptcy, or (5) Been convicted of a felony.

The Five Star Wealth Manager award does not evaluate the quality of service provided to clients. Recipients of the award may have had unfavorable ratings. 2,732 award candidates in the Seattle area were considered for the Five Star Wealth Manager award. 664, approximately 24% of award candidates, were named 2013 Five Star Wealth Managers. The 664 award winners represent less than 6% of the total wealth managers in the area. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager’s future performance. The Five Star Wealth Manager Award is administered by Crescendo Business Services, LLC (dba Five Star Professional). Candidates and winners do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. Once awarded, winners may opt to purchase additional profile ad space or related award promotional products.