Financial Times rates advisers among ‘Top 401’ in US

Financial Times rates advisers among ‘Top 401’ in US

Kimberly Hammond. Courtesy Merrill Lynch

Three West Michigan financial advisers have been named among the best in the nation by an industry publication.

Two West Michigan Merrill Lynch advisers, Kimberly Hammond and Brett Howell, and Brad Pinter, a Stonebridge Financial Group adviser in Grand Rapids, were included on the fifth annual list of the “Top 401 Retirement Advisors” by the Financial Times.

The list published this fall represents the best industry professionals who specialize in advising U.S. employers on their defined contribution (DC) plans.

Methodology

Financial Times and its sister organization, Ignite Research, contacted large U.S. brokerages, independent advisers and other wealth managers to identify qualified applicants.

Applicants were required to advise on at least $75 million in DC plan assets and have at least 20% of their client assets in such plans.

The qualifying advisers completed a questionnaire about the nature of their practice.

Financial Times used six key criteria to rank the advisers: DC assets under management, growth rate of plans, specialization, years of advising experience, industry certifications and compliance records.

According to the Financial Times, “because each adviser takes different approaches to their practices,” the FT 401 list is unranked.

West Michigan honorees

Kimberly Hammond

Hammond provides wealth management services to corporate executives and their families out of her office in Muskegon.

Throughout her almost 30 years with Merrill Lynch, Hammond has helped clients “integrate their corporate benefits into a long-term financial strategy” that focuses on risk management.

She holds a B.A. in economics from Michigan State University.

Brett Howell

Howell is one of the founding partners of the Howell & Sharp Group with Merrill Lynch and works in Grand Rapids.

Since joining Merrill Lynch in 2000, he has focused his efforts on retirement planning for individuals, as well as qualified and non-qualified retirement plans for corporations and nonprofits.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from MSU.

Brad Pinter

Pinter is managing partner of Stonebridge Financial Group in Grand Rapids, which provides investment advisory services through a partnership with Troy-based Global Financial Group Advisors.

He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the retirement plan consulting business at Stonebridge and Global Financial. Since 2004, he has worked with closely held businesses, public companies and nonprofits, evaluating existing retirement plans to develop goals for success.

He holds a B.A. in liberal arts/business from MSU and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Detroit Mercy.