MagnifyMoney 
Cincinatti has plenty of choices, no matter what your passion or purpose. From fan-favorite baseball and football teams to the must-visit American Sign Museum, you know all about the city’s best. But how do you find the best financial advisor in Cincinnati (especially when we all know it’s called Cincy)?
Well, MagnifyMoney is here to help. We’ve gone through the rest to bring you the best financial advisors in Cincinnati. To determine our list of the best advisors in Cincy, we only considered firms that manage individual accounts and offer financial planning services, then ranked these firms based on assets under management (AUM). You can read up our detailed methodology.
And while we know that you’re always going to be the best person to determine who’s the best financial advisor for your dreams and goals, we’re glad you stopped by today to make us a part of your search. Because you deserve a trusted financial partner close to home.
Now, let’s get into our list of the best financial advisors in Cincinnati.
| Firm name | Minimum assets required | Fee structure |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. | $500,000 |
|
| Bahl & Gaynor Inc. | $750,000 |
|
| Johnson Investment Counsel, Inc. | Not specified |
|
| Bartlett & Co. Wealth Management LLC | Not specified |
|
| Truepoint, Inc. | $3 million |
|
| Connectus Wealth | $500,000 |
|
| Constellation Wealth Advisors | $1 million |
|
| Foster & Motley Inc. | $500,000 |
|
| Wealthquest Corporation | N/A |
|
| Madison Wealth Management | Not specified |
|
Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. kicks off our list of the best financial advisors in Cincinnati. Founded in 1990, the firm serves high net worth individuals and families, as well as a long list of institutional investors, including charitable organizations, insurance companies, pension and profit-sharing plans and others. For individuals and families — who generally must invest at least $500,000 — the firm’s private client group offers investment advisory, wealth management and financial planning services. The firm also serves as an advisor to some mutual funds that are available to the general public.
Headquartered in Cincinnati, the firm has three additional offices in Beechwood, Ohio; Albany, N.Y.; and San Francisco. Today, Fort Washington Investment Advisors is owned by Western & Southern Investment Holdings, and is the main investment division of Western & Southern Financial Group and its insurance affiliates.
Clients have access to more than a dozen proprietary strategies from Fort Washington Investment Advisors as well as to outside managers. Depending on the client’s unique needs, the advisors will decide whether to go with the firm’s products or outside managers; active or passive strategies; and mutual funds or separate accounts.
The firm may also offer more sophisticated products, such as options and derivatives, and give clients access to private equity funds.
Fort Washington Investment Advisors has a clean disciplinary record, meaning it discloses no disciplinary events over the last 10 years against the firm or an employee or affiliate that would be material to a client evaluating the firm or the integrity of the management team. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires all registered investment advisor firms to report such incidents in their Form ADV paperwork. To learn more, view the firm’s Investment Advisor Public Disclosure (IAPD) page.
Next on our list of the best financial advisors in Cincinnati is Bahl & Gaynor Inc.. Clients turn to the firm for portfolio management and financial planning services. The firm’s client list includes high net worth individuals and families, who the SEC defines as those with at least $750,00 under management or a net worth of at least $1.5 million. It also works with many institutional investors, such as charitable organizations, pension and profit-sharing plans, investment companies, businesses and others, and the team also advises some mutual funds available to the general public. The firm generally requires a minimum investment of $750,000.
The firm was founded in 1990 by Bill Bahl, the current president, and Vere Gaynor. Bahl & Gaynor is employee-owned and has a single office in Cincinnati.
The Bahl & Gaynor team believes in owning high quality, dividend growth stocks over the long term, defined as two to five years.
Advisors may directly manage a client’s account based on their unique needs, or they may choose to use one of the team’s seven model portfolios, which the firm’s investment committee is responsible for choosing investments for. The available model portfolios include an option with an environmental, social and governance (ESG) focus.
Bahl & Gaynor has a clean disciplinary record. The firm discloses no civil, criminal or regulatory events over the last 10 years that would be material in a client’s evaluation of the investment firm or the integrity of the management team. Learn more about the firm on its IAPD page.
Johnson Investment Counsel, Inc serves a broad list of clients, with its client base largely dominated by individual investors both with and without a high net worth. It also works with many institutional investors, including charitable organizations, pension and profit-sharing plans, government entities, corporations and others.
The firm’s main offering for individual investors is portfolio management, along with financial planning and family office services. The team also advises five mutual funds, the Johnson Mutual Funds Trust, available to the general public with a minimum investment of only $2,000. Additionally, Johnson Investment Counsel offers a robo-advisor program, Johnson Intelligent Portfolios, which requires clients to invest $5,000.
With roots dating back to 1965, today the firm is owned by 42 employees. The firm has its headquarters in Cincinnati, where it also has a second office, as well as additional offices in Ohio and Michigan.
Johnson Investment Counsel primarily establishes discretionary relationships with its clients, meaning clients turn over the daily decision-making in the account to their advisors. Based on a client’s needs and objectives, advisors will either create a custom portfolio for the client or invest their assets in a predefined strategy. Advisors may also recommend that clients invest some or all of all of their funds with a third-party investment advisor.
Typical asset classes used in client portfolios include the standard equities and fixed income as well as more sophisticated strategies, such as options and futures contracts, master limited partnerships and interest in real estate. The firm notes that, unless agreed upon, tax efficiency is not a primary consideration in the management of clients’ assets.
Johnson Investment Counsel has no disciplinary disclosures, meaning its record is free of any civil, criminal or regulatory events from within the last 10 years involving the firm or its employees or affiliates. The SEC requires registered investment advisors to disclose any such events that would be material to a client when evaluating the firm or the integrity of its management team. For more information about the Johnson Investment Counsel, visit its IAPD page.
Bartlett & Co. Wealth Management LLC offers portfolio management and financial planning services. The latter, which may be part of the portfolio advisory engagement or a separate consulting agreement, may address topics such as retirement planning, estate planning, education savings, cash flow analysis and others. Most of the firm’s clients are individuals and families, including those who do and do not qualify as high net worth per the SEC’s definition. The firm also serves institutions such as foundations, endowments, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans and others.
Bartlett & Co. Wealth Management is part of the Focus Financial Partners brand, a public company traded on the NASDAQ that has more than 75 RIA partner firms. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Bartlett & Co. Management acquired Lodestar Investment Counsel, LLC in Chicago in 2019 and now has a Windy City location as well. The firm traces its roots back to 1898.
Bartlett & Co. Wealth Management focuses on active management. The team typically invests clients’ money among mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and individual stocks and bonds. International equities are spread across geographies and across developed and emerging economies. To meet small cap and international allocations, the team utilizes mutual funds and ETFs to minimize expenses. The team also may recommend that clients invest with unaffiliated managers.
The firm typically works with clients on a discretionary basis, meaning clients give control to Bartlett & Co. Wealth Management to make the day-to-day trading decisions in their account.
Bartlett & Co Wealth Management reports no disclosures on its Form ADV paperwork filed with the SEC. This means that neither the firm nor its employees or affiliates have encountered a civil, criminal or regulatory issue within the last decade. You can learn more about the firm by visiting its IAPD page.
Truepoint, Inc. marks the middle of our list of the best financial advisors in Cincinnati. The firm’s client base includes individuals and families both with and without a high net worth, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans and charitable organizations. Services offered by the firm include investment management, financial planning, tax management, risk management and estate planning.
For wealthy families with investable assets of more than $20 million, the firm also offers family office services such as bill paying, generational planning and trust administration. Otherwise, the firm has a suggested portfolio minimum of $3 million to have a traditional relationship directly with an advisor. That said, all clients, regardless of account size, have access to the firm’s Commas brand, which offers access to an online program for portfolio management, as well as a traditional financial advisor to assist with financial planning services, such as student loan consolidation, budgeting and retirement planning.
Truepoint was founded in 1990 by Michael Chasnoff, who is currently the firm’s CEO, and is employee-owned. Since 2016 Truepoint has owned fellow Cincinnati-based advisory firm RhineVest Advisors, now named Commas, which brings the company total to two offices in Cincinnati.
Truepoint’s advisors do not believe the high costs of active investing are worth it. In fact, the team says the primary driver of returns is often investment behavior. Thus, Truepoint’s investing philosophy focuses on adhering to long-term investing goals through low-cost index funds.
In addition to providing advice on mutual funds and ETFs, the firm sometimes weighs in on private equity investments, hedge funds and other sophisticated products available only to certain high net worth investors.
Truepoint discloses no disciplinary or legal events against the firm or an employee or affiliate over the last 10 years that would materially impact a client’s evaluation of the business or the integrity of the management team. The SEC requires all registered investment advisors to report any such events in their Form ADV paperwork. You can learn more about Truepoint by viewing the firm’s IAPD page.
Connectus Wealth provides investment advisory services to individuals, including those who are high net worth, as well as families and family offices, trusts, businesses, charitable foundations and retirement/profit-sharing plans. The firm primarily serves retail investors, and it offers investment management and financial planning. The minimum portfolio size or initial investment is generally $500,000 for asset management services.
Connectus is part of the Focus Financial Partners partnership, and the firm is managed by Amy DeTolla. The firm was founded in 2003 and expanded its services into Canada in 2021. Connectus also has offices in Maryland and Connecticut.
Connectus approaches client relationships by first determining their financial condition, risk profile, goals, liquidity constraints and other factors before determining a customized plan tailored to the investor’s individual circumstances. The firm generally — but not always — has long-term investing strategies for its clients.
Portfolios are crafted with fundamental methods of market analysis, and Connectus utilizes securities including mutual funds, ETFs, equity securities, corporate bonds, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and variable annuities for its clients.
Connectus provides advisory services on a discretionary basis, meaning that clients waive the right to pre-approve trades or other transactions.
Connectus Wealth reports no disciplinary disclosures within the last 10 years on its Form ADV. The SEC mandates that investment firms must report any regulatory, criminal or civil infractions from the last decade from the firm or any of its employees or affiliates. Review the firm’s IAPD page for more information.
Constellation Wealth Advisors, legally known as Quadrant Capital Group, LLC, provides investment management and financial planning services out of its single office in Cincinnati. The firm serves individual investors and families who are and are not considered high net worth, with a focus on entrepreneurs, private business owners and executives. It also works with pooled investment vehicles, charitable organizations and pension and profit sharing plans. The firm generally requires a minimum relationship size of $1 million.
Founded in 2009, Constellation Wealth Advisors is owned by managing partners Patrick Lafley and John Williams.
At Constellation Wealth Advisors, clients’ investment profiles are based on their goals, and they can generally choose from growth, balanced and conservative investing strategies. The firm generally invests client money in a mix of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, separately managed accounts and alternative investments. In certain cases, clients have access to private placements and hedge funds.
Constellation Wealth Advisors has a fairly even mix of discretionary and non-discretionary relationships, meaning that for about half of the clients’ assets under management advisors must get approval from clients before making trades. The firm’s investment committee generally meets on a weekly basis to discuss investment opportunities.
Constellation Wealth Advisors has no disciplinary disclosures to report, meaning it has a clean record with no regulatory, civil or criminal actions against either the company or its employees or affiliates from within the last 10 years. Learn more by viewing the firm’s IAPD page.
Foster & Motley Inc. has two primary lines of business: investment management and financial planning, which clients can opt to bundle together under one fee or use independently. Financial planning topics addressed by the firm may include retirement, college funding, insurance, estate planning and taxes.
The firm, which has a $500,000 account minimum requirement, offers these services primarily to individual investors who both are and are not considered high net worth. Rounding out the firm’s client list are pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and other businesses.
Foster & Motley dates back to its founding in 1996. The firm has a single office in Cincinnati and is owned by 13 individual shareholders.
Foster & Motley invests client funds in individual stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds and real estate. Rather than follow a strictly value or growth philosophy, the team aims to combine these two approaches by investing in quality companies at reasonable prices.
The team looks for stocks with greater than average dividend yield and greater than market dividend growth, as well as lower valuation and higher quality.
The firm also sometimes uses Charles Schwab’s automated online investing platform to invest client money in strategies managed by the firm’s advisors. Investments are limited to ETFs and mutual funds. For this option, clients must custody their assets at Charles Schwab.
Foster & Motley has a clean disciplinary record. For reference, all registered investment firms are required by the SEC to disclose any legal or disciplinary actions against the firm or an employee or affiliate that would materially impact a client’s evaluation of the business. You can learn more about the firm by visiting its IAPD page.
Founded in 2006, Wealthquest Corporation offers a tiered range of services depending on a client’s account size:
Wealthquest Corporation is owned by its employees, with the principal owners being the CEO Wade Daniel, president James Lenhoff and other executives. Headquartered in Cincinnati with other offices in Oak Brook and Naples (both in Illinois), the firm serves individual investors who are and are not high net worth, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans and charitable organizations.
The firm’s investment committee creates various strategies, which are then deployed into a myriad of asset allocation models. These allocation models range from conservative to aggressive and carry particular types of risk.
To implement these models, the firm may invest clients’ money in a mix of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, structured notes, options contracts and certificates of deposit (CDs). The firm also uses margin transactions and options strategies.
For clients in the online Ascend program, accounts are invested in strategies managed by Wealthquest consisting largely of ETFs and cash. Clients must have a Charles Schwab or TD Ameritrade brokerage account for this program.
Wealthquest Corporation has a clean disciplinary record. As a registered investment advisor, the firm is required by the SEC to disclose any legal or disciplinary actions in the last 10 years involving either the firm or an employee that would materially impact a client’s evaluation of the business or the integrity of the management team. To learn more, view the firm’s IAPD page.
Headquartered in Cincinnati with additional offices in Leesburg, Va., and Bethesda, Md., Madison Wealth Management caps off our list of the best financial advisors in Cincinnati. The firm offers investment management and financial planning services. Clients can also request consultations on specific services.
The firm’s client base is primarily individual investors, both with and without high net worths, and it also works with institutions, such as pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and corporations and other businesses.
Legally known as Madison Financial Advisors, Ltd., the firm was founded in 2000. It is owned by six of its principals.
Advisors at Madison Wealth Management create custom portfolios that are unique to each client. The firm’s strategy hinges on strategic asset allocation, and portfolios may include a mix of stocks, bonds, actively and passively managed mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds and private partnerships. Sometimes riskier strategies like margins and options are used. For specialized expertise and knowledge, the firm may tap certain third-party managers.
Most clients choose to engage with Madison Wealth Management on a discretionary basis, meaning clients give control of the daily decision-making to their advisor.
Madison Wealth Management has no disciplinary disclosures to report. Like all registered investment advisors, the firm is required by the SEC to disclose any civil, criminal or regulatory actions against the firm or an employee over the last 10 years that would be material to a client’s evaluation of the firm. For more information, visit the firm’s IAPD page.
Ohio is a relatively low-cost state in terms of taxes, with a top income tax rate below 5%. Cincinnati residents pay an additional 2.10%. The state has no estate or inheritance tax, though residents may be subject to federal estate or inheritance taxes.
No, financial advisors can specialize in a range of services, which may or may not include retirement planning. Thus, it’s your job to appropriately vet potential advisors to be certain you find the best fit and expertise for your needs. For a complete list of questions you should ask financial advisor candidates, read this article.
No. The term financial advisor can be broadly used to describe a wide variety of professionals offering various investment services. You may be surprised to learn that only some advisors are fiduciaries, meaning they must put their clients’ best interests ahead of their own. Advisors who are not bound by fiduciary duty can recommend a product that is suitable for an investor but not necessarily the best. Read our article about the benefits of working with an advisor who is a fiduciary to learn more.
There are a number of designations that financial advisors can earn that may indicate advanced education or a certain level of experience. The certified financial planner (CFP), for example, ranks among the top of the pack, since it signals that an advisor has undergone extensive education and training and passed a rigorous exam. The chartered financial analyst (CFA) is another highly regarded designation, since it requires passing a difficult exam, though it tends to focus more on investment management than comprehensive financial planning like the CFP designation does.
Not all designations hold equal significance though, so make sure you research any certifications an advisor may hold. Don’t place too much weight on any designations that can be earned over the course of, say, a day. To learn more about the various certifications advisors can hold and what goes into earning them, go to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)’s website.
In our search for the best financial advisors in Cincinnati, we looked at firms throughout the city. All the firms considered are bound by fiduciary duty, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and offer individual account management and financial planning services. Information for our methodology criteria is taken directly from each firm’s most recent Form ADV filing and brochure, found in the IAPD database.
To localize our results for this list of the best financial advisors in Cincinnati, we exclusively looked at firms that met the above criteria and had their headquarters in Cincinnati, per the address provided in the Form ADV. We only considered those firms that offer financial planning services and portfolio management to individual investors. To be considered for this list, firms also could have no more than one disciplinary disclosure in the past 10 years. From there, the remaining firms that met all of the above stipulations were ranked in order of highest to lowest AUM, as this is an indication of a firm’s size and how many assets it has been entrusted to manage.
Our reviews have also listed several other key features that will help you determine which financial advisor may be most fitting for your investing style and financial needs. While our ranking system and methodology can help you compare firms, it does not indicate which firm may be best for you. All information here is accurate as of February 32, 2022, but don’t hesitate to check out any firm’s Form ADV for yourself on the SEC’s Investment Advisor Public Disclosure site.
Amanda GenglerAmanda Gengler has been researching and writing about finance for more than 15 years. She honed her personal finance writing as a journalist at Money magazine for a decade.
Read More
