MagnifyMoney 
You’re likely here because you want a financial partner who’s close to home and someone you can trust with every curveball life throws your way. In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it can feel like there are nearly as many financial advisors in Minnesota. How do you decide which advisor is right for you?
The MagnifyMoney team has your back. We’ve curated a list of the best financial advisors in Minnesota to start your search off with more ease and focus. If you’re curious how we whittled-down firms to the 10 top advisors below, our detailed methodology has the answers.
And we know that you’re always going to be the best judge of which advisor will be the best fit for you. We’re just glad our list of Minnesota’s top financial advisors can be a part of your search for the financial partner you deserve.
| Firm | City | Minimum assets required | Fee structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC | Plymouth | Varies by account type, though generally $25,000 for investment management |
|
| Advanced Capital Group | Minneapolis | $5,000 for individual wealth management |
|
| Securian Financial Services, Inc. | St. Paul | Varies by advisory program, starting at $10,000 |
|
| Mairs & Power | St. Paul | Varies by investment strategy, ranging from $2 million to $5 million |
|
| Fiduciary Counselling Inc | St. Paul | No set account minimum |
|
| Choreo, LLC | Minneapolis | $1 million |
|
| Riverbridge | Minneapolis | $1 million |
|
| CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC | Minneapolis | No set account minimum, though minimum fees may apply |
|
| Thrivent Advisor Network, LLC | Minneapolis | No firm-wide minimum, though individual advisors may require one |
|
| Intellicents Investment Solutions Inc | Albert Lea | Not specified |
|
Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services launches our list of the best financial advisors in Minnesota. Founded in 2001, the firm’s a subsidiary of Wealth Enhancement Group and works with thousands of investors with a wide range of asset levels. With a $25,000 account minimum, the firm could be of interest if you’ve already accumulated some wealth on your own and are ready to partner with a financial advisor. Also of note, the firm also works with pension, profit-sharing plans and other institutional investors.
You can work with an advisor at their headquarters in Plymouth, Minn. If that’s not close by, the firm has advisors in more than 60 additional offices throughout the U.S.
You’ll typically have a discretionary relationship with your advisor at this firm, which means you don’t have to sign off on each trade before it’s placed. The firm says it works with clients on a non-discretionary basis, too, though we can’t confirm how often that occurs. Depending on your chosen advisor, they may also be licensed as a broker-dealer through LPL Financial and could earn commission from trades. If you’re concerned about a conflict of interest, remember that all advisors on our list of the best financial advisors in Minnesota are fiduciary advisors. Your interests must come above an advisor’s or the firm’s profits.
You’ll find a wide range of investments and strategies available at Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC, too. Some of these include actively-managed model portfolios, passively-managed mutual funds and ETFs, individual stocks, bonds, separately managed accounts, real estate investment trusts (REITs), options and insurance-based products like annuities.
The firm tends to lean toward low-cost passive strategies but adds actively managed strategies when advisors believe there is a strong opportunity.
None reported in the past 10 years.
You can review any of the above information, including the firm’s disclosure record, by viewing Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC’s IADP page.
Based in Minneapolis, Advanced Capital Group is an independent, fee-only advisor founded in 1998 and is owned by three principals: Charles Langowski, Justin Dorsey, and Patrick Larson. For new and emerging investors, the $5,000 account minimum could be just the “in” you need to partner with a credentialed financial advisor to craft a plan for all your goals. If you have a family member who’s already a client of the firm, they could waive that account minimum at their discretion.
Beyond individual investors, the firm also advises a wide range of corporate, entity-related and institutional clients, such as employer-sponsored retirement and pension plans for foundations, endowments, corporations, banks, insurers and the Native American Tribal Councils.
The firm only has one office in Minneapolis.
Advanced Capital Group’s clients mostly fall into two categories: those looking for a comprehensive portfolio or those seeking a fixed-income portfolio as one component of their overall portfolio. Your advisor will typically build your strategy using mutual funds and ETFs, individual municipal bonds or a mix of both.
To help assess which funds to use in your portfolio, Advanced Capital Group uses a proprietary tool to analyze fund managers over multiple three-year rolling periods rather than one fixed period. This strategy ensures that fund managers consistently deliver value across all market and economic conditions, not just up markets.
The firm also performs a quarterly assessment of how different asset classes are performing, which helps evaluate fund managers’ performance relative to market conditions and similar funds.
None reported in the past 10 years.
You can verify the firm’s disclosure history and any of the details above by checking out Advance Capital Group’s IAPD page.
Founded in 1993, Securian Financial Services, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Securian Financial Group, Inc., a holding company for various financial services companies. Securian Financial Group, Inc. is also an indirect subsidiary of the mutual insurance holding company Minnesota Mutual Companies, Inc. For you, that means this financial advisory firm has advisors who are licensed to sell insurance products issued by an affiliated company.
The firm’s clients are mainly individual investors at various stages of wealth accumulation. With a relatively low $10,000 account minimum, the firm could be attractive if you’re an emerging investor ready for an extra set of eyes. Securian also works with businesses and employer-sponsored retirement plans.
If you’re close to St. Paul, you can visit the firm’s headquarters. If you’re not, the firm has almost 170 additional office locations throughout the U.S.
At Securian Financial Services, you’ll find a variety of different investment programs with assets managed on either a discretionary or non-discretionary basis. Across all its programs, however, the firm aims to recommend strategies or products that align with your investment objectives. After your advisors create your financial plan, you can then decide which recommended services to use.
The firm’s investment strategy is focused on delivering a diversified portfolio that aligns with your investment objectives. The firm uses both in-house and third-party managers throughout its different programs and uses various strategies such as Modern Portfolio Theory and fundamental analysis to guide investment recommendations.
One reported disclosure in the past 10 years.
The matter relates to a single Securian office in Alaska that is no longer in existence. The firm consented to findings that it had failed to register four representatives with Alaska as investment advisor representatives. The representatives were, however, registered with the SEC and their home jurisdiction. Securian agreed to pay a civil penalty of $10,000 in 2020 to settle the matter.
For further information on the incident and to learn more about the firm, visit the Securian Financial Services, Inc. IAPD page.
Mairs & Power has a long history, with roots dating back to its 1931 founding amid the Great Depression. Today, this employee-owned firm has a large mix of clients. In particular, it caters to high net worth individuals and families (note the high investment minimum). The group also serves some investors with more moderate net worths, along with pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, insurance and investment companies, businesses and other institutions.
From its St. Paul, Minnesota, office, the team also manages three Mairs & Power mutual funds: growth, balanced and small-cap.
The team at Mairs & Power typically manages individual accounts using proprietary strategies. Its multi-cap strategy offers a diversified portfolio of stocks, with an emphasis on small to medium companies and companies headquartered in the Midwest with long track records. The balanced strategy consists of roughly 60% in stock and 40% in a variety of fixed-income assets, including dividend-paying stocks. For certain clients, advisors may build a custom portfolio with a proprietary strategy at its core.
If you’re a client with a smaller investment account, advisors typically invest your assets in a combination of the three mutual funds managed by the firm. To work with Mairs & Power, you’ll grant your advisor discretionary authority, which means your advisor will be able to transact in your account without having to get your approval for each transaction.
As a fiduciary advisor, however, Mairs & Power is always required to place your needs above any profit potential for your advisor or the firm.
None reported in the past 10 years.
View the Mairs & Power IAPD page to learn more.
At the middle of our list of the best financial advisors in Minnesota, we’ve got Fiduciary Counselling, Inc. Founded in 1941, the firm works with a wide range of individual clients at various stages in their wealth accumulation journey. It also works with entities owned or operated by its clients, such as trusts, charitable organizations and in some cases, investment-related businesses.
The firm, which has offices in St. Paul, Minn., and Tacoma, Wash., is principally owned by M. Julie McKinley, its president and CEO.
After consulting with you, the firm will create an individualized Investment Policy Statement (IPS) tailored to your goals. Once agreed upon, you’ll be invested in one of the firm’s model portfolios that aligns with your IPS. These portfolios are based on the firm’s asset allocation methodology and your unique risk tolerance. From there, Financial Counselling relies on the tenets of modern portfolio theory — which calls for maximizing returns for a given level of risk — to further build out your portfolio. You have the option of having your accounts managed on either a discretionary or non-discretionary basis, too.
The firm generally takes a long-term approach to investing, aiming to meet your objectives in both the short- and long-term. It primarily uses investment funds, including a trust, private funds, ETFs and additional public and private funds. In some cases, the firm may recommend third-party separate account managers. You can also ask your advisor to consult on assets you don’t hold with the firm, such as your employer-sponsored retirement plan like a 401(k).
None reported in the past 10 years.
You can use Fiduciary Counselling, LLC’s IADP page to confirm any of the above information, including their disclosure history.
Since 2000, Choreo, LLC and its predecessors have offered investment advisory services to a wide array of clients. For individual investors, this includes clients across the wealth spectrum. For corporate and institutional clients, their client list includes pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts and estates, charitable organizations and other business entities.
Based in Minneapolis, which makes it convenient for those in the Twin Cities. However, if you’re outside that area, Choreo has more than 60 additional offices throughout the U.S.
Choreo’s investment strategies mostly have a long-term focus, with an emphasis on portfolios with domestic and international diversification.
When working with Chores, it’s worth noting that the firm uses a third-party investment consultant vetted by its investment council. This consultant assists with aspects of the firm’s investment advisory services, such as market research, due diligence on investment managers and model portfolios. The firm primarily invests through the direct purchase of securities, allocations to other managers or investments in various funds. In some cases, it may recommend that clients invest all or a portion of their assets with separately managed account managers.
If you choose to partner with Choreo, know that the firm typically manages accounts on a discretionary basis. Under these terms, your advisor can place trades in your accounts without consulting you on a per-trade basis. However, this firm is a fiduciary and must act in your best interests, not their own.
None reported in the past 10 years.
Want to verify Choreo, LLC’s disclosure history or anything we’ve shared about the firm above? Use the firm’s publicly-available Form ADV and brochure on file with the SEC.
Founded in 1987, Riverbridge is 42% employee-owned by its four principals and based in Minneapolis, with an additional office in Naples, Fla. Legally known as Riverbridge Partners LLC, this firm’s client list is diverse: institutions, investment companies, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, pooled investment vehicles, advisors and other institutions, as well as high net worth individuals. The team also advises the Riverbridge Mutual Fund as well as the Riverbridge Collective Investment Trust.
If you’re an emerging investor, the high investment minimums here won’t make sense. However, for the affluent, the firm’s service offerings are competitive with other wealth management firms.
At Riverbridge, your portfolio will be aligned to a model portfolio following one of eight proprietary strategies. Depending on your needs, advisors can provide a specific investment strategy as an addition to your existing portfolio. Your advisor can also manage the entirety of your portfolio through a tailored combination of equity and fixed-income investments. The firm says its annual turnover rate for portfolio holdings is generally less than 30% and seeks to keep your funds fully invested at all times. Cash holdings are typically kept to a minimum.
For equities, the firm prefers companies with a long-term focus on building their earnings power and intrinsic value. Riverbridge’s investment team looks for companies of any size, including small- and mid-cap firms, that fit five specific evaluation metrics: strong management and culture, strong unit growth, a strategic market position, internally-financed growth and conservative accounting.
None reported in the past 10 years.
To check out Riverbridge’s disclosure history or any of the information we’ve included above, you can read the firm’s Form ADV on the SEC website.
CliftonLarsonAllen has been a registered investment advisor since 2000. Based in Minneapolis, the team has over 30 additional offices across the country. The group is a subsidiary of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, a firm that provides services such as audit, consulting, outsourcing and tax planning. Before 2012, the group was known as LarsonAllen Financial, LLC, which merged with Clifton Gunderson Wealth Advisors, LLC in 2012 when the two groups’ parent companies merged.
The firm serves a broad mix of individual and institutional investors. Individual clients range from middle-income investors to those considered high net worth. On the institutional side, the firm’s client list includes pension and profit-sharing plans, banks, charitable organizations, businesses and others.
Rather than focus on selecting particular stocks, advisors generally manage accounts using model portfolios built using mutual funds and ETFs. The in-house team, as well as third-party investment firms, construct and manage these model portfolios. The firm’s own portfolios use both actively-managed and passive investments, including some individual securities. In some cases, advisors may recommend separately managed accounts, limited partnerships, asset-backed securities and private placements, as well as private real estate investment trusts.
Third-party firms provide CliftonLarsonAllen with a wide variety of strategies, such as risk-based portfolios, target-date portfolios, or passive ETF model portfolios. Of note, the firm is also registered as a broker-dealer, meaning advisors can place trades and be paid per transaction, which can present a potential conflict of interest.
None reported in the past 10 years.
As with all the firms on our list of the best financial advisors in Minnesota, you can verify CliftonLarsonAllen Advisors’ disclosure history and Form ADV for yourself.
We’re almost done with our list of the best financial advisors in Minnesota for 2022, but not before we mention Thrivent — and if you’re Lutheran, you’ve definitely heard of Thrivent. A registered investment advisor since 2019, Thrivent is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thrivent Financial Holdings, Inc., a Delaware Corporation subsidiary of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. The firm primarily markets investment products and services to Lutherans and other Christians throughout the U.S.
The firm’s client base is primarily individuals and families — predominantly those who are not high net worth. However, the firm also serves high net worth investors, as well as trusts, estates, businesses and employer-sponsored retirement plans.
The advisors at Thrivent Advisor Network determine which investments to include in your portfolio based on your unique needs, goals, circumstances and risk tolerance. Your advisor may use a variety of research and analysis methods to determine the best asset allocation for your portfolio, including research or model management services from a third party.
As a rule, Thrivent will generally use low-cost, diversified ETFs and mutual funds to build your portfolio. However, it may also include individual equities, bonds and limited partnerships, among other types of investments. Your advisor may also recommend the use of services or model portfolios from an independent manager or investment platform.
In general, Thrivent’s approach to investing is long-term, but it can offer short-term strategies to align with specific goals like buying, selling or reallocating in less than a year.
One reported disclosure in the past 10 years.
The matter is related to the firm’s advisory affiliate, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which is another registered investment advisor that owns Thrivent Advisor Network. The affiliate was found by a regulatory authority to have been involved in a violation of investment-related regulations or statutes.
You can verify Thrivent’s disclosure history, along with any of the information we’ve included above, on Thrivent Advisor Network’s IAPD page.
Intellicents Investment Solutions, Inc. caps off our 2022 list of the best financial advisors in Minnesota. Formed in 1996, the firm is majority-owned by its CEO, Bradley K. Arends, and its president, Grant S. Arends. They primarily serve retirement-focused investors in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Washington, Wisconsin, Illinois, South Dakota, Colorado and Texas.
You’ll find the firm’s clients a mix of individual investors with varying degrees of wealth. However, since the firm doesn’t disclose a minimum account size for new clients, you’ll want to inquire directly with the firm about its current requirements.
In addition to its headquarters in Albert Lea, Intellicents has an appointment-only location in Minneapolis. If you’re outside of Albert Lea, however, there are also offices in Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Colorado and Washington.
Intellicents Investment Solutions will work with you to develop a plan for your investments. After reviewing your goals, needs and time horizon, your advisor will then craft a recommended investment and asset allocation strategy. As a client, you’ll also find educational opportunities for the asking — especially surrounding investment risks and return expectations.
The firm’s chief compliance officer manages all investment-related processes, including investment analysis and strategies. When choosing investments for your portfolio, the firm makes recommendations based on several factors: performance, management style, price, risk, manager tenure and alignment with your objectives.
None reported in the past 10 years.
For further information, visit the Intellicents Investment Solutions, Inc. IAPD page.
You deserve a financial partner you can trust on your wealth-building journey. That’s why we focused on specific criteria that mean the most to investors like you. Not only did we review each firm’s public-facing website and most recent Form ADV on file with the SEC, we only considered firms for this list that:
Of the firms that made the cut, we then ranked firms based on assets under management (AUM). AUM can be a significant trust factor, as it shows the amount of money others have entrusted the firm to manage.
And we know that you will ultimately be the best judge of which financial advisor is best for you. If you want to verify any of our information first-hand, visit the SEC’s IAPD website. You can search for any firm’s Form ADV — filed annually by March 31 — and explore the firm’s most recent updates. All information in our list of the best financial advisors in Minnesota is accurate as of July 17, 2022.
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
