How We Determined CNBC’s Financial Advisor 100 Ranking for 2025

By Kelli Grant, CFP® October 01, 2025 CNBC

CNBC’s Financial Advisor 100 list was created through a combination of data analysis and editorial review, starting with over 40,000 registered investment adviser (RIA) firms and narrowing to 1,015 that met CNBC’s proprietary criteria. The remaining firms are then weighted and evaluated on data points such as regulatory compliance, years in business and number of CFP® professionals.