Best Investment Advisors for Nonprofit Organizations

May 06, 2024

Running a business isn’t easy, and that work can be even more challenging when the business you’re managing is a nonprofit. Sometimes, a little help is called for — and that’s where a trustworthy financial advisor comes in.

By outsourcing financial responsibilities to a trusted advisor, nonprofits and charitable organizations can free up their time, allowing them to get back to focusing on their real work: pursuing the organization’s mission. A financial advisor can help nonprofit managers analyze and manage cash flow, set financial goals, establish an investment plan, and more.

That’s why we here at investor.com applaud financial advisors who make it a part of their mission to work with nonprofits. To help nonprofit managers find a financial expert, we’ve compiled a list of Top Charitable Financial Advisor Firms. More than 7,000 firms were analyzed. Read on for more information about the rankings, and for the complete list of financial advisors.

How do I choose an investment company for my nonprofit?

Just like choosing a financial advisor to help manage your personal finances, the first step in hiring a financial planner or investment manager for a nonprofit organization is finding someone you trust. Ask other nonprofit organizations for recommendations, or select a handful of advisors from our list below. Then set up interviews, keeping the following questions in mind:

Does the financial advisor answer your questions in a way you understand?
Do they understand and support your organization’s mission and values?
Are they prepared to create an investment plan that aligns with your organization’s mission and values?
Do they have experience with your type of nonprofit — have they worked with organizations that are about the same size, with a similar organizational structure?

What should a nonprofit look for in a financial advisor?

Here are some tips on what to look for in a financial advisor for your nonprofit:

To avoid conflicts of interest, look for an advisor who is “fee-only.” That tells you they’re not earning commissions by selling you overpriced products.
Find an advisor who is a fiduciary. That means they’re focused on your best interests. (Wondering where to find a fiduciary? Look no further than our list of financial advisors below.)
Ask if the advisor is willing to help you with all of your financial goals. Are they focused solely on managing your investments?
Assess whether your financial advisor has experience working with nonprofits like yours.
Look for an advisor who has a schedule that aligns with yours. Will the advisor have time to meet regularly with your board of directors, if need be? Do they prefer phone consultations whereas you require in-person meetings?

Can a nonprofit make investments?

Yes, a nonprofit absolutely can open a brokerage account and invest, and in fact, it might be a good way to grow assets over time, given the stock market’s historical rate of return. A nonprofit organization might want to focus on investing in companies that align with its own mission and values, but the growing number of so-called ESG investments makes that easy. ESG stands for environmental, social and governance, and is akin to socially responsible investing. ESG refers to companies that follow standards that are likely to appeal to socially conscious investors.

There’s another benefit to investing: A nonprofit that opens a brokerage account can let donors gift shares of stock to it, which might provide a valuable incentive to potential donors thanks to the tax benefits of gifting stock (the donor can avoid capital gains by gifting stock, instead of selling the stock and giving cash).

What is a typical charge for a financial advisor?

It’d be nice if we could give you a simple dollar amount here. But there are a slew of ways that financial advisors charge for their services, and a wide range of prices attached to each of those fee structures. (We can offer these seven key questions to ask about financial advisor fees.)

For example, a fee-only financial advisor might charge by the hour, by the service (e.g, for a “financial plan”), or for an annual retainer. Hourly fees can range from $200 to $500. Service costs will vary depending on the service, but, for example, a financial plan might cost $3,000 or more. With an annual retainer, costs will vary depending on the specific terms of the agreement.

"Our mission at investor.com is to be a trusted resource for Americans researching and comparing financial advisors. Because of our focus on consumer advocacy, we thought it was very important to highlight and recognize firms who have committed to helping charitable organizations, as oftentimes, these acts of service are not brought to the forefront." -Jessica Hoelscher, investor.com Director of Data and Research

The investor.com rankings

The financial advisors listed below have been named the Top Charitable Financial Advisor Firms. More than 7,000 firms were analyzed to compile this list.* To be considered for the list, financial advisory firms must:

Qualify as highly rated by the investor.com Trust Algorithm.
Have a clean disciplinary history.
Have at least 10% or more of their total client base with charitable organizations.
Have at least 10% or more of total assets under management with charitable organizations.

*Data compiled in May 2020.

Company	Overall	Assets Under Management	Total Clients	Total Advisors	Average Client Balance
1492 Capital Management		$220.4 million	101	3	$2.2 million
Accuvest Global Advisors		$937.7 million	45	4	$20.8 million
Aetos Alternatives Management		$4.7 billion	105	2	$44.8 million
Agincourt Capital Management		$9.7 billion	195	13	$49.7 million
Alaska Permanent Capital Management		$4.1 billion	88	2	$46.5 million
Alesco Advisors		$4.8 billion	602	15	$8.0 million
American Trust Investment Advisors		$497.3 million	157	2	$3.2 million
Angeles Investment Advisors		$7.1 billion	61	17	$115.9 million
Appomattox Advisory		$410.8 million	20	4	$20.5 million
Arbiter Partners		$778.6 million	20	7	$38.9 million
Arcadia Investment Management Corp		$687.9 million	90	3	$7.6 million
Ashford Capital Management		$894.8 million	95	5	$9.4 million
Asset Strategy Consultants		$5.2 billion	72	6	$71.9 million
Aureus Asset Management		$7.8 billion	294	3	$26.4 million
Avivar Capital		$513.8 million	20	8	$25.7 million
Bahl & Gaynor		$20.1 billion	866	21	$23.2 million
Bares Capital Management		$1.3 billion	22	5	$57.3 million
Barksdale Investment Management		$3.6 billion	59	8	$61.5 million
Beaton Management CO		$394.4 million	145	2	$2.7 million
Blue Edge Capital		$692.7 million	144	4	$4.8 million
Boston Common Asset Management		$3.6 billion	332	2	$10.8 million
Broad RUN Investment Management		$805.3 million	168	4	$4.8 million
Buckhead Capital Management		$5.2 billion	194	10	$26.7 million
Cambridge Associates		$313.5 billion	575	437	$545.3 million
Capricorn Investment Group		$12.5 billion	32	12	$389.6 million
Checks & Balances		$234.5 million	21	1	$11.2 million
Chelsea Management Company		$497.4 million	99	2	$5.0 million
Clearbrook Investment Solutions		$149.9 million	48	3	$3.1 million
Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management		$8.3 billion	741	23	$11.2 million
Cornerstone Capital		$1.3 billion	166	3	$7.6 million
Cornerstone Management		$1.9 billion	275	7	$6.9 million
Crewcial Partners		$969.4 million	11	9	$88.1 million
Cullen, Patterson Capital Management		$173.2 million	5	1	$34.6 million
Cynosure Group		$6.6 billion	127	10	$51.7 million
Delphi Management		$132.1 million	26	4	$5.1 million
DHK Financial Advisors		$1.7 billion	66	2	$25.4 million
Disciplined Growth Investors		$5.8 billion	135	10	$42.6 million
Eagle Capital Management		$31.2 billion	2,128	1	$14.7 million
Essex Investment Management Company		$610.2 million	110	8	$5.5 million
F L Putnam Investment Management Co		$7.7 billion	2,563	55	$3.0 million
FEG		$20.6 billion	188	1	$109.4 million
Fiduciaryvest		$4.4 billion	35	5	$125.8 million
Fiducient Advisors		$67.6 billion	1,148	62	$58.9 million
Garcia Hamilton & Associates		$22.8 billion	417	3	$54.7 million
Graypoint		$4.6 billion	815	36	$5.7 million
Greycourt & Co		$5.5 billion	44	1	$125.3 million
Griffin Family Partners		$246.6 million	30	1	$8.2 million
GW Financial		$110.3 million	93	3	$1.2 million
Harpswell Capital Advisors		$497.4 million	75	2	$6.6 million
Harrington Investments		$338.2 million	118	3	$2.9 million
HS Management Partners		$1.5 billion	140	1	$11.1 million
Income Research + Management		$109.0 billion	871	61	$125.1 million
Ipex		$2.2 billion	43	3	$52.1 million
Iridian Asset Management		$366.9 million	20	5	$18.3 million
John W. Bristol & Co		$6.7 billion	144	1	$46.6 million
Lumina Wealth Management		$196.8 million	158	2	$1.2 million
Mark Asset Management		$1.1 billion	25	5	$42.8 million
Marvin & Palmer Associates		$169.0 million	8	1	$21.1 million
Mill Creek Capital Advisors		$9.2 billion	445	27	$20.6 million
Mount Vernon Associates		$234.4 million	74	1	$3.2 million
Mozaic		$4.1 billion	76	10	$53.5 million
Nepc		$137.3 billion	444	1	$309.3 million
Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel		$1.1 billion	74	6	$14.8 million
Newsouth Capital Management		$2.6 billion	175	8	$15.0 million
Oak City Consulting		$1.3 billion	46	3	$27.5 million
Offit Capital		$20.4 billion	344	46	$59.3 million
Paul Comstock Partners		$2.2 billion	118	9	$19.0 million
Porter White Investment Advisors		$712.1 million	119	4	$6.0 million
Raffa Investment Advisers		$1.5 billion	220	5	$7.0 million
Richmond Capital Management		$6.1 billion	175	8	$35.1 million
Roanoke Asset Management Corp		$362.4 million	64	3	$5.7 million
Sawgrass Asset Management		$2.3 billion	114	12	$19.9 million
Sellwood Investment Partners		$2.0 billion	68	8	$28.8 million
SIT Investment Associates		$3.4 billion	43	36	$78.3 million
Speece Thorson Capital Group		$522.0 million	28	4	$18.6 million
Strategic Investment Management		$29.7 billion	80	38	$370.8 million
Summit Rock Advisors		$23.5 billion	68	40	$345.7 million
Summit Street Capital Management		$713.0 million	5	1	$142.6 million
The Caprock Group		$10.1 billion	408	43	$24.9 million
Tillman Hartley		$609.3 million	49	3	$12.4 million
Towle & CO		$608.7 million	75	5	$8.1 million
Trillium Asset Management		$5.0 billion	2,149	11	$2.3 million
Twin Capital Management		$935.8 million	68	4	$13.8 million
Valicenti Advisory Services		$701.3 million	1,023	3	$685,569

About the Editorial Team

AdvisorSearch.org is your trustworthy guide to the world of financial advisors. Founded in 2018 as an unbiased resource, it empowers consumers to research and compare financial advisory firms with confidence.