Multop Financial - 5 Star Wealth Managers (Seattle Magazine April 2010 Issue)

April 2, 2010 - PRLog -- PRESS RELEASE

FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Managers Announced


Bellingham, WA (March 30, 2010) - In the April issue of Seattle magazine, Multop Financial was acknowledged as a 2010 FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager.  Seattle magazine formed a partnership with Crescendo Business Services, an independent research firm, to identify the "best in client satisfaction" wealth managers serving the greater Seattle area. In September, Crescendo surveyed, by mail and phone 130,000 high-net-worth residents in the Pacific Northwest and subscribers of Seattle magazine. An additional 8,150 surveys were sent to leaders of financial service industry companies.

On the surveys, recipients were asked to select only wealth managers whom they knew through personal experience, and to evaluate them based upon nine criteria: customer service, integrity, knowledge/expertise, communication, value for fee charged, meeting of financial objectives, post-sale-service, quality of recommendations and overall satisfaction.

Next, each wealth manager was reviewed for regulatory actions, civil judicial actions and customer complaints as reported by FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and other regulatory agencies.

Then, before finalizing the list, wealth managers were reviewed by a blue-ribbon panel. The blue-ribbon panel was comprised of knowledgeable individuals from within the financial services industry. Although panelist comments were incorporated into the final score, safeguards were built into the review process to reduce the ability of panel members to influence the composition of the final list on the basis of company affiliation.

The resulting list of 2009 FIVE STAR Wealth Managers is an elite group, representing less than 7 percent of the wealth managers in the Seattle area.   Only 729 of the top-scoring wealth managers made this year's list.  

Multop Financial's founder, Phillip Multop, says, "It's an honor to receive this recognition.  Our skilled staff and loyal clients have made this possible.  After serving the Whatcom County area for over 30 years, it's rewarding to see our reputation extend throughout the Pacific Northwest.  We are a small-town firm but we are dedicated to keeping up with the metropolitan areas when it comes to our work and professionalism."   Contact Multop Financial at (360) 671-7891 or www.multop.com.

Please note that individuals who are selected as FIVE-STAR Wealth Managers do not pay a fee to be included in the research or the final list of wealth managers, however, there is a fee associated with the use of the FIVE-STAR logo and other marketing materials.

Wealth Managers who are included on the FIVE-STAR Wealth Manager list must meet the following criteria:

•   Must have at least five years of experience in the financial services industry
•   Must certify that their license(s) have never been suspended or revoked by a regulating authority (e.g. FINRA or other regulatory agency).
•   Must certify that they have not had more than three customer complaints filed against them with a regulating authority where at least one complaint resulted in a settlement payment by them.
•   Additional information regarding award criteria and the methodology used to include specific professionals on the FIVE-STAR Wealth Manager list can be found at www.fivestarprofessional.com/wmresearch.

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