Through the Years: A History of the IA 25

2010: Thirty for Thirty

In 2010, we departed from the IA 25 only slightly to celebrate Investment Advisor’s 30^th anniversary with the 30 most influential people in the industry. At such a milestone, we were especially eager to show you who we felt were the biggest players in the industry as advisors, visionaries and regulators. We led the list with industry stalwart John Bogle for his role in founding the industry's largest mutual fund company, in creating the first index mutual fund, and for his efforts to “bring common sense, reality, and mathematical truth back into the world of investing.”

1. Al West
2. Alan Greenspan
3. Amy Domini
4. Benjamin Graham
5. Bill Sharpe
6. Chuck Schwab
7. Dale Brown
8. Deena Katz
9. Don Phillips
10. Don Trone
11. Eric Schwartz
12. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
13. Harold Evensky
14. Harry Markopolos
15. Joe Deitch
16. John Bogle
17. Ken Fisher
18. Mark Tibergien
19. Marv Tuttle
20. Mary Schapiro
21. Michael Milken
22. Ned Johnson
23. Roger Ibbotson
24. Ronald Reagan
25. Ross Levin
26. Sheryl Garrett
27. Skip Viragh
28. Steve Jobs
29. Todd Robinson
30. Tom James

Click here to read more about the 2010 IA 30.

2009: Game Changer

In 2009, the political and economic environments were in constant flux. The steps taken in 2009 clearly indicated that the president, Congress, the SEC, Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve would affect advisors and their clients in massive ways. In fact, as the center of the financial universe shifted from Wall Street to Washington, we named more elected officials and appointed Federal regulators to the list than in any other year.  

While most of the honorees on this list and others tend to influence the industry in positive if controversial ways, we couldn’t argue that Bernie Madoff and the epic fraud he perpetrated wouldn’t bring a powerful change to the industry.

1. Barack Obama
2. Barbara Krumsiek
3. Barney Frank
4. Benjamin Graham
5. Bernie Madoff
6. Charles Goldman
7. Chris Dodd
8. Dale Brown
9. David Tittsworth
10. Deena Katz
11. Don Phillips
12. Gene Deiderich
13. Greg Friedman
14. John Bogle
15. Mark Tibergien
16. Mary Schapiro
17. Max Baucus
18. Moshe Milevsky
19. Ross Levin
20. Sheila Blair
21. Tim Kochis
22. Timothy Geithner
23. Tom Bradley
24. Walt Bettinger
25. Wayne Bloom

Click here to read more about the 2009 IA 25.

2008: Watch List

In 2008, Mark Tibergien's role shifted from that of revered consultant and industry observer extraordinaire to running a custodial firm for RIAs, Pershing Advisor Solutions. In no other year of the IA 25 has a single job change captured the zeitgeist of the profession. That's because while there may be many gurus who promise to give struggling advisors a foot up on their competitors, the hands-down leader in helping advisors turn their practices into well-run, profitable businesses is now in the position of being the most-watched leader of an advisor-related company in the business.

1. Andrew Donahue
2. Art Grant
3. Barack Obama
4. Barney Frank
5. Bill Gates
6. Bob Clark
7. Charles Goldman
8. Dale Brown
9. Deena Katz
10. Francois Gadenne
11. Greg Friedman
12. Henry Paulson
13. John Simmers
14. Kathleen Casey-Kirschling
15. Ken Fisher
16. Mark Tibergien
17. Mary Schapiro
18. Peng Chen
19. Philip Palaveev
20. Roseanne Grande
21. Rudy Adolf
22. Sallie Krawcheck
23. Stephen Winks
24. Thomas James
25. Timothy Geithner

Click here to read the rest of the 2008 IA 25.

2007: The Fifth Annual IA 25

When Mary Schapiro took the helm as CEO and chairman of the NASD in September 2006, it was a moment of relative calm before the storm. Since then, she's been the guiding light in the effort to dissect and rewrite the rules of the NASD and NYSE into a single rulebook for all 5,100 broker-dealers, and to merge the regulatory arms of NYSE and NASD into a single self-regulatory organization--which Schapiro will lead.

1. Angela Herbers
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
3. Bill Gross
4. Bob Clark
5. Charles Rangel
6. Christopher Cox
7. Dale Brown
8. Dan Moisand
9. Deena Katz
10. Ellyn McColgan
11. Jeremy Siegel
12. Joe Moglia
13. John Iachello
14. John Simmers
15. Lou Stanasolovich
16. Mark Casady
17. Mark Hurley
18. Mark Tibergien
19. Mary Schapiro
20. Max Baucus
21. Peter F. Drucker
22. Robert Arnott
23. Rudy Adolf
24. Tim Kochis
25. Walt Bettinger

Click here to read more about the 2007 IA 25.

2006: Making the Future Happen

When trying to get a handle on a profession as diverse and unwieldy as the investment advisor/financial planner universe, it's hard to find commonalities. There are advisors and planners and consultants, not to mention those qualifiers: "investment advisors," "financial advisors," "life planners," and "financial consultants." Ron Roge has been part of this industry for much of the profession's history, and he stands now comfortable and yet still evolving at the cusp of the next transformation. That's why we decided to lead the 2006 edition of the IA 25 with a profile on Roge as emblematic of the profession's journey and a model for how to transform a practice for the future.

1. Ben Bernanke
2. Bob Clark
3. Christopher Cox
4. Dan Moisand
5. Deb McWhinney
6. Deena Katz
7. Dick Averitt
8. Don Trone
9. Francois Gadenne
10. Jessica Bibliowicz
11. Joe Deitch
12. John Boehner
13. John Bowen
14. John Simmers
15. Lori Richards
16. Lou Stanasolovich
17. Mark Casady
18. Mark Tibergien
19. Mary Schapiro
20. Olivia Mellan
21. Ron Roge
22. Sheryl Garrett
23. Stan O'Neal
24. Tom Bradley
25. Tony Batman

Click here to read more about the 2006 IA 25.

2005: The Third Annual IA 25

In 2005, the IA 25 comprised a diverse group of honorees including George W. Bush and Bob Veres, Chuck Schwab and Andy Gluck, Alan Greenspan and Sheryl Garrett. “It's a club whose diversity reflects the broad range of pastimes and passions and partnerships that is the financial planning and investment advisory universe in the year 2005,” Jamie Green, group editor-in-chief for Investment Advisor, wrote at the time.

1. Alan Greenspan
2. Andrew Gluck
3. Bill Gross
4. Bill Thomas
5. Bob Clark
6. Bob Veres
7. Chet Helck
8. Chip Roame
9. Charles Schwab
10. Don Trone
11. Eliot Spitzer
12. Ellyn McColgan
13. George Kinder
14. George W. Bush
15. Greg Sullivan
16. James Barnash
17. Jessica Bibliowicz
18. Joe Deitch
19. Mark Tibergien
20. Sarah Teslik
21. Scott Hanson
22. Sheryl Garrett
23. Todd Robinson
24. Tony Batman
25. William Donaldson

Click here to read more about the 2005 IA 25.

2004: The Second Annual IA 25

Almost as notable as the honorees in 2004’s list are the exclusions. Coming out of the bear market in 2003, we included several money managers; this year, just one made the cut. But we have included more regulatory and oversight folks, reflecting the higher profile of such individuals these days. Also, we included leaders of the custodial and clearing firms that have become a more important part of the independent advisor's business model.

1. Al West
2. Andrew Gluck
3. Bob Veres
4. Deb McWhinney
5. Deena Katz
6. Don Phillips
7. Eliot Spitzer
8. George W. Bush and John Kerry
9. Harold Evensky
10. Jay Lanigan
11. Joan Bavaria
12. Joe Deitch
13. John Bogle
14. Joseph Velli
15. Lou Stanasolovich
16. Mark Tibergien
17. Marv Tuttle
18. Peter Bernstein
19. Phil Angelides
20. Richard Shelby
21. Roy Diliberto
22. Sheryl Garrett
23. Stephen Cutler
24. Tom Bradley
25. William Donaldson

Click here to read more about the 2004 IA 25.

2003: The First Annual IA 25

All traditions have to start somewhere. Listing the most influential people within any profession is a daunting task, but the job is particularly difficult within financial planning, where fierce independence is prized but partnerships are the order of the day. We chose the members of the IA 25 because they are the heavyweights of the profession now and will remain so in years to come. They are the planners who have gained the respect of peers for their foresight, business acumen, and ethics. They are the academics who built the foundations of the profession, and the money managers who beat the S&P year in and year out. They are the CEOs and the regulators who keep them in check. They are the visionaries who built the partner businesses planners couldn't live without.

1. Al West
2. Alan Greenspan
3. Amy Domini
4. Andrew Gluck
5. Benjamin Graham
6. Bill Gross
7. Bill Miller
8. Bill Sharpe
9. Bob Veres
10. Charles Schwab
11. Deena Katz
12. Don Phillips
13. Eliot Spitzer
14. Gary Schatsky
15. George Kinder
16. Harold Evensky
17. John Bogle
18. Mark Hurley
19. Mark Tibergien
20. Michael Oxley
21. Ross Levin
22. Sallie Krawcheck
23. Sheryl Garrett
24. Todd Robinson
25. William Donaldson

Click here to read more about the inaugural IA 25.