This award was issued on 5/1/22 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 08/30/2021 through 03/4/2022. Fee paid for use of marketing materials. Self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 2482 Orange County-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 143 (6% of candidates) were named 2022 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2021: 2398, 144, 6%, 5/1/21, 8/17/20 - 3/12/21; 2020: 2320, 152, 7%, 5/1/20, 8/1/19 - 3/13/20; 2019: 2469, 187, 8%, 5/1/19, 8/13/18 - 3/11/19; 2018: 2423, 144, 6%, 5/1/18, 6/21/17 - 3/16/18; 2017: 1790, 280, 16%, 5/1/17, 8/24/16 - 2/24/17; 2016: 1383, 312, 23%, 2/1/16, 8/19/15 - 1/15/16; 2015: 2010, 351, 17%, 3/1/15, 8/30/14 - 1/30/15; 2014: 3489, 302, 9%, 3/1/14, 8/30/13 - 1/30/14; 2013: 2293, 415, 18%, 3/1/13, 8/30/12 - 1/30/13; 2012: 1760, 255, 14%, 3/1/12, 8/30/11 - 1/31/12.

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Five Star Professional conducts research to help consumers with the important decision of selecting a service professional. The Five Star award is presented to wealth managers in more than 45 markets in the U.S. and Canada. The Five Star award recognizes service professionals who provide quality services to their clients.

In each market, award winners are selected and listed at no cost on fivestarprofessional.com.

Five Star Professional also provides award winners additional marketing options to expand their presence in the magazine and share their award(s) with clients, colleagues, family, and friends for a fee.

Five Star Professional is an independent third-party research firm. The Five Star award is not indicative of an individual’s performance. Inclusion on the Five Star list should not be construed an endorsement by Five Star Professional or the magazine. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com for information on research/selection methodology. 2,320 Orange County area wealth managers were considered for the award; 152 (7 percent of candidates) were named 2020 Five Star Wealth Managers. In 2019: 2,469 considered, 187 winners (7 percent of candidates) were named 2019 Five Star Wealth Managers. Award candidates are identified in three ways: peer evaluations, firm evaluations and/or consumer evaluations. To obtain the Five Star Investment Professional award, a professional must satisfy ten objective eligibility and evaluation criteria.

Five Star Evaluation criteria:  1. Credentialed as an Investment adviser representative, a FINRA-registered representative. 2. Actively employed as a credentialed professional in the financial services industry for a minimum of five years. 3. *Favorable regulatory and complaint history review. 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal firm standards. 5. Accepting new clients. 6. One-year client retention rate. 7. Five-year client retention rate. 8. Non-Institutional discretionary and/or non­ discretionary client assets administered. 9. Number of client households served. 10. Education and professional designations.

*To qualify as having a favorable regulatory and complaint history for this award, the person cannot have (1) been subject to a regulatory action that resulted In a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine, (2) had more than a total of three customer complaints filed against them (settled or pending) with any regulatory authority or Five Star Professional's consumer complaint process, (3) individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint filed with a regulatory authority, (4) filed for bankruptcy, or (5) been convicted of a felony.

Before deciding whether to retain assets in an employer sponsored plan or roll over to an IRA an investor should consider various factors including, but not limited to: investment options, fees and expenses, services, withdrawal penalties, protection from creditors and legal judgements, required minimum distributions and possession of employer stock.

The Top Producer award is presented by NEXT Financial Group, Inc. as a way to recognize top advisors for their dedication to high standards, commitment to superior service, and outstanding performance in delivering investment services to clients.

Working with an investment professional who is part of the Dave Ramsey SmartVestor™ Pro advertising service cannot guarantee investment success or that you will achieve your financial goals. There can be no assurance that working with a SmartVestor™ Pro will produce better outcomes than working with an advisor not participating in the SmartVestor™ Pro program. Investment professionals participating in the SmartVestor™ Pro program pay advertising fees to have their name and information disseminated to the investing public via the SmartVestor™ program. Neither Dave Ramsey Solutions nor the SmartVestor™ Pro program are affiliated with NEXT Financial Group, Inc. and are not sponsored or endorsed by NEXT Financial Group, Inc.

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Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria-required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser (RIA) or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a RIA or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined by FSP, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or FSP's consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through FSP's consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client's experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria-considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. FSP does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager's future performance . Wealth Managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients' assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by FSP or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by FSP in the future. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.