SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Forbes has announced its second annual ranking of America’s Top Next Generation Wealth Advisors from all 50 states. Three San Diego-based UBS wealth advisors have made the listing. The local UBS rising stars include: Alex Howell of the La Jolla branch, Bryan Thompson of the downtown San Diego branch, and Kalyn Maher Walker of the Carmel Valley branch. In all, there were 126 UBS advisors included in the total list of 500.
Chris Marsh, market head for UBS in San Diego, says, “These advisors are the industry's future leaders who provide financial stewardship for both their current clients and a legacy for the next generations. We are quite proud of Alex, Bryan and Kalyn, as well as the other people who support their UBS clients every day, and we look forward to a bright future for the wealth management industry with these intellects leading it.”
According to Forbes, to qualify for this ranking, advisors must have been born in 1980 or later and must show leadership capabilities beyond their years. The magazine conducts deep due diligence by interviewing advisors, via telephone and in person, to measure them qualitatively, and to identify best practices, service models, investing process, business types, leadership capabilities, and integrity. Each advisor completes a lengthy survey. Forbes considers such factors as compliance records, client retention, revenues produced for their firms and assets managed. They do not consider portfolio performance because of varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Both quantitative and qualitative data are fed into an algorithm that produces a ranking score.
Background on the listed advisors
Alex Howell, first vice president of wealth management, is part of The Baldwin Group, a UBS financial services team located in La Jolla. He joined the firm in 2008 and is in his 12th year working in the financial services industry. Over the past 10 years at UBS, he has focused on team branding and business development efforts for The Baldwin Group. He partners with financial advisors, not just in San Diego, but across the country to develop relationships and close multimillion-dollar relationships with corporate executives. Howell and his team manage financial planning and deliver ongoing advice and insightful guidance to their clients. This strategy has served Baldwin Group clients well and has helped it to grow its business and remain a relevant resource to select corporate executives.
A graduate of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder, Howell holds a degree in marketing. He lives in San Diego with his wife, Kristen, and their three children. He values the mentorship and insight he has gathered from his colleagues over the years, and still remembers the best piece of business advice he has received in his experience: to be disciplined and persistent.
Earl B. “Bryan” Thompson III has been with UBS for 10 years, initially working at the firm’s national sales department in New Jersey and as a financial planning resource for wealth management teams in Southern California, before joining his father, Earl B. Thompson, at the UBS San Diego-based Thompson Wealth Management Group in 2008. In 2017 he was promoted to VP of Wealth Management. Very community focused, Thompson, a nine-year resident of San Diego’s Little Italy, was recently nominated to the community’s association board and is vice chairman of the renowned Ferragosto event, which hosts a few hundred thousand people to raise funds for the community’s elementary school, parish and safety programs. He also mentors veterans transitioning back into the private sector. Thompson says he lives and breathes looking for ways to help his clients achieve their personal financial goals through financial analysis and a comprehensive approach. Thompson earned his B.B.A. degree in finance and marketing from the University of Washington, Seattle.
Kalyn Maher Walker, senior vice president, wealth management, who joined the firm in 2014, has a decade of experience in financial services. She leads a team of seven at the Maher-Walker and Zeigler team located in the UBS Carmel Valley branch, which serves select clients and families in San Diego and surrounding areas. She has received several accolades and awards; in 2018, she was listed by Forbes on both the Top Women Advisors and Best-in-State Wealth Advisors lists as well. In 2015, Walker was ranked No. 12 on Rep. magazine’s list of Top 40 Wirehouse Advisors Under 40 as well as No. 11 on the publication’s list of Top 50 Wirehouse Women in 2015. In 2016 and 2018 she was named to UBS’s list of Top 35 under 35.
A graduate of Santa Clara University, Walker holds a degree in finance. She believes in giving back to her community and is an active supporter of the Boys & Girls Club, Special Olympics, and Monarch School in San Diego. She lives in Encinitas with her husband and baby daughter.
About UBS Global Wealth Management
As the world’s largest wealth manager, UBS Global Wealth Management provides comprehensive advice, solutions and services to wealthy families and individuals around the world. Clients who work with UBS benefit from a fully integrated set of wealth management capabilities and expertise, including wealth planning, investment management, capital markets, banking, lending and institutional and corporate financial advice.
