Top Financial Advisors in Lafayette, LA

Find an Advisor

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors sits atop our list of top-rated firms in Lafayette, Louisiana. This fee-based firm also employs broker-dealer representatives and insurance agents who receive commissions from third parties in addition to client fees. That said, as an SEC-registered registered investment advisor, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors must uphold its fiduciary duty to always provide advice in the best interest of the client. 

To open an account with the firm, you’ll generally need a minimum investment of $50,000. The firm works with individuals, high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations and other business entities. 

In addition to being the No. 1 firm in Lafayette, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors is also ranked among the top 10 firms in the state of Louisiana by SmartAsset. 

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors Background 

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors was founded in 2010 as Summit Financial of Louisiana, Inc. It's a wholly owned subsidiary of Focus Operating, LLC, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of the Focus Financial Partners, LLC, a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

The firm provides portfolio management services and individual financial planning on topics such as saving for retirement and estate planning. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors also offers an automated model portfolio program through Charles Schwab, called Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. 

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors Investment Strategy

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors typically allocates clients’ assets into a model portfolio that the firm deems suitable based on the client’s risk tolerance, investment goals and other factors. These model portfolios are generally built with equity and fixed-income mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and individual bonds.

The firm uses both long- and short-term purchase strategies. Long-term purchases are securities that are held for at least one year, while short-term purchases are typically sold within a year of being acquired. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors may also use margin transactions and option writing. 

Find an Advisor

BCM Advisors is a fee-only advisory firm whose clients include individuals, high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans. The majority of the firm's assets under management belong to high-net-worth individuals and corporations. 

BCM's minimum account size for portfolio management is $250,000 and $500,000 for financial planning. Its advisory team holds certified financial planner (CFP) and certified public accountant (CPA) designations.

As a fee-only firm, BCM advisors do not receive transaction-based compensation. Instead, the firm's revenue comes solely from the fees that clients pay for services. 

Like Summit Financial Wealth Advisors, BCM Advisors is ranked among the top 10 firms in the state by SmartAsset. 

BCM Advisors Background

Founded in 1987, BMC Advisors is one of the longest-tenured firms on our list. Joseph Billeaud, the firm’s chief investment officer, is the majority owner of BCM through his sole ownership of JSB Investment Holdings, Inc. Director of advisor services George Holland, chief compliance officer Hille Domingue and Montgomery Gossen are all minority owners of BCM. 

BCM primarily focuses on financial planning and portfolio management. Advisory accounts are managed on a discretionary basis, meaning the firm's advisors have full control over portfolio decisions. 

BCM Advisors Investment Strategy

BCM offers a variety of investment portfolios based on a strategy that invests in stocks, bonds, precious metals and cash through various funds. BCM actively manages its portfolios using its proprietary Market Risk Model, which factors in current financial, economic and monetary data to assess market risks. 

Within portfolios, BCM takes a broad asset-based approach by owning mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), instead of focusing on individual securities. When evaluating individual mutual funds and ETFs, the firm examines a managers’ track record of investing through different economic conditions, as well as underlying assets of those funds.

Find an Advisor

Cullen Asset Management, also known as Cullen Investment Group, rounds out our list and ranks among the top 10 firms in the state by SmartAsset. 

In addition to being an investment advisor, the firm is also a broker-dealer. This means advisors may earn commissions in addition to advisory fees by investing client assets in particular securities. While this presents a conflict of interest, the firm has a fiduciary duty to always make recommendations in the best interests of its clients. 

To open an account with Cullen Asset Management, you generally need to make a minimum investment of $500,000. At its discretion, though, the firm may waive this requirement. Most of its clients are non-high-net-worth individuals, but the fee-based firm also works with high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, charities and corporations. 

Cullen Asset Management Background 

Cullen Asset Management opened for business in 1987. Founder and president David C. Bordes is the majority owner, while vice president Stephen L. Nickel owns a minority stake in the business. 

Bordes, who has about 40 years of experience in the financial services space, leads a team that primarily focuses on portfolio management services. To a limited extent, they also offer financial planning services covering non-investment-related topics such as budgeting and saving for retirement.

Cullen Asset Management Investment Strategy 

Cullen Asset Management generally invests client assets in portfolios built with stocks and bonds, and in some cases, mutual funds. The firm tailors these portfolios to the client’s risk tolerance and time horizon. It primarily relies on fundamental analysis when evaluating securities. This strategy entails deciphering the intrinsic value of a stock by exploring the company’s financials, the overall state of the market and other economic factors.