Forbes and Shook Suspend Advisor Rankings for the Year
Forbes and Shook Research have suspended all wealth advisor rankings and events for the remainder of this year, while Shook focuses on relaunching the rankings under a new brand in 2027, according to a joint note the two companies sent to advisor teams Tuesday.
This comes after a report by The New York Times last week that Randall Lane, a top editor at Forbes, was fired over an undisclosed $6 million payment he received from RJ Shook, the founder of Shook Research. Shook has partnered with Forbes for the past decade on various wealth advisor lists, including its “Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams” and “Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors.”
“We’ve heard directly from many of you over the last two weeks, and that input is shaping our path forward,” the two companies said. “Our focus now is on strengthening this program for the road ahead, and to meet the standard the advisor community expects and deserves.
“We are going to spend this time to work closely with your firms, compliance leaders, sponsors, and advisors so that confidence you’ve long placed in our research and rankings continues to be well earned.”
The action follows two wirehouse firms, Wells Fargo Advisors and Morgan Stanley, opting to withdraw from the Forbes rankings. Wealth Management was the first to report Wells Fargo’s departure on Tuesday afternoon. Spokespeople for Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan and Edward Jones declined to comment. A spokesperson for UBS did not return requests for comment by press time.
Wealth Management reported last week that the incident left some advisors, including those who have appeared on the lists, concerned.
Ross Gerber, president and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, an RIA that has been on Forbes’ lists, said he was already skeptical of the project even before the payment came to light.
“There are so many of these awards now, and the minute they offer you awards, you get four calls from the people selling you plaques and advertising and advertising at the event, and it’s become a business,” Gerber said. Gerber said the appearance that someone at Forbes was being paid under the table “took pretty questionable lists already into a new realm of just complete absurdity. I think they should shut the whole thing down.”
In a statement released this week, RJ Shook detailed the nature of the payment, saying Lane helped facilitate the partnership between Forbes and Shook and assisted in connection with his efforts to sell the company, which culminated in the sale to private equity firm PPC Enterprises. He also said that he and his wife, Liz, will have no involvement or ownership in the business going forward.
“The payment was not made in connection with Shook Research’s rankings or research process, and we did not disclose it to PPC,” Shook said in the statement. “My actions were taken with the best intentions, but ultimately the payment was a mistake. I deeply regret that this has raised questions about the integrity and independence of Shook’s rankings. At no time was Randall involved in the Company’s research methodology, data analyses, or advisor ranking determinations, and at no time were these processes influenced by any relationship with Randall.”
Louis Diamond, CEO of Diamond Consultants, said he expects firms to turn to other outlet rankings. However, he noted, Forbes produces a number of lists and is the most extensive in the space—so he could see wirehouses and firms returning “after a year or two” if the controversy is cleared up.
“At the moment, they’re probably thinking that they gained by being on this list, but there’s more reputational harm to be a part of it,” he said. “The industry will continue, but there will be a void if Forbes’ rankings disappear.”Joe Anthony, co-owner and president of PR agency Gregory, said he sees viable alternatives to the rankings for marketing purposes, such as client testimonials and homegrown marketing.
“RIAs are always looking to accumulate social proof, and we should expect to see more firms accelerating adoption of client testimonials and reviews (less than 15% adoption so far),” he said. “Testimonials offer more relevant social proof on an advisor’s credibility than an industry list does, but they need to be promoted and published using the firm’s own channels versus benefiting from the distribution that a Forbes or Barron’s has.”
(Disclosure: Wealth Management creates an in-house annual list, the RIA Edge 100, based exclusively on research and metrics compiled with publicly available data in a firm’s Form ADV. There is no business relationship with firms on the RIA Edge 100.)
