This website may include forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements (including words such as “believe,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “may,” “will,” “should,” and “expect”). Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Various factors could cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements.

Any information provided by Baron Financial Group regarding historical market performance is for illustrative and education purposes only. Clients or prospective clients should not assume that their performance will equal or exceed historical market results and/or averages.

Past performance is not indicative of any specific investment or future results. Views regarding the economy, securities markets or other specialized areas, like all predictors of future events, cannot be guaranteed to be accurate and may result in economic loss to the investor. Every investment strategy has the potential for profit or loss.

Nothing contained on this website constitutes investment, legal, tax or other advice and is not to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Baron Financial Group does not directly provide tax or legal advice to its clients and all clients are strongly urged to consult with their own tax or legal adviser regarding any potential strategy or investment. Any statement contained herein concerning U.S. tax matters is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties imposed on the relevant taxpayer.

Adviser does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Adviser’s web site or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility therefore. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.

This website is owned by Baron Financial Group, LLC. This website and any and all accompanying screens, information, materials, user documentation, user interfaces, images, arrangements of information, related software and other proprietary property of Baron Financial Group accessible via the website is and shall remain the exclusive property of Baron Financial Group. All rights to the website remain with Baron Financial Group. This site is for your personal and non-commercial use. You may not modify copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer or sell any information, software, products or services obtained from this site.

Award Criteria and Disclosures

All wording in italics are taken directly from the award creator.

The rating may not be representative of any one client’s experience because the rating reflects an average of all, or a sample of all, of the experiences of the investment adviser’s clients.

Women’s Choice Award

We are proud to be a Women’s Choice Award Financial firm since its inception in 2013.

The Women’s Choice Award® Financial Advisor program was created by WomenCertified Inc., the Voice of Women, in an effort to help women make smart financial choices. The Women’s Choice Award Financial Program is based on 17 objective criteria associated with providing quality service to women clients, such as educational and professional credentials, experience, and a favorable regulatory history, among other factors, including letters of validation and background check. Financial advisors do not pay a fee to be considered or to qualify for the program. All qualified advisors are listed on womenschoiceaward.com. Once qualified, financial advisors may purchase additional marketing collateral such as licensed award seal usage, featured enhanced listing or additional promotional products. Qualified advisors showing up in the featured listings on the site have paid a fee to appear there. The inclusion of a financial advisor within the WCA Financial Advisor network should not be construed as an endorsement of the financial advisor by WomenCertified Inc. or its partners and affiliates and is no guarantee of quality of services provided to clients or future investment success.

Women’s Choice Award® Financial Advisors and Firms represent less than 1% of financial advisors in the U.S. A total of 67 advisors were considered for the 2023 Women’s Choice Award, and 61 fully qualified for the Women’s Choice Award Financial Advisors/Firms program. Only self-completed surveys were used for qualification for 2023.. As of December 31, 2022, of the 88 considered for the Women’s Choice Award in 2022, 76 fully qualified for the Women’s Choice Award Financial Advisors/Firms program. As of December 31, 2021, of the 603 considered for the Women’s Choice  Award, 221 were named Women’s Choice Award Financial Advisors/Firms.  As of December 31, 2020, of the 566 considered, 193 were named.  As of December 31, 2019, of the 542 considered, 169 were chosen. As of Oct. 2018, of the 463 considered, 108 were chosen. As of January 2018, of the 848 considered, 145 were awarded.  As of July 2017, of the 807 considered, 139 were awarded. In 2016 – of the 783 advisors considered, 122 were awarded. In 2015 – of the 492 advisors considered, 87 were awarded. In 2014 – of the 384 advisors considered, only 38 were awarded. (According to WomenCertified, Inc., there are no stats available for 2013, their first year, but they were roughly half of the 2014 numbers.)

17 Criteria Considered in Evaluating Women’s Choice Award Financial Advisor Candidates
Criteria 1-10 is required, while 11-17 is considered in determining qualification.

1. Clientele are at least one-third women or male-female couples
2. Accepting new clients
3. Actively employed as a licensed or credentialed professional in financial services for a minimum of three years.
4. Credentials include an IAR (Investment Advisory Representative), a FINRA-registered advisor/broker, an RIA (Registered Investment Advisor), a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) , CFP® (Certified Financial Planner), PFS (Personal Financial Specialist), or a licensed attorney practicing in financial services.
5. Must be in compliance with regulatory requirements of the SEC, state securities regulators in states where they do business, and self-regulatory bodies.
6. Must be in good standing with the standards of the firm with which they are affiliated.
7. Must have a favorable regulatory and complaint history and who sign an affidavit to that effect.*
8. Must not have been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in their license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine.
9. Must not have been convicted of a felony.
10. Must not have filed for personal bankruptcy in the past ten years
    In addition, in determining whether an advisor has the tools and experience to serve women’s financial needs, the following criteria are also considered:
11. Assets under management
12. Number of clients (households) served by the advisor
13. The advisor’s client retention rate over a three-year period
14. How many firms the advisor has been associated with in the past ten years
15. The advisor’s education and professional designations
16. Educational programs and events provided for clients
17. The advisor’s record of community service

*A favorable regulatory and complaint history is defined by WomenCertified, Inc as No more than three customer complaints filed against them with any regulatory authority, no individual contributions to a financial settlement regarding a filed customer complaint, and no suspension or revocation of license as the result of a regulatory action.

Five Star Professional Wealth Manager Award

Baron Financial Group Advisors Victor Cannillo (in New Jersey) and Anthony Benante (in Sarasota) are recipients of the Five Star Professional Wealth Manager Award. They are proud to be multi-year-award recipients.

The rating may not be representative of any one client’s experience because the rating reflects an average of all, or a sample of all, of the experiences of the investment adviser’s clients.

*Five Star winners do not pay to win or to be considered for the award. Professionals showing up in Featured Results, however, may have paid a fee to appear there.

New Jersey:  This award was issued on 12/01/2023 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 03/13/2023 through 09/29/2023. 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. 6,515 New Jersey-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 462 (7% of candidates) were named 2024 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2023: 6,606, 407, 6%, 12/1/22, 3/21/22 - 10/18/22; 2022: 6380, 431, 7%, 12/1/21, 4/12/21 - 10/15/21; 6123, 459, 7%, 12/1/20, 3/30/20 - 10/23/20; 2020: 6210, 480, 8%, 12/1/19, 3/1/19 - 10/16/19; 2019: 6097, 477, 8%, 12/1/18, 3/21/18 - 10/12/18; 2018: 4383, 415, 9%, 12/1/17, 2/21/17 - 10/12/17; 2017: 3868, 664, 17%, 11/1/16, 2/25/16 - 10/7/16; 2016: 4143, 626, 15%, 11/1/15, 4/15/15 - 10/16/15; 2015: 5063, 672, 13%, 12/1/14, 4/15/14 - 10/16/14; 2014: 3315, 646, 19%, 12/1/13, 4/15/13 - 10/16/13; 2013: 4049, 733, 18%, 12/1/12, 4/15/12 - 10/16/12; 2012: 1312, 400, 30%, 11/1/11, 4/15/11 - 10/16/11.

Sarasota:  This award was issued on 10/1/24 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 1/9/24 through 8/9/24. 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. 756 Sarasota-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 68 (9% of candidates) were named 2024 Five Star Wealth Managers.  The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2023: 661, 60, 9%, 10/1/23, 1/9/23 - 7/31/23; 2022: 603, 67, 11%,10/1/22, 01/31/2022 - 08/12/2022; 2021: 613, 51, 8%, 10/1/21, 1/11/21 - 7/30/21; 2020: 579, 49, 8%, 10/1/20, 1/13/20 - 8/21/20; 2019: 602, 60, 10%, 10/1/19, 1/28/19 - 8/16/19; 2018: 626, 52, 8%, 10/1/18, 1/30/18 - 8/20/18; 2017: 434, 40, 9%, 10/1/17, 2/3/17 - 8/18/17; 2016: 464, 96, 21%, 9/1/16, 3/16/16 - 8/25/16; 2015: 602, 112, 19%, 10/1/15, 3/16/15 - 8/11/15; 2014: 849, 146, 17%, 10/1/14, 3/16/13 - 8/11/13; 2013: 652, 141, 22%, 10/1/13, 3/16/12 - 8/11/12; 2012: 530, 149, 28%, 10/1/12, 3/16/11 - 8/11/11.

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

Click below to read more about the program summary and research methodology currently available: Five Star Professional Wealth Manager Program Summary and Research Methodology Updated September 2021.pdf