Visionary Wealth Advisors extends its congratulations to The Connelly Group for their outstanding dedication to clients. We are pleased to share that Elizabeth Connelly, J.D., CTFA, CISP, Partner and Sr. Wealth Management Advisor, has been honored as one of Forbes | SHOOK Best-In-State Top Women Wealth Advisors for 2025. Additionally, we commend Kent Kobernus, CFP, from The Connelly Group for appearing in Fortune magazine in a Five Star Wealth Managers Under 40 section.
These accolades reflect the high standards and professionalism that The Connelly Group consistently demonstrates in the wealth management industry. We celebrate their achievements and look forward to their continued success. Please find more information about the awards below:
*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.
Five Star Disclosure Info: This award was issued on 10/1/25 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 12/25/24 through 5/30/25. 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. St. Louis-area wealth managers were considered for the award; ( % of candidates) were named 2025 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2024: 2,685, 187, 7%, 10/1/24, 1/10/24 – 7/9/24; 2023: 2,691, 167, 6%, 10/1/23, 12/12/22 – 6/30/23; 2022: 2418, 158, 7%, 10/1/22, 1/24/22 – 7/22/22; 2021: 2683, 164, 6%, 10/1/21, 12/28/20 – 8/6/21; 2020: 2431, 170, 7%, 10/1/20, 1/6/20 – 8/7/20; 2019: 2481, 185, 7%, 10/1/19, 1/14/19 – 8/9/19; 2018: 2533, 179, 7%, 10/1/18, 1/26/18 – 8/15/18; 2017: 1681, 181, 11%, 10/1/17, 1/26/17 – 8/28/17; 2016: 1427, 324, 23%, 9/1/16, 3/3/16 – 8/22/16; 2015: 2194, 358, 16%, 10/1/15, 2/16/15 – 8/11/15; 2014: 1401, 389, 28%, 2/1/14, 2/16/13 – 8/11/13; 2013: 1726, 485, 28%, 2/1/13, 2/16/12 – 8/11/12; 2012: 1800, 455, 25%, 2/1/12, 2/16/11 – 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 past11years;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
SHOOK is completely independent and objective and does not receive compensation from the advisors, firms, the media, or any other source in exchange for placement on a ranking. SHOOK is funded through conferences, publications and research partners. Since every investor has unique needs, investors must carefully choose the right advisor for their own situation and perform their own due diligence. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience; the firm’s research and rankings provide opinions for how to choose the right financial advisor. Portfolio performance is not a criterion due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Remember, past performance is not an indication of future results.
For more information and complete details on methodology, go to www.shookresearch.com.