The Cliché Crisis in Wealth Management

When financial advisor firms market themselves, they tend to sound exactly the same.

Even the best ones.

The CNBC FA 100 represents the top firms in the U.S. But when we looked closely at the brand language on the websites of those firms, only 6% stood out with truly distinctive branding.

The rest fell into the Cliché Trap.

The Problem Made Visible

If you’ve seen one financial advisor site, you’ve probably read them all. Advisors consistently reach for the same words to describe themselves.

Words like “holistic,” “comprehensive,” and “fiduciary” should be proud points of distinction, but their overuse makes it harder for your clients to understand what sets you apart from everyone else saying the same thing.

We audited the digital brand presence of all 100 firms in the CNBC FA Top 100.

Here’s what we found.

What the data shows

A sea of sameness

The average rating of a top 100 firm is 5.6 on a 1-10 scale. Nearly half of the firms we audited flooded their brand with generic copy that could belong to any of their competitors.

The tenure trap

The size and success of a firm had no correlation with brand originality. What’s more, firms founded before 1985 use more clichés on average than newer firms. Longevity breeds complacency.

Top 10 clichés

  1. goals / goal-based — virtually every site
  2. fiduciary — ~85% of firms
  3. personalized / tailored — ~80% of firms
  4. independent — ~70% of firms
  5. long-term — ~75% of firms
  6. comprehensive — ~65% of firms
  7. best interest / clients first — ~70% of firms
  8. trusted / trust — ~60% of firms
  9. holistic — ~45% of firms
  10. peace of mind — ~40% of firms

Who’s Getting It Right?

Of the 100 firms we reviewed, only six were truly distinctive. They used language and leaned into their culture and specialties in a way that others cannot copy.

Cadinha & Co. (Honolulu, HI) — Score: 8.5

Leads with "Worth. Worthy. Beyond Net Worth." — a tradeable concept rooted in Hawaiian cultural values that reframes the entire client relationship. Their claim of "unconventional financial planning" is backed by copy that actually earns it.

Birch Hill Investment Advisors (Boston, MA) — Score: 8.5

The lowest cliché count (1) of any firm with substantive website copy in the study. Leads with "At Birch Hill, investing is our first responsibility" and closes with "Your wealth is yours today. Whose should it be tomorrow?" The firm's description of its Tuesday morning investment committee meetings is the most vivid, specific piece of brand content in the entire study.

Chevy Chase Trust Company (Bethesda, MD) — Score: 8.5

Manages $44+ billion for 1,241 households, with a 97% client retention rate over 10 years, and builds its brand around a specific, named investment philosophy: Global Thematic Investing. The firm's positioning, "Thematic Investing is the antithesis of style box investing," is a bold, clear statement of differentiation that no competitor could steal.

Henry H. Armstrong Associates (Pittsburgh, PA) — Score: 8.0

Leads with what it won't do. A "What We Don't Do" section counter-positions the firm against Wall Street momentum investing. "We eat our own cooking" is stated as policy, not metaphor. Three total clichés across all primary pages.

Woodley Farra Manion (Indianapolis, IN) — Score: 8.0

The firm’s branding story is framed around the link between distance running and long-term financial goals. You might speculate that the firm’s creativity has something to do with its sustained success, as it was ranked #1 on the CNBC FA 100 in 2022.

Constellation Wealth Advisors (Cincinnati, OH) — Score: 8.0

Closes its home page with one of the most self-aware positioning statements in the study: "We've set out to actually do what others say they do." Every firm claims to be different. Constellation is the only one that makes the claim by calling out the claim itself.

How does your firm compare?

Want to know how original your branding really is? We’ll review your website and score your brand language.

How We Graded Each Firm

Gregory conducted its analysis using its proprietary AI agent, purpose-built for financial services intelligence. We reviewed all 100 firms on the CNBC Financial Advisor 100 (2025) list, reviewing the language on their home page, About Us, investment philosophy, and services pages, where distinctive positions are most likely to appear.

We tracked 20 terms for frequency of appearance:

comprehensive, personalized, tailored, customized, trusted/trust, holistic, fiduciary, independent, peace of mind, goals/goal-based, partnership, journey, financial wellness/wellbeing, achieve your/their goals, best interest/clients first, disciplined, long-term, wealth management (self-referential), dedicated, client-centric.

The results impacted the rating of each firm on a 1-10 scale:

  • 9–10: Trademarked or proprietary concept. Memorable. No competitor could use this brand.
  • 7–8: Distinctive voice and clear positioning. Specific client focus. Minor clichés only.
  • 5–6: One genuine differentiator. Clichés present but not dominant.
  • 3–4: Generic. Three to five top-20 clichés in primary pages. Interchangeable with competitors.
  • 1–2: Wall of clichés. No differentiation. Could belong to any firm on the list.

We audited each firm for their branding, not their performance. But communications and performance are increasingly inseparable as prospects and clients demand more from their advisors.