Blue Summit Wealth Management

FIVE STAR Wealth Manager Award - San Diego Magazine

FIVE STAR Wealth Manager Recipients of the FIVE STAR Wealth Managers are an elite group, representing less than 4 percent of the wealth managers in the San Diego area.

Crescendo administers a survey, to approximately 1 in 4 high-net-worth households (over 68,600 households) and all identified FINRA registered representatives (over 8,500 financial services professionals) within the San Diego area.

Survey recipients are asked to evaluate only wealth managers whom they know through personal experience and to evaluate them based upon nine criteria: customer service, integrity, knowledge/expertise, communication, value for fee charged, meeting of financial objectives, post-sale service, quality of recommendations and overall satisfaction.

Wealth managers are reviewed for regulatory actions, civil judicial actions and customer complaints and then reviewed by a blue ribbon panel comprised of individuals from within the financial services industry.

Please note that individuals who are selected as FIVE-STAR Wealth Managers do not pay a fee to be included in the research or the final list of wealth managers, however, there is a fee associated with the use of the FIVE-STAR logo and other marketing materials.

The Five Star Wealth Management Award identifies 7% of wealth managers within a local region who score highest in client satisfaction. Each wealth manager must have five years of experience in the financial services industry and receive certification they have been reviewed for regulatory actions, civil and judicial actions, and customer complaints. Details of the award can be viewed at www.fivestarprofessional.com. Recognition from rating services or publications are no guarantee of future investment success. Working with a highly rated advisor does not ensure that a client or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance or results. These ratings should not be construed as an endorsement of the adviser by any client nor are they representative of any one client's evaluation.

Additional information regarding award criteria and the methodology used to include specific professionals on the FIVE-STAR Wealth Manager list can be found at Five Star Professional.

Green America - People's Choice Award � Award Qualifications

People's Choice Award Green America members around the country nominated Blue Summit Financial Group for their People�s Choice of Top 10 Green Business of the Year in 2009. The Top Ten nominees were announced in Green America�s e-newsletter to over 90,000 subscribers, launching a run-off vote that ended in September.

Businesses are screened and approved in order to be eligible for the People's Choice Award. The screening process involves a comprehensive review designed to ensure that only truly committed socially and environmentally responsible businesses are being promoted.

Businesses initiate the review process by completing a Listing Application. The information on this application, along with other information gathered by the screening team through research and interviews, is reviewed by Green America's Screening Team.

The Screening Committee, which is appointed by and reports to Green America's board of directors, investigates each applying company to determine its familiarity with and commitment to social and environmental responsibility, and looks for significant evidence of this commitment in the practices and policies of the company.

To qualify, companies' representatives must demonstrate that they:

  • Actively use their businesses as tools for positive social change;
  • Run "values-driven" enterprises that operate according to principles of social justice and environmental sustainability;
  • Are socially and environmentally responsible in the way they source, manufacture, and market their products and run their offices and factories; and
  • Are committed to developing and employing extraordinary practices that benefit workers, customers, communities, and the environment.

The committee may either approve the company or ask the Screening Coordinator to gather additional information if questions or concerns remain. When the committee is satisfied that a company's profile is complete, a final decision is made to approve or reject the company.

Past recipients of the People�s Choice Award include Mountain Rose Herbs, ReusableBags.com, and Ten Thousand Villages. The awards are presented at the San Francisco Green Festival in November.

National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) - BRAVO! Green Community - Award Qualifications

Bravo This BRAVO! Award goes to the San Diego woman business owner who is committed to going above and beyond the call of duty in complying with environmentally safe business practices, has demonstrated effective and innovative leadership toward going green, and has encouraged efforts toward green tendencies.

The awards decision committee is made up of NAWBO Board of Directors members, each of whom assigns a numerical value to each nominee's responses to the following questions:

  • How has this nominee gone above and beyond to comply with environmentally safe business practices?
  • How has this nominee demonstrated leadership in the green movement?
  • What specific decisions has this nominee made at her business to support going green, e.g., installing solar panels, investing in hybrid company vehicles, minimizing waste, and attaining LEED certification?
  • What other attributes would you like to tell us about the nominee?

Small Business Association (SBA) - Women Owned Business of the Year - Award Qualifications

SBA This award honors women who own and operate or bear principal responsibility for operating a small business. Female partners who jointly make up 51% or more of business ownership are considered "woman-owned". Partners who jointly own and operate a small business may be nominated as a "team", so long as the number of individuals in a single nomination does not exceed three.

The SBA has the local SCORE group read through the applications and rate each of them, based on the following criteria:

  • Staying power: a substantiated history as an established business.
  • Growth in number of employees: a benchmark to judge the impact of the business on the job market.
  • Increase in sales and/or unit volume: an indication of continued growth.
  • Innovativeness of product or service offered: illustrations of the creativity and imagination of the nominee.
  • Current and past financial status: substantiating the improved financial position of the business.

All nominees for Small Business Week Awards must be residents of and employed in the United States and are subject to background checks. Small businesses owned and operated by nominees must comply with federal civil rights laws. The U. S. Small Business Administration's size standards apply in defining a business as small.

San Diego Metropolitan Magazine - 40 Under 40 - Award Qualifications

40 Under 40 For the past decade, San Diego Metropolitan has been honoring 40 San Diegans under 40 years of age, recognizing our region's exceptional young business and civic leaders for their professional successes and community involvement. Since the passing of the Jaycees' Outstanding Young Citizens, 40 Under 40 is the only program in San Diego honoring young entrepreneurs, professionals and civic leaders for their excellence primarily in the workplace.

Nominations for the award are made by readers and selected by a panel of distinguished judges independent of the Metropolitan. Selection criteria are based on three categories: Community Involvement, Business Accomplishments, and Awards & Achievements. The judges collect applications in April and May and select winners based on their responses to these three criteria. Award winners are announced in June and are highlighted in the magazine's September issue and recognized at a luncheon.