Independent wealth and asset manager recognized among 25 U.S. firms serving ultra-high-net-worth families
Bailard, Inc., an independent wealth and asset management firm, has been named to the inaugural CNBC Elite Advisors list. CNBC recognizes 25 U.S. registered investment advisors (RIAs) with a record of serving ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients and families across the full range of services they require.
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Bailard Named to Inaugural CNBC Elite Advisors List
Founded in 1969 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bailard is both a wealth manager and an asset manager, serving individuals, families, and institutions. For UHNW families, that combination and a long history of close client relationships meet the complexity of significant wealth.
In practice, that involves liquidity events, concentrated equity positions, estate coordination, and philanthropic strategy, helping families navigate both the technical and the personal sides of substantial wealth. Each relationship is treated as its own mandate, with planning and portfolios built around a family's goals, circumstances, and values.
Bailard has remained independent since 1969, majority-owned by current and former employees, with the balance held by longtime individual shareholders. The firm has no parent company and no private-equity ownership, and as a Certified B Corporation®, it answers to standards of accountability that reach beyond its shareholders. Its advisors often work with clients across several generations, and Bailard maintains a 99% client retention rate.*
“This recognition reflects the firm we have worked to build for more than 50 years, where clients are served by people who know them well and stay with them over time,” said Sonya Mughal, CFA, Chief Executive Officer of Bailard. “Families trust us with far more than their portfolios, and being part of this first group of firms says a great deal about the team that earns that trust every day.”
Underpinning that service is an investment team that manages money itself. Bailard runs its own strategies across domestic and international equities, fixed income, private real estate, and sustainable and responsible investing, and brings in outside specialists when a specific need calls for it, such as long/short overlays used to manage concentrated stock positions. Decades of running portfolios give the firm a clear sense of what to look for when selecting an external manager, and clients work directly with the people responsible for the decisions.
About the CNBC Elite Advisors list
The CNBC Elite Advisors list recognizes independent U.S. registered investment advisors with a demonstrated record of serving ultra-high-net-worth clients and providing the full range of services those clients require. To build the 2026 list, CNBC solicited information from more than 100 firms and worked with AccuPoint Solutions and Cerulli Associates to assess them on criteria including UHNW assets under management, the breadth and sophistication of services and strategies, professional credentials, and client retention and tenure. The inaugural list included 25 firms, presented unranked. Inclusion does not constitute endorsement by CNBC. All logos and content associated with the list are owned by CNBC.
About Bailard, Inc.
Bailard is an independent firm that has served individuals, families, and institutions since 1969 with comprehensive wealth management and disciplined, in-house asset management. The firm provides financial and wealth planning, portfolio management, and investment strategies spanning domestic and international equities, fixed income, sustainable and responsible investing, private real estate, and customized mandates. Bailard manages more than $7.5 billion in assets as of March 31, 2026. The firm is guided by six core values: accountability, compassion, courage, excellence, fairness, and independence. It is a Certified B Corporation® and a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investing.
Learn more at bailard.com, and explore career opportunities at bailard.com/careers.
Disclosures
This achievement does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients and is not indicative of Bailard’s future performance. The list was released in June 2026, and there was no cost to participate. *Bailard’s wealth management client retention rate for the five years ending December 31, 2025, was 99%. This number does not include terminations due to estate distributions, depleted accounts, and accounts terminated by Bailard.
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Contacts
Marte Eggleston, Vested
bailard@fullyvested.com


