Honor Recognizes the 100 standout US advisors whose growth metrics, planning philosophies, and client focus set a high bar for the industry
Tom Ruggie, ChFC®, CFP®, founder and chief executive officer of Destiny Family Office, has been named to the InvestmentNews Top Financial Professionals 2026 list, an annual recognition honoring 100 of the nation’s leading financial professionals for excellence in growth, leadership, and client impact.
Approximately 76,000 independent financial advisors and over 25,000 independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firms operate in the U.S. independently of large wirehouses, and today, manage a growing share of the wealth management industry.
Tom was recognized for his leadership at Destiny Family Office, where he “provides comprehensive, multi-family office services designed to help ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families navigate the complexities of significant wealth,” said InvestmentNews. Guided by his personal philosophy, that “I am my own client,” he has built an organization centered on delivering the level of advice, access, and service he would demand for himself.
InvestmentNews added, “The recognition follows a year marked by heightened market volatility and shifting investor sentiment. While the S&P 500 returned 16.4 percent and the Nasdaq Composite 20.4 percent, advisors were tested in their ability to guide clients through uncertainty while maintaining disciplined investment strategies.”
“I’m not as worried about volatility itself, as I am about the psychology of volatility for our clients,” said Ruggie who was interviewed by InvestmentNews for the article announcing the winners. “When the market was down 20% in a couple of weeks, I had a lot of people asking, ‘You must be getting a ton of phone calls.’ But we don’t, because we don’t focus on day-to-day moves; we focus on a strategy that does a fantastic job of managing that,” Ruggie said.
He added, “The goal is for our clients not to make irrational decisions at the two times people most often do: when things are going very well… and when things are going very poorly.”
A hallmark of Ruggie’s approach at Destiny Family Office is providing clients with access to institutional-caliber alternative investments alongside traditional public securities. This includes pre-IPO direct investments and a proprietary alternative investment strategy that blends hedge funds, private equity, and direct investments typically reserved for qualified purchasers.
Beyond investment management, Ruggie emphasizes a fully integrated planning model that addresses tax strategy, estate coordination, philanthropy, and business-liquidity planning.
“If I can take all that off my clients’ plate, they have more time to focus on what truly matters to them,” Tom noted.
Under his leadership, the broader Destiny platform manages more than $1.5 billion in assets, driven by organic growth not mergers and acquisitions, reflecting long-term client trust and disciplined strategic expansion.
Honing his leadership skills as a member of Strategic Coach and TIGER 21, Tom shares insights into innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship with future leaders as an author and speaker, and through ventures such as the University of Central Florida’s Blackstone LaunchPad Speakers’ Series and as a board member of the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation.
