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PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

AWARDS

  • Five Star Wealth Manager award winner fifteen years in a row (2012 – 2026)
  • Recognized among Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women of 2025
  • Quoted in Forbes magazine 
  • Featured in The Wall Street Journal
  • Two-time Agent of the Year, and the first woman to win the award in 103 years*
  • Woman of the Year for 2009 – 2010 by the National Association of Professional Women

OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • Profiled and Quoted in the Special Investment Guide issue of Forbes, published December 31, 2016
  • Pioneer & Founder of the Houston Business Journal Powerful Women’s Event targeting the mentoring needs of Women Owned Business
  • Panelist for 2013 Houston Business Journal Powerful Women’s Event
  • Moderator for 2012 Houston Business Journal Powerful Women’s Event
  • Featured in "Building Up Women Entrepreneurs" by The Wall Street Journal
  • Profiled by Houston Business Journal
  • CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional
  • Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow designee
  • Certified Fund Specialist® designee
  • Certified Family Business Specialist designee
  • Certified Long Term Care Specialist designee
  • Designated Speaker for Accounting and Financial Women's Alliance’s (AFWA) National Conference
  • Guest Panelist at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company's (MassMutual) National Leader's Conference multiple times
  • Served on Agent Association Committee for MassMutual
  • Member of the Alternative Board since 2006
  • Administered the Financial Planning Program for the Anheuser Busch Employees Credit Union for 16 years for 16 national locations as well as the Chevron Texas Employee Credit Union for 8 years at Houston and Bellaire locations
  • Oversaw the Transtar Federal Credit Union Financial Planning Programs

 

ONE OF HOUSTON WOMAN MAGAZINE’S “HOUSTON’S 50 MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN OF 2025"

Houston, TX — Ann Hauser Laufman, LUTCF, CLTC, CFS, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional, and Certified Family Business Specialist, has been named one of Houston Woman Magazine’s “Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women of 2025.” This distinguished honor recognizes women whose leadership, vision, and influence are making a lasting impact across Houston’s business and professional communities.

Helping others plan for a secure and prosperous financial future is second nature for Ann. A graduate of the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, she combines academic excellence with decades of real-world leadership to deliver comprehensive financial strategies for individuals, families, and business owners. Her work spans financial planning, estate planning, long-term care planning, and family business succession, ensuring clients are prepared for every stage of life.

Ann is a recognized long-term care specialist, helping families protect assets, preserve dignity, and plan proactively for healthcare and aging needs. Her estate planning focus further supports multigenerational families and business owners in building enduring legacies through thoughtful wealth transfer and risk management strategies.

She is widely recognized for her influential leadership in creating and leading large-scale mentoring events for women-owned businesses, bringing together more than 600 women entrepreneurs to foster education, collaboration, and growth. These initiatives have strengthened Houston’s business community while providing women business owners with access to financial insight, mentorship, and long-term planning resources.

In addition to earning her CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation through Rice University and her Certified Family Business Specialist certification from The American College, Ann has received numerous industry honors. She was named her agency’s Agent of the Year in both 2006 and 2010*, becoming the first woman in the agency’s more than 100-year history to earn this distinction. She was also recognized as Woman of the Year (2009–2010) by the National Association of Professional Women.

Ann’s expertise and leadership have earned national recognition. She has been quoted in Forbes Magazine, featured in The Wall Street Journal, and honored by Texas Monthly as a 14-time consecutive recipient of the Five Star Wealth Manager Award, reflecting sustained excellence and trusted leadership in the financial planning profession. Most recently, Ann was named one of Forbes Magazine’s “Top Financial Security Professionals Best-In-State,” as published in the July 10, 2025edition of Forbes, further underscoring her national standing and impact within the financial services industry.

Being named one of Houston Woman Magazine’s “Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women of 2025” highlights Ann Hauser Laufman’s enduring influence as a leader, mentor, and advocate for financial education, estate planning, long-term care preparedness, and women-owned businesses throughout the Greater Houston community.


About Houston Woman Magazine

Houston Woman Magazine is a premier publication celebrating women’s leadership, achievement, and influence across the Greater Houston area.

For more information, please contact: cfeig@financialguide.com

 


If you’d like to take a look, you can view the feature here: 
https://online.fliphtml5.com/lctmo/bwzz/

 

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This award was issued on 07/01/2026 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 10/30/2025 through 04/30/2026. 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. 3716 Houston-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 190 (5% of candidates) were named 2026 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2025: 3,571, 195, 5%, 7/1/25, 10/30/24 - 5/1/25; 2024: 3,270, 208, 6%, 7/1/24, 10/10/23 - 4/30/24; 2023: 3,347, 179, 5%, 7/1/23, 10/10/22 - 5/5/23; 2022: 3215, 176, 5%, 7/1/22, 9/20/21 - 4/8/22; 2021: 3133, 173, 6%, 7/1/21, 9/14/20 - 4/30/21; 2020: 3219, 174, 5%, 7/1/20, 9/30/19 - 4/17/20; 2019: 2992, 209, 7%, 7/1/19, 10/15/18 - 4/26/19; 2018: 3114, 218, 7%, 7/1/18, 10/27/17 - 5/21/18; 2017: 2000, 228, 11%, 7/1/17, 10/24/16 - 5/24/17; 2016: 1763, 437, 25%, 6/1/16, 10/16/15 - 5/16/16; 2015: 2289, 408, 18%, 7/1/15, 10/16/14 - 5/16/15; 2014: 3958, 410, 10%, 7/1/14, 10/16/13 - 5/16/14; 2013: 3001, 504, 17%, 8/1/13, 10/16/12 - 5/16/13; 2012: 2105, 425, 20%, 7/1/12, 10/16/11 - 5/16/12.
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Ann Hauser Laufman is a Registered Representative of and offers securities, investment advisory and financial planning services through MML Investors Services, LLC. Member SIPC (www.sipc.org)  Supervisory office:  3 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1500, Houston, TX  77046, 713-402-3800.  ALA Financial Group, LLC is not a subsidiary or affiliate of MML Investors Services, LLC.

*The Agent of the Year Award is granted by Strategic Financial Group, and all agency producers are eligible to receive this recognition. This award recognition was based on advisor production for calendar year January 2006 through December 2006. This recognition was awarded in February 2007. 

*The Agent of the Year Award is granted by Strategic Financial Group, and all agency producers are eligible to receive this recognition. This award recognition was based on advisor production for calendar year January 2010 through December 1010. This recognition was awarded in February 2011.

 

• Not a credit Union deposit of obligation • Not guaranteed by any Credit Union

• Not NCUA-insured • Not insured by any government agency • May go down in value

 

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*Winners appearing on this page do not pay a fee to be considered or to win the Five Star Award. Professionals with a digital profile have paid a promotional fee.
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 past 11 years; 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.