Five Star award winner Maria Cornelius, CFP®

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

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Maria Cornelius, CFP^®

Executive Vice President

Burt Wealth Advisors

6010 Executive Blvd

Rockville, MD 20852

Office: 301-770-9880

mcornelius@burtwealth.com
www.burtwealth.com

Professional Approach

Maria has been providing wealth management services to her clients at Burt Wealth Advisors for over 25 years. She is particularly proud of the work that she does to help women who are going through a life transition. The firm has a unique process that they take clients through called the “Growth Through Life™” process. This allows clients to explore many aspects of their financial and investment goals. It also helps them to find a deeper meaning to their money. She enjoys working closely with clients’ CPAs, attorneys and other advisors as needed to provide the most comprehensive services to her clients. She cultivates a deep connection with her clients to give them peace of mind on their wealth, investment management and ultimate dreams and goals.

Maria joined Burt Wealth Advisors in 1992 as a financial advisor and co-portfolio manager. She was appointed Vice President in 1996, and as her role expanded, promoted to Executive Vice President in 2003. Maria received a bachelor’s degree from Mount Saint Mary’s College in 1983. In 1988 she earned her Certified Financial Planner™ designation from the College for Financial Planning.

In addition to being included on a list of the “Top 50 Most Influential Women in Wealth Management” by Wealth Manager Magazine, she was featured on Wealthy Living Radio with Debra Owens to discuss “Investing 101 for Couples, Women and Widows”. She has been quoted in articles in US News and World Report, Smart CEO and, Financial Advisor IQ. She published an article in WE Magazine for Women called “Does Your Financial Advisor Speak your Language?” regarding the differences between men and women and how it affects their financial decisions. In September of 2015, she was named a “Five Star Wealth Manager” and featured in the Washington Post Magazine.

See Accomplishments

This award was issued on 10/17/21 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 01/4/2021 through 07/23/2021. 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. 2091 Washington DC-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 121 (6% of candidates) were named 2021 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2020: 2535, 115, 5%, 9/1/20, 1/27/20 - 8/21/20; 2019: 1956, 122, 6%, 10/1/19, 12/31/18 - 8/9/19; 2018: 1975, 100, 5%, 10/1/18, 2/1/18 - 8/24/18; 2017: 1417, 106, 7%, 10/1/17, 2/8/17 - 8/22/17; 2016: 1665, 208, 12%, 8/1/16, 3/2/16 - 8/30/16; 2015: 1837, 227, 12%, 9/1/15, 2/14/15 - 8/10/15; 2012: 449, 97, 22%, 10/4/11, 2/14/11 - 8/10/11.

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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.