ATLANTA (June 18, 2009) – Brightworth partners Dave Polstra, Chris Dardaman, Alan Gotthardt and Ray Padron have been selected as 2009 FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Managers SM for metro Atlanta.

More than 147,000 metro Atlanta residents and 14,400 financial service professionals were surveyed to determine the wealth managers who ranked in the top 7 percent for “best in client satisfaction.”

“Exceptional client satisfaction is at the core of who we are,” said Dave Polstra, Founding Partner of Brightworth. “We are greatly honored to be recognized for providing Five Star service.”

Survey recipients were asked to select only wealth managers whom they knew 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.

Before finalizing the list, each wealth manager was reviewed by a blue-ribbon panel that was comprised of knowledgeable individuals from within the financial services industry. Although panelist comments were incorporated into the final score, safeguards were built into the review process to reduce the ability of panel members to influence the composition of the final list on the basis of company affiliation.

Brightworth (www.brightworth.com) is an independent, fee-only wealth management firm that serves entrepreneurs and high net worth families and individuals. The firm and its partners have been nationally ranked as one of Robb Report Worth Magazine’s 100 Most Exclusive Wealth Advisors, Mutual Funds magazine’s 100 Top Advisors, Wealth Manager magazine’s Top 150 Wealth Managers and Barron’s Indie 100 list of top independent financial advisors, and are members of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA).