Outside the office, Walton continues to work on behalf of his community and region. After overseeing the restoration and LEED certification process of Walton Financial’s headquarters in the historic Rosedale neighborhood of Homewood, Alabama, Walton founded the Green Resource Center for Alabama, a 501(c)(3) organization that promotes social, economic and environmentally sustainable practices. Between 2008-2012, the Center was honored with several humanitarian awards and received multiple support grants. Walton has also shared his expertise with a number of local organizations, including Birmingham Business Alliance, Leadership Birmingham, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and the Birmingham chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, among others.

“We are so proud to be acknowledged by Forbes for the work we do in service of our friends and clients,” Walton said. “In an era of constant change in the world and an industry that desperately needs servant leaders, this means a great deal to me personally and to our team. We’ve often been recognized for our charitable work in the community, but to be recognized for our life’s work is a career highlight. We’ll use this moment to celebrate what we do well and to renew our commitment to the individuals and companies we serve.”

Developed by SHOOK Research, the 2019 ranking of the Forbes’ Best-in-State Wealth Advisors1 list is based on in-person and telephone due-diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively and on a ranking algorithm that includes client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations, and quantitative criteria (including assets under management and revenue generated by their firms). In total, 30,000 advisors were considered and 3,500 (11.6 percent of candidates) were recognized. The full methodology2 Forbes developed in partnership with SHOOK Research is available here.