HA Wealth Advisors

HA Wealth Advisors

Founded in 2010 by Heather A. Brilliant, HA Wealth Advisors operates as a registered investment advisor in Chicago. Brilliant previously served as CEO of Morningstar Australasia and held global research leadership roles at Morningstar, where she oversaw equity and fund analysis teams. Her tenure included a term as chair of the CFA Institute Board of Governors, a credential that shapes the firm's investment philosophy around fiduciary duty and evidence-based portfolio construction. The firm delivers wealth management and financial planning services, with an investment approach grounded in fundamental research and long-term asset allocation. Asset classes typically include equities, fixed income, and alternatives where appropriate for client portfolios. Brilliant's background in manager research — she authored The Ivy Portfolio with a co-author — informs a due-diligence process that emphasizes cost discipline and manager selection. Client engagement spans retirement planning, tax-aware strategies, and estate coordination. Team size and total assets under advisement are not publicly disclosed. The firm maintains a single office in Chicago and serves individual and family clients without a published institutional separate-accounts program or adjacent philanthropic vehicle. In September 2024, the firm launched a redesigned client portal aimed at improving portfolio transparency and reporting access, per the firm's official communications. Structurally, HA Wealth Advisors differentiates through its founder's dual identity as practitioner and former industry standard-setter. The combination of CFA Institute governance experience with hands-on research leadership embeds a compliance-first, analytically driven culture in a firm of its scale — a governance posture more typical of substantially larger institutional managers.