Fiduciaries Near Me

4 Critical Things You Should Know Before Hiring a Financial Advisor

When it comes to working with a financial advisor to protect and preserve your wealth, trust is number one. Expertise is also critical, but expertise that doesn’t serve your best interests will not benefit you as much as it will the advisor. For those of you with $5+ million investable liquid assets, we recommend our free guide, 7 Secrets to High-Net-Worth Investment Management, Estate, Tax and Financial Planning, because finding the best “fiduciary financial advisor near me” underlies them all.

The insights you’ll discover from our published book will help you integrate a variety of wealth management tools with financial planning, providing guidance for your future security alongside complex financial strategies, so your human and financial capital will both flourish.

Clients frequently share with us how the knowledge gained from this book helped provide them tremendous clarity, shattering industry-pitched ideologies, while offering insight and direction in making such important financial decisions.

4 Steps to Finding a Fiduciary Near Me

1. Assess your needs
2. Check reputation and credentials
3. Check compensation method
4. Ask the right questions

You must be wondering, “How do I find a fiduciary advisor near me?” Your search does not end with finding a fiduciary financial advisor. There are other things to consider to ensure that you find the right “fiduciary financial advisor near me.” Here’s how you can find one, but for detailed instructions, we recommend reading our extensive guide to choosing a “fiduciary financial advisor near me” for investors worth $10 million or more.

Before even looking for a “fiduciary financial advisor near me,” you need to evaluate a few things on your own. You need to assess your needs and clarify why you want a financial advisor.

Fiduciary and non-fiduciary are two types of financial advisor. Even within those, you will find differences among advisors, when looking for a “fiduciary financial advisor near me,” who provide different services and caters to different needs. For instance, within fiduciary financial advisors, you will find investment management advisors, fee-only fiduciary financial planners, wealth managers, and more. While it may seem like all of them provide the same services, there are a few differences.

So, if you want a “fiduciary financial advisor near me,” you need to evaluate what you need. If you need holistic financial planning and wealth management services that cover all aspects of your wealth and assets, a wealth management firm would be the right fit for you.

 2. Check Reputation and Credentials

The best way to evaluate the abilities and skills of a professional “fiduciary financial advisor near me” would be to see their performance directly by studying their existing clients’ portfolios. Of course, that’s not possible, so you have to rely on other methods. This includes checking their reputation and reviews and confirming their credentials.

You should evaluate the reputation the financial advisor holds in the market, what other people say about them, and what their previous or existing clients have to say about their expertise. If you know anyone who has worked with them directly, you can ask them for a detailed review of their services and skills.

Also, whenever you’re searching for a “fiduciary financial advisor near me,” it’s important to check if the advisor has all the right credentials, certifications, and licenses. For instance, a certified financial planner, who is certified by the CFP board, will always be a fiduciary.

3. Check Compensation Method

It’s also important to check how the “fiduciary financial advisor near me ” is compensated. There are fee-only advisors, commission-only advisors, and advisors who use both methods. The problem with commission-only advisors is that they often face conflicts of interest.

Since they earn a commission when they buy and sell a security on your behalf, it’s not always clear if they are working for your best interests or theirs. As a “fiduciary financial advisor near me,” they might even disclose that they will earn a commission, but sometimes, it’s in that fine print people tend to overlook or buried deep in extensive legal documents.

Your best and safest option is to stick with a fee-only “fiduciary financial advisor near me,” who won’t have any conflicts of interest. In fact, working for your best interests often aligns with their best interests as well. Pillar Wealth Management is a 100% fee-only wealth management firm. Start chatting with our advisors for financial solutions that serve your needs best.

4. Ask the Right Questions

If you want to know whether a financial advisor is right for you, you need to ask the right questions. While the best financial advisor should provide all the relevant and necessary information to gain your trust, sometimes it takes a little prodding from your side to determine how good they are.

Therefore, ask them technical questions regarding the fees you will have to pay and how they devise investment portfolio strategies. It’s also important to ask some hard questions like how they will ensure you will have a safe and secure retirement and how they plan to help you fulfill your goals.

Their answers should demonstrate not only their knowledge but also their commitment. If they seem to be entirely focused on performance numbers, that’s not necessarily a good thing, and you can learn why by reading about it in our guide for multi-millionaires on improving the performance of portfolios.

Our managers and advisors have more than 30 years of experience offering financial advisory services.

Therefore, you can trust us to know exactly what we’re doing and help you fulfill your financial goals and targets with the help of our extensive resources. Get in touch with our advisors today to learn how we can help you.

In this article, we discuss topics related to the search for a “fiduciary financial advisor near me,” such as how to know if your advisor is a fiduciary, how to find one, how much they cost, how they’re different from a financial planner, the benefits and drawbacks of having an advisor near you, and the role of financial planners in the advisory landscape.

 Let’s begin.

What is a Fiduciary or Non-Fiduciary Advisor?

When looking for a “fiduciary financial advisor near me,” the very first thing you need to do is understand what fiduciary means. The fiduciary standard is a responsibility requiring an advisor to always act in their clients’ best interests. A “fiduciary financial advisor near me” always puts their clients’ interests before their own to avoid any conflicts of interest. This means that the investments, products, and comprehensive financial advice they recommend are the best for the client, even if it results in some loss for them personally.

5 Key Differences between Fiduciary and Non-Fiduciary Advisors

1. As a “fiduciary financial advisor near me,” they must disclose everything. For any recommendation they make, they have to disclose its benefits as well as any costs that come with it so that the client can make an informed decision. On the other hand, a non-fiduciary advisor holds no such obligations. Advisors who don’t have a fiduciary duty usually hold themselves to the suitability standard instead, which is a much more relaxed responsibility. These advisors are simply obligated to suggest solutions that meet suitable criteria. This means they can suggest anything that is profitable for them as long as it doesn’t harm you and provides some benefits. They may be broker-dealers, insurance agents, or stockbrokers.
2. A second indication that an advisor is a fiduciary is if their fee structure is “fee-only,” which means that their fees are derived only from what their clients pay them.
3. Thirdly, if an advisor is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), that designation tells you that they are a fiduciary.
4. Fourth, if the advisor you are considering is a registered investment advisor (RIA), they will be held to a fiduciary standard.
5. Finally, a fiduciary advisor will typically be more interested in your aspirations and financial goals; also, they will tend to have relationships with other professionals who also follow a fiduciary standard.

As you may realize, non-fiduciary advisors can be quite harmful, risking fraud at times, increasing the chances of your losing your wealth and assets.

So, if you want to protect your wealth and avoid any conflicts of interest, you should look for a “fiduciary financial advisor near me” who upholds the standard. Better yet, you could read our book, The Art of Protecting Ultra-High Net Worth Portfolios and Estates – Strategies for Families Worth $25 million to $500 million to learn about how to protect your assets.

How to Tell if Your Advisor is a Fiduciary

If you’re wondering, “Is my advisor a fiduciary?”, then the simplest and quickest way to find out is to ask them. Otherwise, you can use this list to help you:

Investment Advisor

The term “investment advisor” defines someone who has expertise and professional experience in financial services, including providing investment advice, but it is also used to identify brokers and companies that simply buy and sell securities. A registered investment advisor, with the RIA designation, is an investment advisor who is also a fiduciary, in the sense of adhering to fiduciary duty.

National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA)

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors is a professional organization of fee-only and fiduciary advisors that are pledged to work only for their clients’ best interests. Members of NAPFA provide investment advice that is independent and objective; they are number one in terms of delivering investment advisory and financial planning services, and they adhere to the highest standards in financial planning.

How Much Does a Fiduciary Financial Advisor Cost?

3 Financial Advisor Fee Structures

1. There are several factors that influence how much having a fiduciary financial advisor will cost. For starters, it depends on the type of financial advisor you choose and the services you use. Some financial planners can charge you from $1,500 to around $5,000 for drafting a financial plan. They may also charge a flat fee per month or year. A yearly plan can cost from $2,000 to $7,500.
2. The second most common fee structure is when the client pays an hourly fee when using the advisor’s services.
3. Many investment advisors charge a percentage of the assets under management (AUM). This percentage varies, with an average around 1%. This may vary depending on the advisor’s approach, which you can read about in this guide on portfolio growth strategies for families worth $5 million to $500 million.

There are also robo advisors that provide financial advice and charge much less than a human advisor.

Moreover, your costs may depend on your net worth, where some advisors lower their rates as the client’s net worth increases.

What is the Difference Between a Financial Planner and a Fiduciary?

5 Key Differences

1. Fiduciary financial advisors include financial planners, but not every financial planner is a fiduciary. Financial planners work with each client to create a comprehensive financial plan to help them achieve their financial goals. Some financial planners may also specialize in specific services such as retirement planning, tax planning, or debt management.
2. Certain financial planners are fiduciary advisors, such as fee-only, independent financial planners. You can reach out to one of our fiduciary advisors to determine which kind of advisor would be best for you.
3. A financial planner will advertise that they are a fiduciary.
4. A financial planner who is a fiduciary will be registered with various associations such as FINRA or the CFP board, in addition to the SEC.
5. Fiduciary advisors are more likely to adopt a broad outlook and holistically evaluate and manage various aspects of a client’s wealth and assets. They are more interested in the client’s goals and aspirations.

Do I Need a Fiduciary Financial Advisor Near Me?

Having a financial advisor in your locality certainly has its benefits. You can physically meet them whenever you want. If your assets happen to include real estate, the advisor’s knowledge and expertise of the local real estate market can help you make better decisions.

That’s pretty much it.

There aren’t any special benefits to working with an advisor near you.

These days, technology has made it more than easy to get in touch with and communicate with anyone, and that includes a fiduciary financial advisor.

Therefore, rather than focusing on finding a financial advisor near you, you should look for the best financial advisor for you, based on their credentials, reputation, experience, personality, and track record. To help you get started, we suggest reading our exclusive guide on choosing a fiduciary financial advisor for high-net-worth individuals and families.

10 Questions to ask before hiring a “fiduciary financial advisor near me”

In summary, you should ask the right questions before choosing the financial advisor you want to work with. Here are the top ten questions to ask:

1. Describe your fee structure. Is it fee-based or fee-only?
2. What is your approach to asset allocation?
3. Describe your vision of financial planning.
4. How much do you charge for an initial financial plan?
5. Are you a fiduciary?
6. Are there times when you do not act as a fiduciary?
7. Will you help me with retirement planning?
8. Can you help me with my budget and savings plan?
9. How do you monitor the success of my investments?
10. How often will you review my financial plan?

Pillar Wealth Management is an independent wealth management firm, with fiduciary financial advisors and managers focused on providing tailored services to high-net-worth clients. We have over 30 years of experience in this field, which allows us to efficiently help our clients build their wealth, protect their assets, and achieve their short- and long-term targets. Book a consultation session with us to get started on building your wealth and assets.