As a high-net-worth individual, you likely have multiple financial and investment goals. If you are focused on achieving those goals, you may have important questions about managing your finances, such as how to diversify a $10 million investment portfolio or how to increase your income over time.

Your objectives may range from buying a home in your ideal location, investing and saving for your family’s future, or even enjoying extended vacations in unique destinations. But how can you pursue these goals while also protecting your wealth? This is where working with a financial planner can be especially valuable.In this article, we explore why financial planning is important and how it can help you manage your assets more effectively. Key topics such as budgeting, taxes, investments, insurance, and other essential areas relevant to high-net-worth individuals will be covered.
All information is provided for educational purposes to help you make more informed financial decisions.

The Best Financial Advisors of 2023

Money Crashers compiled a list of financial advisors based on several evaluation criteria, aiming to highlight firms and platforms offering strong value and accessibility. Their selection considered the following factors:

1. Price — How affordable are the advisor’s services?
2. Accessibility — Are advisory services available without requiring a large minimum account balance?
3. Track Record — What is the overall quality of the services provided?
4. Technological Innovation — Does the advisor use the latest financial tools and technology?
5. Customer Feedback — What do clients report about their experience?

Below are their choices for 2023:

1. Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Investments, founded in 1946 and headquartered in Boston, MA, is a multinational financial corporation managing over $4 trillion in assets. It offers a wide range of financial advisory services and owns one of the largest brokerage firms in the United States.

Fidelity introduced zero-expense-ratio mutual funds in 2018, covering a significant portion of U.S.-indexed assets. Its robo-advisor platform, Fidelity Go, charges no advisory fees for accounts under $10,000, with fees increasing to 0.35% thereafter.

Fidelity also offers personalized planning services for accounts starting at $25,000, while its wealth management services, including Fidelity Wealth Management and Fidelity Private Wealth Management, require higher minimums and customized planning options.

2. Vanguard Personal Advisor Services

Vanguard manages approximately $8 trillion in assets and has a strong reputation for offering low-cost financial services. The company’s Digital Advisor and Personal Advisor Services provide personalized planning, investment coaching, goal tracking, and automated tax strategies.

For digital services, Vanguard requires a $3,000 brokerage account minimum, while access to a live advisor starts at $50,000 with a 0.30% annual fee. Vanguard Digital Advisor offers low-cost robo-advisory services, charging no fees for the first 90 days.

3. Zoe Financial

Zoe Financial connects clients with pre-vetted advisors who hold professional designations such as CFP, CFA, or CPA. Zoe emphasizes unbiased financial advice, ensuring that selected advisors have at least five years of experience and meet high client service standards.

Zoe’s platform aims to simplify the advisor search process by focusing on credentials and client satisfaction.

4. Betterment

Betterment offers primarily online investment management through a robo-advisory model focused on low-cost ETFs and digital asset management. Clients provide financial information, and portfolios are built and automatically managed based on asset allocation needs.

Betterment’s Premium plan gives clients access to Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) via unlimited calls and emails, requiring a minimum balance of $100,000. Annual fees range from 0.25% for Digital clients to 0.40% for Premium services.

5. Harness Wealth

Harness Wealth matches clients with financial, tax, or estate planning professionals based on individual profiles. The platform evaluates advisors on their expertise, client service quality, fiduciary status, and data security standards.

Harness offers standalone financial planning starting at $1,200, connecting users to vetted Certified Financial Planners.

6. Facet Wealth

Facet Wealth provides online financial planning services without investment management fees. Each client works with a dedicated CFP who acts as a fiduciary, building tailored financial plans based on individual goals and circumstances.

Facet’s services are offered on a flat-fee basis, ranging from $2,000 to $8,000 per year, depending on the complexity of services. The firm focuses on helping clients prepare for retirement, manage debt, and plan major life purchases.

Note: The financial advisor firms and platforms listed were selected by Money Crashers based on the criteria outlined above.
When choosing a financial advisor, always consider your personal financial needs, goals, and preferences.

• Who is the best financial planner?
• Is it worth paying for a financial planner?
• Which is better a financial advisor or a planner?
• What is a normal fee for a financial planner?
• Why do I need a financial planner?
• How much money should I have to get a financial planner?
• Is financial planning free?
• Does everyone need a financial planner?
• Is it too late to get a financial planner?
• At what age should I get a financial planner?

Who are the Best Financial Planners?

As a high-net-worth or ultra-high-net-worth individual with a substantial investment portfolio, finding the right financial planner is an important step in protecting and growing your wealth. Before we discuss how to find the best financial planner for your needs, it’s helpful to understand who financial planners are and what they do.

A financial planner is a finance professional who helps move you closer to achieving your long-term financial goals. They do this by expanding on your future objectives to create a comprehensive, customized financial plan. A financial planner reviews your lifestyle, current expenses, investment portfolio, and personal aspirations to design strategies tailored to your situation.

Using this information, they draft a detailed financial plan that guides the management of your portfolio and wealth. Although the concept may seem simple, the process can be highly complex, especially when working with the diverse needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

When creating a financial plan, a financial planner considers several factors, including the time frame for each goal. Some goals, such as saving for a major purchase, may be short-term, while others, such as retirement planning or legacy building, are longer-term objectives.

Understanding these distinctions allows the financial planner to recommend appropriate strategies for achieving your goals. To design an effective plan, many financial planners will ask you to complete a survey that captures a clear picture of your current financial situation, risk tolerance, and investment objectives.

Your risk profile — which reflects your appetite for investment risk — plays a crucial role in shaping your financial plan. Factors such as your stage of life, financial priorities, and overall comfort with market volatility will influence how your assets are allocated.

Once your goals and risk profile are clearly understood, a financial planner will assess how realistic your objectives are and help prioritize them. They may use financial tools such as capital needs analyses to determine how much you need to achieve your goals and how best to optimize your current assets and income streams.

This process often includes reviewing your budget, analyzing your assets and liabilities, and identifying opportunities to enhance your financial standing.

Now that you have a better understanding of what financial planners do, it’s time to look at how you can find the best financial planner for your investment portfolio.

Where are the Best Financial Planners?

If you do a quick online search for “best financial planners near me,” you’ll find a wide range of financial professionals offering various advisory services. But where can you actually find the most suitable planners for your unique financial needs?

To locate the right financial planner, it’s important to first understand the different types of financial professionals who offer advisory services and help design financial plans. Knowing the distinctions between these professional roles can help you narrow your options and make a more informed decision.

One type of financial service provider is the robo-advisor. However, a robo-advisor is not a person but rather an automated investment platform. These platforms use computer algorithms to manage your investment portfolio based on your answers to an initial questionnaire. The questions typically cover topics like your financial goals, preferred investment strategies, timeframe, and risk tolerance.

Once completed, the robo-advisor builds and manages your portfolio automatically, reallocating assets as needed according to the selected algorithm. While robo-advisors can offer a cost-effective and efficient solution for basic investment needs, they may not be ideal for individuals with complex financial situations, such as high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth investors. Customized advice, nuanced financial strategies, and personal interaction are limited within robo-advisory platforms.

For those seeking a more personalized approach, working with a financial planner is often the next step. A financial planner can help you organize your finances, develop strategies to meet your long-term goals, and create a detailed financial plan that reflects your life priorities. However, many financial planners primarily focus on creating plans rather than implementing them.

For individuals with significant wealth — such as those managing $5 million, $10 million, or more — the complexity of investment management often exceeds basic financial planning. Many planners may not have the licensing or expertise needed to actively manage portfolios by buying and selling securities like stocks or bonds. As a result, while a planner can provide a thorough plan, they might not be able to fully execute it without additional support.

This is where an investment broker enters the picture. Investment brokers can recommend and purchase investment vehicles — such as stocks, bonds, and other securities — to help meet your financial goals. Typically, brokers earn commissions based on the financial products you purchase through them.

For affluent investors seeking a streamlined experience, coordinating between a separate planner and broker can introduce challenges, especially if both parties are not closely aligned.

An alternative solution is working with a financial advisor or wealth manager, who typically combines financial planning and investment management skills into a single service model. Financial advisors often provide a broader range of services, including estate planning, tax planning, insurance solutions, and retirement strategies — all essential considerations for high-net-worth individuals.

Finding the right financial advisor or wealth manager can help you align all aspects of your financial life under one coordinated strategy, making it easier to protect and grow your wealth across generations.

How to Find the Right Financial Planner

When you are looking for financial advice or help managing your investment portfolio, it is important to find the right financial planner. More importantly, you need to find a financial planner that is right for you. As a high-net-worth individual with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets, your financial needs will differ significantly from those of the average investor.

Most financial planners are trained to work with middle-income clients, meaning they may not fully understand the complexities involved in managing large investment portfolios. As a result, the right financial planner for you is someone who has extensive experience working with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Another important factor to consider is fiduciary duty. A fiduciary is legally obligated to act in your best interests at all times. While other financial professionals, such as stockbrokers, may suggest investments, they are not always held to the fiduciary standard. In some cases, they may recommend products that offer them higher commissions, even if better alternatives exist.

Financial advisors who operate under a fiduciary duty are required to offer advice that aligns with your goals, ensuring you receive recommendations that serve your best interests.

How to Choose the Right Financial Planner

1. Consider Your Priorities

Different financial planners offer different types of services. Some may specialize in investment management, while others focus more on retirement planning, tax strategies, or budgeting advice.
Before beginning your search, clarify which financial services are most important to you. Knowing your priorities will help you select a planner who aligns with your specific needs.

2. Find Planners Who Fit Your Needs

Once you have outlined your priorities, you can begin your search. Many online tools can help you locate financial planners who work either remotely or in person. To find certified financial planners (CFPs), you can search through resources such as the CFP Board website, FINRA’s BrokerCheck, or the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA).

Additionally, asking for referrals from trusted friends, family members, or professional colleagues can be a useful way to identify financial planners who have a strong reputation.

3. Calculate the Costs

Understanding how financial planners are compensated is critical.
Many high-net-worth individuals prefer working with fee-only financial advisors, whose income comes solely from client fees rather than commissions or product sales. This structure helps minimize potential conflicts of interest.

Fee structures may vary. Some planners charge a percentage of assets under management, a flat annual or monthly retainer, or an hourly rate. It’s important to understand how fees are calculated and whether minimum portfolio sizes apply.

In some cases, planners offer reduced fee rates for larger investment portfolios.

4. Vet the Contenders

Before making a final decision, verify the credentials of any planner you are considering. Reputable sources such as the CFP Board, FINRA, and the SEC allow you to check an advisor’s background, including any regulatory violations.

Arrange an initial consultation with potential advisors to discuss your financial situation and goals. During the meeting, ask about their experience, services, compensation model, and investment philosophy.
The right financial planner will not only have the expertise you need but will also be someone you feel comfortable working with long term.

Ready to Find the Right Financial Planner for Your Needs?

Explore your options today:

Choosing the right financial planner can help you protect your wealth, achieve your goals, and create lasting financial security.