Can You Have More Than One Financial Advisor?

Financial advisors help people create a comprehensive plan for managing their money and reaching their goals. Different advisors can offer different services, depending on the type of clients they typically work with. Can you have more than one financial advisor? The short answer is yes, you can. Whether it makes sense to have multiple advisors can depend on your goals, needs and budget.

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What Does a Financial Advisor Do?

Financial advisors get paid to offer professional financial advice to their clients. Advisors help people to create personalized plans for managing their money in order to reach their individual financial goals. The term “financial advisor” can refer to a number of financial professionals, including:

Investment advisors
Financial planners
Investment or financial consultants
Wealth planners
Registered representatives

A financial advisor may hold certain professional certifications or credentials signaling their expertise in a particular area. A Certified Wealth Strategist (CWS) designation, for instance, means the advisor has specialized knowledge in wealth planning.

Financial advisors can meet with clients in person or online to discuss their needs and goals. Robo-advisors offer a new take on the traditional advisory model. Instead of getting financial advice from a person, you’re getting advice that’s based on a specific algorithm when you use a robo-advisor.

A fiduciary financial advisor is obligated to follow a fiduciary standard when offering financial advice. What that means, in simple terms, is that they’re required to act in their client’s best interests at all times. All investment advisors are fiduciaries, though not all financial advisors adhere to a fiduciary standard.

Can You Have More Than One Financial Advisor?

Yes, you can have more than one financial advisor. There are no rules saying that you can’t work with multiple advisors. For example, you might use a financial advisor for general financial planning and an investment advisor specifically for managing your investment portfolio. Or you might have a traditional advisor while also using robo-advisory services.

Having more than one financial advisor has both pros and cons. Here are some of the advantages of working with multiple financial advisors:

You can get different viewpoints and perspectives on how to achieve your financial goals.
Individual advisors can focus on different aspects of your financial plan, allowing you to get the benefit of specialized advice.
Using a robo-advisor alongside a traditional advisor may allow you to save money on advisory fees since robo-advisor platforms are typically less expensive.
Different advisors may be able to offer access to a broader range of financial products to choose from.

There are, however, some potential downsides to keep in mind. For one thing, having multiple sets of eyes on your finances can lead to conflicts if your advisors have different takes on how to help you best reach your goals. You might not be sure which advisor’s advice to follow or applying both advisors’ strategies could prove to be counterproductive.

Working with more than one advisor can also mean paying more in advisory fees. Higher fees can detract from your overall returns, meaning your money has to work that much harder to make up the gap. Not only that, but you may be potentially compromising your returns if your portfolio underperforms because you’re receiving conflicting advice.

Having multiple cooks in the kitchen, so to speak, could also be problematic if your advisors take different approaches to tax management. A single advisor may be better positioned to review your entire financial picture and come up with strategies for minimizing your tax liability.

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What Services Can Having More Than One Advisor Offer You?

Having more than one advisor tends to make sense when your finances stop fitting neatly into a single bucket. This often happens when you have investable assets, tax issues, equity compensation, business interests or estate planning needs that do not all move on the same timeline. In that situation, you may already sense that one advisor is covering some areas well while others get limited attention.

The decisions involved usually center on scope and separation of duties. You may be deciding whether one advisor should manage investments while another focuses on financial planning, tax strategy or estate coordination. You may also be deciding how much authority each advisor has and whether they act independently or with shared information.

One advisor might evaluate asset allocation, rebalancing and risk exposure, while another reviews tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, trust structures or business cash flow. The value comes from matching each advisor’s expertise to a defined responsibility rather than duplicating the same advice.

You might ask questions such as: Which advisor is responsible for tax planning versus tax filing coordination? Who is monitoring how investment decisions affect my estate plan? How do I avoid conflicting recommendations on asset location or withdrawal timing? What information should each advisor receive to do their job without overlap?

The benefit of multiple advisors shows up as complexity increases, but so do the drawbacks if coordination is poor. Fees can rise, advice can conflict and accountability can blur if roles are unclear. Using more than one advisor works best when timing, responsibilities and communication are defined up front, so added expertise does not turn into added friction.

Should You Have More Than One Financial Advisor?

Most people need only one financial advisor, but a more complex financial situation may call for specialists in different areas.

Whether you should consider working with more than one advisor can depend on your overall goals and financial situation. If you’re fairly new to investing and you haven’t built up a sizable net worth yet, for example, then one advisor may be sufficient to meet your needs. On the other hand, if you have a larger or more complicated estate, then it could make sense to have different advisors to handle individual areas of your financial plan.

For example, you might have a general financial advisor who offers advice on your overall financial plan, tax management and estate planning and an investment advisor who handles your portfolio and specific investments.

You may also decide to have multiple advisors if you don’t feel comfortable typing up all of your assets with a single firm. When weighing the decision to hire more than one financial advisor, consider your goals and what you expect an advisor to do for you. Also, think carefully about the costs and what you’ll pay each advisor in exchange for their services.

How to Find a Financial Advisor

Choosing the right financial advisor or advisors to work with matters because you want to find someone who fits your needs and charges reasonable fees. You can start your search for a financial advisor online and ask friends or family for referrals.

Here are some key questions to ask when choosing a financial advisor:

What services do you offer?
Which credentials or certifications do you hold?
Do you have a specific type of client that you work with?
What is your investment or financial management style?
Are you a fiduciary?
How much do you charge and how do you structure your fees?
How often will we communicate and what’s your preferred method of communication?

It’s also important to research an advisor’s background to check for any disciplinary or ethical issues they might have on their record. You can use FINRA’s BrokerCheck tool to look up an advisor’s professional history.

If you’re considering a robo-advisor, take a look at how the platform works and the services offered. For instance, some robo-advisors include automatic rebalance and tax-loss harvesting but not all of them do. Other robo-advisor platforms may allow you to connect with a human advisor occasionally if you need more detailed advice.

As with human advisors, you’ll also want to review the fees you’ll pay. Robo-advisors typically charge a flat percentage fee but there might be different fee tiers applied if there are multiple plans to choose from. For example, you might pay one fee up to the first $100,000 in assets, then a different fee once your account balance passes that threshold.

Bottom Line

Whether you need one financial advisor or more than one depends on how complex your financial situation is and whether a single professional can cover all the areas you need help with.

Most people do not need more than one financial advisor. If your financial life is straightforward and you are early in your investing journey, a single advisor who covers planning, investments and taxes is usually enough. As your wealth grows and your situation becomes more complex, one advisor may not have the expertise to handle every piece, and a larger estate, a business or significant tax planning needs might call for separate professionals.

Before adding a second advisor, think about what you actually need that your current advisor is not providing. Every additional professional adds cost, and those fees need to be justified by the value they deliver. The goal is not to collect advisors but to make sure every part of your financial life is covered by someone with the right expertise.

“One hidden benefit of investment advisors is their ability to act as a trusted gatekeeper of your money. If you get spooked by a market downturn, for example, they can ensure you’ve considered all your options before rushing to a decision that could hurt your long-term portfolio growth. They can also flag potential opportunities in such a downturn. They can act as a braintrust, offering peace of mind along the way,” said Tanza Loudenback, CFP®.

Tanza Loudenback, Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), provided the quote used in this article. Please note that Tanza is not a participant in SmartAsset AMP, is not an employee of SmartAsset and has been compensated. The opinion voiced in the quote is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations.

Financial Planning Tips

A financial advisor can help you build a financial plan for the future. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
It’s a good idea to do your own research any time your financial advisor recommends a specific financial product or investment. For example, they may suggest an annuity to help you create a supplemental stream of income in retirement. Annuities can be complex and often expensive, so it’s important to understand how they work before investing your money in one.