Find a qualified pre-screened financial advisor.

Anyone can benefit from working with a financial advisor. At certain stages in life, however, we believe a professional’s advice can be extra valuable. These moments typically revolve around big life changes, including:

• When you get married or divorced
• When you have a child
• When you buy a home
• When you start a business
• When you're nearing retirement
• When you receive a large sum of money
• When you are figuring out how to pass on wealth

Another important consideration is how much you can afford to invest at your current life stage. Some of our advisors specialize in serving high-net-worth individuals and require account minimums in the millions of dollars. Others have no set account minimum.

If you're just starting out or don't have a lot of money to invest, a robo-advisor could be a good option. Robo-advisors, which digitally manage your investment portfolio, typically have lower account minimums and fees. Our matching tool recommends a robo-advisor to anyone who has less than $25,000 to invest.

There are two main types of financial advisors. You can opt for a traditional advisor, who you can sit down with in person, or a robo-advisor, which digitally manages your investment portfolio. Here’s how the two stack up:

Source: AdvisoryHQ (July 2021)
The figures above are examples only and used to illustrate what typical fees for financial advisors and their structure looks like. Advisors on the SmartAdvisor Match Platform that you may be matched with may charge higher fees than those shown above. Please carefully review fee structures with your investment advisor and review your advisor's form ADV and CRS.

Different Types of Traditional Advisors:

• Fiduciary financial advisors
• Financial planners
• Wealth managers
• Investment advisors
• Retirement advisors

When you complete our matching questionnaire, you’ll typically be matched with more than one financial advisor. We do that so that you have options to help ensure you’re truly finding the right fit. It can be a good idea to talk to multiple matches before settling on one. Each advisor has a unique process, investing philosophy, communication style and overall approach.

One of the biggest differences between financial advisors is their investing philosophies. Some may abide by value investing, which seeks relatively undervalued stocks with the belief that those stocks will someday produce strong returns. Others may prefer growth investing, which focuses on buying into companies with promising growth potential. Still others may use contrarian investing, which advocates for going against the market majority. An advisor offering socially responsible investing will consider your values and the greater social good in addition to your returns when investing your assets.

Many advisors invest for the long term, which may be good if you’re saving up for a retirement that’s still far down the road. Others may emphasize short-term investments, which can be a fit for investors who have more immediate liquidity needs.

Financial advisors will often tailor your investing plan to suit your needs, taking into account your goals, objectives, time horizon and risk tolerance. Typically, the first step in building a relationship with your financial advisor is to sit down and determine your unique preferences, resulting in an investment plan that he or she can then implement.

Depending on your life status or if you have a particular financial topic you want addressed, it’s a good idea to take note of each advisor’s area of expertise. Many financial professionals specialize in a certain areas, such as:

• Estate planning
• Socially responsible investing
• High-net-worth financial planning
• Tax planning
• Insurance
• Divorce
• Retirement

For instance, if you’re focused on preparing for retirement, you may want to look for an advisor who specializes in retirement planning or who has a retirement-related certification. An advisor can be a certified retirement planning counselor (CRPC) or a chartered retirement specialist (CRPS).

Certifications can be an indication of a financial advisor's education and abilities. One of the most prestigious certifications is the CFP, or certified financial planner. This certification requires an advisor to have certain level of education, complete coursework culminating in a multi-day exam, submit to a background check and agree to abide by a board's ethics guidelines.

All CFPs are required to act as a fiduciaries, which is another key designation to look out for. Fiduciaries are bound by a code of ethics to put your interests before their own. All SEC-registered financial advisor firms are fiduciaries.

Registration with the SEC does not imply any particular level of skill or training. Fiduciaries are, however, required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest.