How to choose Fiduciary Financial Advisor
Did you get good advice — or just a good sales pitch?
"Financial companies often pay advisers more to promote certain products rather than to recommend what is best for their customers. That incentive creates what is known as a conflict of interest. And conflicts of interest sometimes can cause advisers to give bad advice."
Let common sense be your guide
Choose what makes sense. Skip what doesn’t.
Fee-Only
If you want advice that’s never influenced by marketing incentives, choose advisors who don't hold licenses to receive marketing incentives.
Expertise
If you want financial expertise, choose actual financial experts.
Independent
If you don't want a company profit agenda driving your investment choices, choose a company that doesn't profit from your investment choices.
Not All Fiduciaries Are Created Equal
"Fiduciary" sounds like a promise, but it often isn’t. Many advisors are dual-registered, meaning they may be held to a fiduciary standard when giving advice, then switch to a different rulebook when selling certain insurance or investment products. Same person, different hat, different rules.
Fee-only advisors reduce that conflict by removing commissions from the equation, and NAPFA (the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors) goes further by requiring members to be both fee-only and provide a written fiduciary oath from its members to act as a fiduciary 100% of the time.
Fee-only advisors commit to:
- No commissions from product sales
- No kickbacks from insurance or investment providers
- Compensation only from client fees
NAPFA takes this further by requiring their fee-only members to:
- Act as a fiduciary 100% of the time
- Provide a written Fiduciary Oath
This is why it makes sense to work with a fee-only, NAPFA-member advisor.
Advisor Checklist ✓
Trust but verify - this checklist can help you get the facts.
0 of 8 verified
Fee-Based ≠ Fee-Only
Don’t be fooled by clever semantics. “Fee-based" advisors can receive commissions and third-party incentives. Ensure your advisor is a Fee-Only NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor
True Fiduciary
We believe a true fiduciary should not also be licensed as a broker to receive commissions and promotional incentives. Before you hire, verify that your advisor is not listed as both on BrokerCheck.
Plain-English Fees
Avoid tiered, tax-like brackets and additional fees that make your true cost hard to see. A single flat percentage fee keeps pricing clear and easy to compare.
Get It In Writing
Don't simply take their word for it, check your advisor's Form CRS and search for the phrase "Conflicts of Interest". Read our Form CRS.
Independence
Check their business cards for “Securities offered through”. It may indicate an allegiance to a broker-dealer, an obligation to recommend investments the brokerage promotes, and/or a license to sell products.
Regulatory Record
Check advisors and their firms for disciplinary history, customer disputes, or bankruptcies. Search their firm and navigate to the Disclosure(s) section on SEC IAPD.
Proven Credentials
Independent Custody
Don’t let your advisor "Madoff" with your money. Keep your assets at an unaffiliated third-party custodian with statements coming from the custodian, not just the advisor. Check their Form ADV Part 2.
Frequently asked questions
Nope."Fee-based" is the industry's sneaky term for "fees and commissions". FirsTrust advisors are Fee-Only - the only license we hold is to charge a fully transparent fee.
Go to BrokerCheck and enter the adviser’s name and city/state. If they’re listed as a Broker, or as both a Broker and an Investment Adviser, they’re licensed to receive commissions.
Brokerages quietly promote certain Wall Street investments in exchange for revenue-sharing kickbacks or pay-to-play fees; costs that ultimately come out of your pocket. FirsTrust refuses to participate in any arrangement that divides our loyalties or clouds our objectivity.
FirsTrust is registered with the SEC as a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which legally requires us to act as a fiduciary. Verify at SEC IAPD (CRD #110891). We are fee-only—we accept no commissions from product providers, eliminating conflicts of interest.
Unlike these custodians/brokerages, FirsTrust is a fiduciary advisor providing personalized financial planning. We use Schwab and Fidelity as custodians (your assets are held there, not with us), but we provide the comprehensive planning, tax strategy, and ongoing relationship these platforms don't offer.
Want more details?
Call, email, or meet with a member of our FinancialTeam.