How to choose Fiduciary Financial Advisor
How to Verify the Advisor You're About to Trust
"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.
Independence
If you don’t want a company profit agenda driving your investment choices, choose a company that doesn’t profit from your investment choices.
The "Conditional" Fiduciary
"Fiduciary" sounds absolute. Often it isn't. Many advisors are dual-registered, which means the duty they owe you can change partway through the relationship. While building your financial plan, they act as a fiduciary, bound to your best interest. But when the conversation turns to a specific investment or insurance product, many can switch to a lower standard, one that only requires the recommendation to be "suitable," not best for you.
Same advisor. Same meeting. A different duty, depending on what they're selling.
We believe it should be the same every time, and that the only person paying your advisor should be you. That is what fee-only means: no commissions, no payments from any product company, paid by clients and no one else.
We hold ourselves to the NAPFA standard, which goes one step further:
- Act as a fiduciary 100% of the time
- Provide a written Fiduciary Oath
The 8-Point Checklist ✓
Use these to evaluate any advisor, including us.
0 of 8 verified
Fee-Based ≠ Fee-Only
‘Fee-based’ and ‘fee-only’ are not the same. Fee-based advisors can receive commissions and third-party incentives. Verify your advisor is fee-only through NAPFA’s registry.
True Fiduciary
We believe a true fiduciary should not also hold a broker license to receive commissions. Before you engage anyone, verify on BrokerCheck that they are not registered as both.
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. If there’s smoke, move on. Check through SEC IAPD.
Proven Credentials
Independent Custody
Your assets should be held at an unaffiliated third-party custodian, with statements coming directly from the custodian, not just the advisor. This is a fundamental safeguard.
Frequently asked questions
No. ‘Fee-based’ means the advisor charges fees and may also receive commissions. FirsTrust is Fee-Only. The only compensation we receive is the fee you pay.
The regulatory framework allows advisors to hold multiple licenses simultaneously, which is why independent verification matters. FirsTrust holds no broker license and accepts no third-party compensation.
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.
Some firms participate in revenue-sharing arrangements with investment providers, which can create incentives that aren't always visible to clients. FirsTrust refuses to participate in any arrangement that divides our loyalties or clouds our objectivity.
There is no universal standard. At FirsTrust, our team holds CFP®, CFA, ChFC, JurisMaster, Master of Taxation, and CISM credentials with an average of 32+ years of experience. We believe the depth of the advice should match the depth of the credential.