Best financial advisors offer you the option to pay for the services you use and forego those you don’t. They provide a range of contact options, including virtual meetings, charge fair prices, and modify their strategy to suit your unique needs.
How We Pick the Best Advisors
Firstly, the companies listed below are all fiduciary financial advisors, meaning that they are obligated to prioritize your needs over their own. We’ve listed some businesses with internal financial advisors. Some run an international community of advisors who participate.
You’ll still have a one-on-one relationship with a professional who’s aware of your financial status and recognizes your needs, but selecting an advisor through these companies is frequently less expensive than finding a traditional nearby advisor.
A few companies that handle your portfolio and provide you with on-demand access to a group of the best financial advisors are also included on our list of top advisors. You will typically speak with a different advisor each time, but if you choose one of these services, the cost will be even lower.
Our recommendations are divided into two categories:
- Advisors that provide comprehensive financial guidance through a personal relationship.
- Affordable services that connect you to a group of advisors.
Our recommendations for the best financial advisors in each category are listed below, along with advice on how to choose the right financial advisor for you.
Best Financial Advisors
| Broker | FinanceProsper’s Rating | Fees | Account Minimum | Promotion | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vanguard Personal Advisor | 4.3/5 | 0.35% management fee | $50,000 | No promotion available | On Vanguard’s website |
 Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium™ | 4.5/5 | $30 monthly subscription | $25,000 | No promotion available | On Schwab’s website |
 Fidelity Investments | 4.8/5 | Varies by service (e.g., 0.35%) | $0 – $50,000 | No promotion available | On Fidelity’s website |
 Facet | 5.0/5 | $2,000+ per year | $0 | Get $200 reward for new members transferring at least $5,000 within 90 days | On Facet’s website |
 J.P. Morgan Private Client Advisor | 3.7/5 | 0.5% – 0.6% management fee | $25,000 | No promotion available | On J.P. Morgan’s website |
 Edward Jones | 4.0/5 | Varies by service | $0 – $50,000 | No promotion available | On Edward Jones’ website |
Best Financial Advisor Firms
Vanguard
Vanguard is best for low-cost funds, but it also offers financial advisors good options that should fit most kinds of clients. There are three Vanguard service levels which include an advisor; each of these has a required account minimum which may range from $50,000 to $5 million. You get personal financial planning, other flavors of investment, and automated tax-loss harvesting with all three.
Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Select program is the one to go with if you want a long-term, committed advisor; however, there is a $500,000 minimum investment required. Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Wealth Management services are necessary for individuals seeking higher-level financial guidance, such as guidance on estate planning or charitable contributions. Vanguard charges fees for their financial advisor options, which range from 0.30% to 0.40% annually. The larger your assets are, the lower these fees become.
- AUM: $118.9 billion in discretionary client assets
- Account minimums: $50,000 to $5 million depending on advice type.
- Charges: 0.30 percent to 0.40 percent
Charles Schwab
You get one of the best brokerage services online from Charles Schwab. It will provide financial advisory services according to your needs.
The financial consultants under Schwab are free for those who have $500,000 and above; actually, this helps someone create a full financial plan and look at different options when it comes to investment. Such a full-service offering is referred to as Schwab Wealth Advisory, which only keeps an eye on those clients who have managed to gather assets valued at $1 million while charging 0.80% annually. Your fees decrease as your asset size grows.
To find an independent financial advisor nearby, visit the findyourindependentadvisor.com website of Schwab. Of course, these would have fees far higher than for Schwab’s wealth advisory services.
- AUM: $563.9 billion in “advice solutions”
- Account minimums: $500,000 to $1 million depending on the type of advice.
- Expenses: 0.80 percent; advisor network fees vary
Fidelity Investments
Operating over the past 75 years, Fidelity is one of the behemoths in US financial services providers. It offers to say the least an overwhelming array of choices for that clientele that actually needs to use the services of a financial advisor. If your needs are basic, like creating an investment plan and making follow-ups on it, you might want to look into Fidelity’s phone consultants.
They’ll be glad to work with you on putting a retirement savings plan in place with intelligent investing to reach your goals. Their management fee is 1.1 percent, and the minimum required for investment is $50,000. With your very own personal advisor, assets are required to be at least $250,000, and advisory fees could amount to up to 1.5 percent a year. The increased advisory fee will also increase services extended to you such as insurance and estate planning.
- AUM: $652.6 bln in discretionary client assets
- Minimums: Between $50,000 and $2 million, depending on the caliber of counsel
- Charges: 0.50 percent to 1.50 percent
Facet
One of the most distinctive financial advisory companies on this list is Facet, which bases its annual fee on the complicated nature of your financial circumstances rather than your asset level. A certified financial planner (CFP), who serves as a fiduciary, will provide you with advice. The typical annual fee for this service is between $2,000 and $8,000.
That may not sound like a lot of money, but it’s reasonable to investors with at least $1 million of assets. It can make sense for people with less money sometimes.
It will follow with a video call to meet with a financial advisor. They can help you with everything from retirement and taxes to home purchases, college savings, insurance, and estate planning. Since there are no minimums on investing, anyone can get into the program; however, the fees get more favorable after one has built up a good pile of money.
- AUM: $2.1 billion in discretionary client assets
- Minimum deposit: None
- Fees: $2,000 – $8,000 per year
J.P. Morgan Private Client Advisor
J.P. Morgan Private Client Advisor While you might think of J.P. Morgan as simply the biggest bank in the United States, it can provide some financial guidance at a cheaper rate than many of the other large financial institutions. The J.P. Morgan Personal Advisors will let you work with a team of advisors to build out a tailored financial plan. These fiduciary advisors put your interests ahead of their own, starting at 0.6% for assets up to $250,000.
You can work personally with an advisor in your community and consider J.P. Morgan Private Client Advisor in order to receive a more personalized service. You get your financial plan and investment portfolio built just for you to reach your goals. The fees on the lower end are 1.45% annually but decrease as large as your portfolio gets. Depending on how your portfolio is invested, there are extra costs.
- AUM: $196.5 billion discretionary client assets
- Minimums to open accounts: From $10,000 to $100,000, depending on account type.
- Fees: Advisory fee up to a maximum of 1.45 percent; other fees may apply.
Edward Jones
Edward Jones is believed to be a full-service financial advisor; its managed accounts carry lower fees compared with those of some other famous firms, over 2 percent annually.
You can start investing with just $5,000 but for the advisor to manage the portfolio, you’ll need a minimum of $25,000 in the account. The fees start at 1.35% and slide lower the more money is under management. There is a 0.19% portfolio strategy fee on some accounts; it reduces to 0.09% for assets above $10 million.
Edward Jones has nearly 19,000 financial advisors in all 50 states to help investors achieve their long-term goals by offering a complete range of investment products.
- AUM: $252.4 bn discretionary client assets
- Account Minimum: $5,000 to $500,000, depending on account type.
- Fees: The program fee is 1.35% minimum. Additional fees are available upon request.
Alternative option: Robo-advisors
Those investors who do not need a human touch, but only the principles that guide their investments, would best be served by robo-advisors. Robo-advisors use algorithms to set up a portfolio based on goals and risk tolerance; they have very low investment minimums, and their fees are far below average when compared to the rest of human advisers.
While robo-advisors and human financial advisors can exist together to manage investments, the services found from human financial advisors generally come with way more in terms of the services and relationships they cultivate, albeit at a certain cost. A few robo-advisors also include access to human financial advisors in addition to their services.
Best Robo-Advisors to Consider:
Here are some of the best robo-advisers to consider if you think that you might not need all the services of a traditional financial adviser.
How to Choose a Best Financial Advisor
Choosing the best financial advisor is scary and annoying; take your time. The following are some key considerations while you make the selection decision.
- What kind of relationship are you looking for? You might just need to see an adviser once or twice to get you going, or you might be looking for an ongoing relationship where the adviser is taking care of your investments and is in touch with you periodically to update you on how your investments are doing. Knowing what you want from an adviser will help you to find an appropriate match.
- Learn how an advisor is paid. One of the most crucial things to comprehend about advisor compensation is that it can influence the advice you receive. Working with an advisor who is obligated to put your interests ahead of their own or their firm’s is probably something you should do. Advisors who obtain commissions from the sale of specific products may, therefore, recommend these products to clients even when they are not the best alternative. The fee-only advisor does not get a commission from the sale of the products; hence, his or her advice is more likely to be in line with the needs of the client.
- What are their credentials? One will also want to know the qualifications of a consultant that they are employing. A very professional one who has undergone rigorous training is certified in financial matters, holding either a CFP (Certified Financial Planner) or CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) among others.
FAQs about Best Financial Advisor
What does a financial advisor do?
Financial advisors will help in all the money areas of a client’s life. Not all financial advisors offer the same services, but many help in such things as budgeting, planning for retirement, managing investments, taxes, insurance, and estate planning. These areas are just but a few of the many things financial advisors do to help their clients.
Should I consider getting a financial advisor?
It’s never certain when one will need a financial advisor’s help. It will be quite costly, and for this reason, it makes sense to use their services only if you are sure that you indeed need one. It would be a good idea to seek out an advisor at the time you are planning to make a plan, embark on a major life event, or when you lack experience in handling your money.
When should I change advisors?
Not everyone catches up with the right financial advisor at once. You can find that your financial advisor does not spend enough time, charges higher fees, or recommends less-than-perfect investment alternatives that may fit your needs. It’s probably time for a switch in the current one.
What are the Fees of a Financial Advisor?
Fees for best financial advisors can occasionally differ significantly between advisors. Some charge a percentage of the amount of your money under management; others charge a flat fee or an hourly rate. As a rule of thumb, 1% is a good round number to think about in terms of what financial advisers charge you. If you pay much more than that make certain you are receiving good service for your yearly fee or look for something cheaper.
What questions to ask a financial advisor?
There are a few questions you’re going to ask at the first sit-down with a financial advisor. Probably the biggest is how they get paid and whether they are a fiduciary. A fiduciary is obligated to put your needs before his own or his firm’s. You also want to know how their firm measures their work and what happens to your account in the case that they leave the firm.
What distinguishes a financial planner from a financial advisor?
In most cases, the term “financial planner” is not distinguished from the term “financial advisor,” and these terms are used interchangeably. However, there are slight differences that may be witnessed: A financial advisor can help you better understand your overall financial condition. An advisor can give advice starting from budgeting to a comprehensive financial plan. Financial advisors tend to always aid a client in managing an investment portfolio for goals involving retirement.
Which is best for me: a robo-advisor, an online financial planning service, or an in-person financial planner?
You will be in a better position to choose who you would prefer to provide the advice, or what type of adviser you would prefer-automated robo adviser, online financial planner, or in-person financial adviser. Robo-advisors normally provide fewer services. They create an investment portfolio for you based on your financial objectives and risk tolerance. An online financial planner will give you a much more customized plan than just investments, and one that very well may answer many of these questions. An in-person financial adviser probably will provide the most full service and also can help with many aspects of your financial life, from investments to retirement planning or even taxes.
Each has different associated costs and fees, but all generally tend to go up according to the level of service you receive. Generally speaking, robo-advisors tend to be cheaper; online financial planners cost more. An in-person advisor will surely be the most expensive, sometimes charging more than 1 percent of your assets each year.
