8 Best Financial Advisors

Whether you have questions about investing, taxes, retirement planning, or budgeting, there are professionals who’ve made it their life’s work to provide the assistance you need. One professional who covers all of those areas is a financial advisor.

We’ve compiled a list of the services we believe are among the best, and we’ve verified every fee and minimum below against each company’s own current pricing.

Our top pick isn’t an advisory firm at all. It’s a free matching service that puts a shortlist of vetted, registered advisors in front of you in a few minutes, which is the quickest way in if you don’t have an advisor yet. The firms that follow are the ones worth knowing if you’d rather choose one yourself.

Best Financial Advisors

Fidelity Investments: Best Overall Advisory Firm

Fidelity Investments is our top advisory firm, hands down. The company has built a track record of providing quality financial services since its founding in 1946. Fidelity is best known as a brokerage, but its services run well beyond the stock market into investment advice, financial planning, and full wealth management.

What earns it the top spot among the firms is range. Fidelity has a tier for someone starting with nothing and a tier for someone with eight figures, and the entry point costs less than almost anything else on this list.

Fidelity Currently Offers Three Main Levels of Advice:

• Fidelity Go: Fidelity’s robo-advisor. There’s no minimum to open an account, and no advisory fee at all on balances under $25,000. At $25,000 and above the fee is 0.35% a year, which also opens up coaching calls with a Fidelity advisor. If you want a dedicated human advisor rather than a coaching line, this isn’t the tier for you.
• Fidelity Wealth Management: The company’s dedicated-advisor service, requiring $500,000 managed through Fidelity Wealth Services. You get an advisor who helps you navigate investment, tax, insurance, and estate planning. Advisory fees run 0.50% to 1.50%.
• Fidelity Private Wealth Management: Built for high-net-worth clients, this requires $2 million managed through Fidelity plus at least $10 million in total investable assets. You get a full team rather than a single advisor, and the fee schedule drops to 0.20% to 1.04%.

Whether you want low-cost automated investing or help managing every corner of your finances, Fidelity has a tier for it.

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Vanguard Personal Advisor: Best Value for Human Advice

Vanguard is another long-lived investment company with a decades-long track record. It’s best known for low-cost exchange-traded funds and mutual funds, and it applies the same pricing philosophy to advice.

Vanguard Personal Advisor requires a $50,000 balance in eligible Vanguard brokerage accounts and blends automated portfolio management with access to human advisors. The advertised fee is roughly $30 per $10,000 invested each year, or about 0.30%. Most advisors charge closer to 1%. On a $200,000 portfolio that gap is about $1,400 a year.

If $50,000 is out of reach, Vanguard Digital Advisor starts at $100 and costs roughly $15 per $10,000 a year, though it’s automated only, with no access to an advisor.

Additional Features:

• Higher Tiers as You Grow: Personal Advisor Select opens at $500,000 and Personal Advisor Wealth Management at $5 million, both capped at roughly $30 per $10,000 a year. A dedicated advisor, rather than access to the advisory team, starts at Select.
• Real-Time Goal Tracking: Track long-term goals on the desktop site or in Vanguard’s mobile app.
• Calculators: Vanguard publishes a deep set of planning calculators that are free to use whether or not you’re a client.

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Zoe Financial

Zoe Financial works on the same principle as our top pick. It’s a matching service that connects you with a financial advisor in your price range whose services fit what you need, and the match is free to you.

Zoe describes the advisors in its network as independent fiduciaries. Fiduciary and fee-only are not the same standard, so ask any advisor you meet through Zoe whether they also earn commissions on what they sell.

There’s one structural difference from a pure referral service worth understanding. Zoe runs its own wealth platform, with brokerage services through Zoe Securities and Apex Clearing, and its published advisor terms say network participation depends partly on a minimum level of assets held on that platform. That shapes who ends up on your shortlist.

If you go direct rather than through a link like ours, Zoe’s consumer matching now runs on its sister site, findanadvisor.com. The main Zoe site is aimed at advisory firms.

Additional Features:

• Nationwide Network: Advisors across the United States, filtered by where you live.
• Tax Management Built In: Automated tax-loss harvesting, tax-efficient rebalancing, and direct indexing are available on the Zoe platform.

Read our Zoe Financial Review for more information.

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Facet: Best Flat-Fee Planning

Facet gives you a certified financial planner and charges a flat annual membership rather than a percentage of your portfolio. Nothing about your bill changes as your balance grows, which is the whole appeal.

Membership runs $2,600 a year for Core, $5,500 for Plus, and $8,700 for Complete, plus a $300 enrollment fee that’s waived if you pay annually. Core covers retirement and life planning, savings and debt, investment management, tax strategy, insurance, and education planning. Plus adds tax filing by a credentialed professional, equity compensation planning, and access to private market investing. Complete adds direct indexing and a full tax-savings analysis. The tiers also differ in access. Core buys three planning meetings in year one and one a year after that, Plus gives you a dedicated CFP team and two a year, and Complete gives you a dedicated planner and four.

Facet doesn’t publish an asset minimum, but do the arithmetic before you sign. A flat $2,600 works out to 1.30% on a $200,000 portfolio and 0.26% on a million. Facet gets cheaper in percentage terms the more you have, which makes it a poor fit for small balances and a strong one for large ones.

Additional Features:

• A CFP at Every Tier: Core gives you access to Facet’s CFP professionals, Plus adds a dedicated team, and Complete a single dedicated planner.
• No AUM Fee: Investment management is included in the membership, with no separate percentage charge on assets.

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Betterment

Betterment helped invent the robo-advisor category, and it remains one of the easiest places to start investing with a small amount of money.

The core service is automated and carries no minimum balance. Balances under $24,000 pay $5 a month. At $24,000 or above, or with $200 or more in recurring monthly deposits, the fee becomes 0.25% a year. The two land in the same place at $24,000, and the percentage takes over from there.

Access to a human advisor is a separate tier with its own floor. Betterment Premium requires $100,000 in eligible investments and charges 0.65% a year, which is the 0.25% base fee plus a 0.40% Premium fee. Above $1 million the rate drops to 0.15%, and above $2 million to 0.10%. Crossing $100,000 doesn’t unlock advice for free. It makes you eligible to buy it.

Additional Features:

• Retirement Planning Tools: Among the most intuitive available, and usable even on the automated tier.
• Risk Tolerance Adjustments: Set your own risk level with a slider, or let the platform set it for you.

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J.P. Morgan Personal Advisors: Best Low Minimum for a Human Team

J.P. Morgan Personal Advisors gives you an expert-built portfolio plus unlimited access to a team of advisors by video or phone. It’s the lowest entry point on this list for a human team rather than a coaching line.

Clients generally need $25,000 in investable assets to enroll, which is low for a service of this kind. The fee is 0.60% a year from $25,000 to $249,999, dropping to 0.50% at $250,000 and above. Those fees don’t include the operating expenses of the funds in your portfolio.

Additional Features:

• Comprehensive Team: Your team gets to know your situation and goals and builds the plan around them.
• Automatic Rebalancing: Your portfolio is rebalanced as markets move so your allocation stays on target.
• Tax-Loss Harvesting: Included in the service rather than sold as an add-on.
• Collaborate Online: See your portfolio in real time and adjust with your team as your goals change.

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management is a business of JPMorgan Chase & Co., which offers investment products and services through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (“J.P. Morgan”), a registered broker dealer and investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC. Moneycrashers.com is a publisher of J.P. Morgan, (“Publisher”). The Publisher will receive compensation from J.P. Morgan if you provide contact details to speak with a J.P. Morgan representative. Compensation paid to the Publisher will be up to $500 per completed contact form. Compensation provides an incentive for the Publisher to endorse J.P. Morgan and therefore information, opinions, or referrals are subject to bias. J.P. Morgan and the Publisher are not under common ownership or otherwise related entities, and each are responsible for their own obligations. Investing involves market risk, including possible loss of principal, and there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be achieved.

INVESTMENT AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS ARE: NOT A DEPOSIT • NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE

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Schwab Wealth Advisory

Charles Schwab is a household name in investing, and Schwab Wealth Advisory is the arm that assigns you a dedicated wealth advisor backed by a team.

Enrollment starts at $500,000, and Schwab says the annual fee starts at 0.80% of assets and decreases at higher asset levels. The full tiered schedule is in Schwab’s disclosure brochure rather than on the product page, so ask for it before you sign.

One change is worth knowing if you’ve read about Schwab’s advice options before. Schwab retired Intelligent Portfolios Premium, its hybrid robo tier with CFP access, in the first quarter of 2026. The free Schwab Intelligent Portfolios robo-advisor is still available with a $5,000 minimum and no advisory fee, but it no longer comes with a route to a human planner.

Additional Features:

• Dedicated Wealth Advisor: A named advisor plus a supporting team, rather than a rotating call queue.
• Free Robo Option: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios remains available at $5,000 with no advisory fee for anyone below the Wealth Advisory minimum.
• Satisfaction Guarantee: Schwab will refund your fees or commissions if you aren’t satisfied, which nothing else on this list offers.

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Methodology: How We Select the Best Financial Advisors

We used five criteria to build this list, and we re-verified every fee and minimum on this page against each company’s own published pricing before publishing.

Two kinds of company appear here. Most are advisory firms you hire directly, and the criteria below apply to them. A few are matching services that introduce you to independent advisors without managing your money themselves. We judged those on the standard they hold their networks to, what they cost you, and how plainly they disclose the way they get paid.

Price

When you work with a financial advisor, your goal is to improve your overall financial position. That’s harder if the advisor charges too much. Financial professionals are rarely cheap, and rock-bottom pricing can itself be a red flag, but every option above publishes what it charges, even when you have to open a disclosure document to see the full schedule.

Accessibility

Most financial advisors work only with customers who meet minimum wealth requirements, but those requirements don’t have to run into the millions. Several options above start at $25,000 or less, and two of them ask for nothing at all.

Track Record

The advisory firms above have all been serving retail clients for years, and the oldest of them has been doing it since 1946.

Technological Innovation

Technology has changed how advice gets delivered. Every provider above uses it to lower cost, widen access, or both, and several have built proprietary tools that make planning simpler.

Customer Reviews

What a company says about itself means little. We look for what real customers say, and we weight independent, verifiable reviews over testimonials a company selects for its own homepage.

FAQs

What Do Financial Advisors Do?

Financial advisors provide advice across money management, investing, taxes, retirement planning, estate planning, and budgeting. Some specialize narrowly, in tax or equity compensation for example, while others handle every area of your financial life.

How Much Money Do I Need Before Getting a Financial Advisor?

Less than most people assume. Fidelity Go and Betterment carry no minimum, and several services here start at $25,000 or below. A dedicated advisor who knows your whole situation generally starts at $500,000, which is the threshold at Fidelity Wealth Management, Vanguard Personal Advisor Select, and Schwab Wealth Advisory.

How Much Do Financial Advisors Cost?

It depends on the model. A percentage of assets under management is the most common, typically around 1% a year, though several options above charge half that or less. Flat-fee planners like Facet charge a set annual amount regardless of your balance. Robo-advisors charge the least and provide the least human contact.

Can Financial Advisors Give Tax Advice?

Many do, and tax planning is included in most of the comprehensive services above. Tax filing is different from tax planning, though, and only some services include it. Facet includes filing at its Plus tier and above.

Do I Need a Financial Advisor?

Many people believe they need a lot of money to work with one. Between free matching services, no-minimum robo-advisors, and human teams starting at $25,000, that hasn’t been true for years. If you have goals you’re not confident you’re on track to reach, an advisor is worth a conversation.

Is It Worth It to Have a Financial Advisor?

For most people with a real portfolio and a decision to make, yes. The value shows up in tax planning, in avoiding costly mistakes, and in having someone accountable for the plan. Compare what you’d pay against what you’d get, and remember that a percentage fee costs more every year your balance grows.

How to Choose the Best Financial Advisor

Whichever route you take, three things are worth checking before you sign anything.

• Confirm they’re a fiduciary, and ask whether they’re fee-only. A fiduciary is legally bound to act in your interest. A fee-only advisor also takes no commissions on products. The two aren’t the same, and the difference shows up in what you get sold.
• Compare fee schedules directly. A percentage fee, a flat fee, and a monthly subscription are hard to compare in the abstract. Run each against your actual balance and see what you’d pay in dollars.
• Verify them yourself. The SEC’s adviser database lets you check any firm’s registration, filings, and disciplinary record for free, whoever introduced you.

Investing time in that comparison can meaningfully change your long-term outcome.

Editorial & Advertiser Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser. Opinions expressed here are ours alone, not those of any advertiser. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. That compensation may influence which products we cover and where and how they appear on a page – including the order in which they appear – but it does not influence our evaluations, ratings, or opinions. We do not include every company or offer available in the marketplace.

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