Working with a financial advisor is surprisingly intimate. You’re sharing your fears, aspirations, and deeply personal information with this person—everything from your salary to your secret anxieties about retirement.
However, this raises a problem: with over 200,000 advisors active in the U.S. and numerous channels to find them, how can you find a wealth manager you actually trust?
This article provides a complete four-step process to answer that question. With a systematic approach that starts with your personal values and aspirations, we will help you navigate the complex world of advisory firms—and find one that meets all of your needs.
Understanding Your Options: What Can an Advisor Actually Do?
Wealth management is often portrayed as an elusive or elite club; it can be hard to know how it actually relates to your life. What do advisors actually do, and why is it valuable? Well, the answer depends greatly on your specific circumstances and goals.
The value and application of financial advice varies: high-net-worth (HNW) families might require a large range of complicated services, whereas a doctor or dentist might simply want help with their pension, health plans, or investment strategy.
The Core Services
While individual advisors and firms have unique service offerings, most can help you with:
- Financial planning: Creating a roadmap for your entire financial life, from budgeting to major purchases
- Investment strategy: Building and managing portfolios aligned with your goals and risk tolerance
- Tax strategies: Minimizing your tax burden through smart planning (though this may require working with a CPA)
- Retirement planning: Calculating how much you need to save and structuring withdrawals
- Estate planning: Ensuring your assets transfer according to your wishes
- Insurance and risk management: Protecting your wealth from unexpected events
- Legacy planning: Creating strategies for passing wealth to future generations or charitable causes
However, these are just the “concrete” benefits of working with an advisor. For most people, the real value comes from having a trusted partner that can help them understand and navigate complicated issues—often with heavy emotional elements.
Beyond the Numbers
The best advisors do more than crunch numbers and rebalance portfolios. They help you understand complex financial concepts in plain language. They walk you through difficult life transitions—divorce, inheritance, career changes, loss of a loved one—when emotions run high and clear thinking becomes difficult.
This human dimension matters enormously. An advisor who understands your deep-seated fears about money or recognizes how your upbringing shapes your spending habits can provide guidance that resonates on a level spreadsheets never will.
The Right Advisor Depends on You
There’s no universally “best” financial advisor. The right partner for you depends on your specific personality, financial complexity, and life stage. Someone in their 30s building wealth for the first time needs different expertise than a retiree managing distributions. A business owner selling their company requires specialized knowledge that a salaried professional might never need. Matching your needs to an advisor’s strengths is the foundation of a successful relationship.
How to Select Your Financial Advisor
Finding the right advisor doesn’t happen by accident. Follow this four-step process to evaluate your options systematically and make a confident choice:
Step 1: Identify Your “Why”
Search “financial advisor in Maryland” into Google and you’ll be hit with a wall of industry jargon that can be seriously overwhelming; do you really need to know the latest wealth management terms to get help with your retirement plan?
Many people seeking financial advice aren’t entirely sure what they want an advisor to do—and that’s perfectly normal. If you knew exactly what you needed, you probably wouldn’t need the advisor. The solution is to focus on your aspirations and concerns.
Ask yourself:
- What keeps you up at night about money?
- What financial goals matter most to you in the next 5, 10, or 20 years?
- What life transitions are you navigating (or expect to navigate soon)?
- What do you wish you understood better about your finances?
Your answers might include things like “I want to retire comfortably at 60,” “I need to reduce my tax burden,” “I inherited money and don’t know what to do with it,” or “I want to make sure my kids are taken care of if something happens to me.”
Many people fear presenting an advisor with such “vague” statements, but these are exactly the things advisors need to understand. If you can confidently state your goals, you’ve done half the work for your future advisor.
If you find these questions difficult to answer, there are a few ways to make the process easier:
- Give yourself more time: There is no rush; you can spend a few weeks allowing your unconscious mind to consider what really matters to you.
- Find aspirational models: Consider the people whom you admire and how financial management influences their lives. What would it take to emulate them?
- Consult with loved ones: Your finances are deeply personal, but friends and family can be powerful sources of inspiration and clarity. They may have insights into your psychology or lifestyle that you overlooked.
Step 2: Evaluate Advisory Options
With your “why” clear in mind, it becomes far easier to evaluate specific advisory options. You can quickly narrow down your search through a few key questions:
Relationship Style: What Kind of Support Do You Want?
Imagine you wake up one morning with a panic about the stock market: how do you want an advisor you can reach out to for support?
Research suggests roughly one-third of people want one-to-one communication, while half prefer educational emails. While this is not necessarily “either/or”, it’s important to understand your communication preferences—and the degree to which you want a real personal relationship with your advisor.
Establishing these preferences early will help you set expectations during initial meetings—and select an advisor you feel confident will meet your requirements.
Fiduciary Status: A Critical Distinction
One of the most important factors to understand is whether your advisor operates as a fiduciary. Fiduciaries are legally obligated to act in their clients’ best interests, while non-fiduciary advisors only need to recommend products that are “suitable”. This might sound like a subtle difference, but it has profound implications.
- Fiduciary advisors typically charge fees directly—either as a percentage of assets under management (averaging 1.05%), flat fees, or hourly rates. They don’t earn commissions on products they recommend.
- Non-fiduciary advisors often earn commissions when they sell certain financial products, which can create conflicts of interest.
Do you feel comfortable with advisors who could earn commission by selling you products? While there is no reason this should necessarily create a problem, it’s important to have a clear-eyed view of any prospective advisor’s fee structure and incentives.
Specializations: Matching Expertise to Your Needs
Understanding your specific financial goals and values will help identify the core services you require. Many advisors specialize in particular areas or client types, such as:
- Family wealth education: Advisors who help wealthy families educate the next generation about money management
- Business succession planning: Expertise in helping business owners transition out of their companies
- Divorce financial planning: Specialists who understand the unique challenges of dividing assets and rebuilding finances
- Advanced tax strategies: Advisors who work closely with CPAs on complex tax optimization
- Socially responsible investing: Experts in creating portfolios aligned with environmental, social, and governance values
If you have specific challenges or goals that require specialized knowledge, prioritize advisors with demonstrated expertise in those areas.
Step 3: Research and Compare Multiple Options
Your next step is to compare individual advisors and firms. Research shows that 84% of people speak with 2-3 advisors during this process, while slightly fewer than one-fifth evaluate 4 or more options. But the process can be confusing and stressful—which is why you need a reliable, structured approach.
Where to Find Advisors
Given that you will likely only directly engage with a few advisors, it’s important to leverage the best sources to create your shortlist. The most common resources include:
- Referrals from friends or family (62%)
- Search engines (50%)
- Referrals from professionals (49%)
- Online directories (32%)
- AI search tools (e.g. ChatGPT) (25%)
However, these are far from the only means of finding advisors. You should also consider:
- Leveraging industry resources: Use the CFP Board’s directory to find certified professionals in your area and check their certification status and any disciplinary actions.
- Evaluating licensing: Use tools like the SEC’s FINRA BrokerCheck or the SEC Investment Professional Online Tool to confirm registration, licensing, and check for disciplinary or legal actions.
- Considering existing sources: If you have already consumed content online that you found informative and useful, check whether the source was an advisor or firm, as they have already shown that they can provide value.
Evaluating Advisors: Key Questions to Consider
When you start looking at advisors’ websites or online reviews, ask yourself:
About Their Qualifications
- What credentials do they hold? (CFP, CFA, CPA, etc.)
- How long have they been practicing financial planning?
- Do they have experience with clients in situations similar to mine?
About Their Business Model
- Are they a fiduciary at all times?
- How are they compensated? (Fee-only, fee-based, or commission-based?)
- What is their fee structure specifically, and what do those fees include?
- Do they earn money from any products they might recommend?
About Their Approach
- What’s their investment philosophy?
- How do they approach risk management?
- How often will we meet, and how will we communicate between meetings?
- What services do they provide beyond investment management?
- Who are their typical clients?
About Their Practice
- How many clients do they serve?
- Will I work directly with them or with junior advisors?
- What technology or tools do they provide for tracking my finances?
- How do they protect my data and ensure cybersecurity?
It may not be possible to answer all of these questions based on publicly available information, but this will help you quickly rule out some options—and note important questions to ask during your first meeting.
Step 4: Meet Your Top Candidates
Once you’ve narrowed your list to two or three promising advisors, schedule initial consultations. These meetings typically last 60-90 minutes and give both you and the advisor a chance to get to know each other. Many advisors offer complimentary initial consultations.
What to Bring
While the best advisors should deliver value regardless of what you provide, it’s important to give them as much context as possible. Our recommendation is to bring:
- Tax returns
- Bank statements
- Retirement account statements
- Investment statements
- Information about real estate holdings
- Copies of insurance policies
However, don’t let gathering documents delay your meeting. The first consultation is primarily about determining fit, not creating a detailed plan.
What to Expect
The first meeting is typically casual. The advisor will discuss their background, experience, and approach to helping clients. You’ll talk about the life changes or concerns that led you to seek advice, your main goals, and any worries you have about your financial future.
A good advisor will ask thoughtful questions and listen more than they talk. They should make you feel heard, not judged—especially if you have debt, haven’t saved as much as you think you should, or feel uncertain about financial concepts.
Evaluating the “Click”
Beyond credentials and services, pay attention to how you feel during the conversation:
- Do you feel comfortable being honest about your financial situation?
- Does the advisor explain things clearly, without jargon or condescension?
- Do they seem genuinely interested in understanding your unique circumstances?
- Do their values align with yours?
- Can you imagine working with this person for years or decades?
Trust your instincts. If something feels off—even if you can’t articulate exactly what—keep looking. The advisory relationship must be authentic and human; you can’t fake that or overlook clear conflicts in your values, personalities, or outlooks.
Traits to Avoid in a Financial Advisor
You should be especially wary of advisors who:
- Dodge direct questions about fees or fiduciary status
- Pressure you to make quick decisions
- Promise unrealistic returns or guarantee investment performance
- Make you feel foolish for asking questions
- Focus more on selling products than understanding your needs
If you encounter any of these red flags, move on to other candidates.
Making Your Final Decision
After meeting with your top candidates, take time to reflect. Review your notes from each meeting. Compare their fee structures, services, and approaches. Discuss your impressions with your spouse or a trusted friend.
Remember that this decision isn’t permanent. If you hire an advisor and later realize they’re not the right fit, you can switch. However, taking the time to choose thoughtfully from the start increases the likelihood of building a lasting, productive relationship.
At Marshall Financial Group, we believe the evaluation process is pivotal. Nobody benefits from a poor match, and our advisors pride themselves on offering candid responses to the hardest questions during initial consultations.
That process has helped us build strong relationships with our clients throughout Maryland:
- 97% of clients say that their advisor responds to communication in a timely manner
- 95% of clients agree their advisors is honest and trustworthy
- 90% of clients agree that their advisor meets or exceeds their expectations
Want to explore how we could help you protect and grow your wealth?
Book a Consultation
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Will a Financial Advisor Save Me Money?
It is not possible to make promises of this kind; there is no guarantee of results when working with an advisor or planner. However, making more informed decisions about financial options—such as investment portfolios, retirement plans, and savings strategies—can help you make your money work harder for you.
If you are able to make fewer mistakes, waste less, and take advantage of more advanced tax and investment strategies, it would stand to reason that you would save money.
2. When is the Right Time to Work with an Advisor?
While there is no “right” time, many people find advisors most valuable during either periods of transition or sudden changes in their financial situation; advisors can help navigate the complexity of these scenarios with greater confidence. Equally, advisors can be highly valuable when you have identified a specific goal, such as saving for retirement or selling your business.
3. Should I find a Local Advisor?
Many financial advisors now offer online services that enable remote support—eliminating the requirement for proximity. But most clients still prefer to have an advisor they can meet in person and share knowledge of their surrounding areas and culture.
4. What are the Different Types of Advisors?
Advisors vary in how they’re compensated and regulated.
- Fiduciary advisors (RIAs or CFP® professionals) must act in your best interest.
- Broker-dealers can recommend suitable products, but aren’t always fiduciaries.
- Robo-advisors use algorithms to automate investing at a lower cost.
- Hybrid advisors blend digital tools with human guidance
Knowing the difference helps you choose the model that best fits your needs and comfort level.
