3 Ways to Search for Financial Advisor Near You
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If you search “financial advisor near me” on Google or any other search engine, you’ll probably end up with a long list of professionals or firms in your area.
It's a fine starting place, as long as you keep the limitations in mind. For one thing, some will be sponsored results. Others may not actually be near you, depending on the size of your metro area. And depending on how long that list is, it may take you a lot of time and energy to sort through it.
That all means that generally speaking, to search for an experienced, trustworthy financial advisor, you need to look beyond those initial Google results. Here are three other ways to approach that search and narrow down your options.
1. Ask friends, family or colleagues
It might be awkward to ask a co-worker for financial advisor recommendations, as money conversations can feel taboo, especially in the workplace. But if you think about it, co-workers may actually be the best source of word of mouth here. Why? For one thing, they may have a financial situation similar to your own, or at least earn a salary that's roughly in the same ballpark. For another, any advisor a colleague uses will already be familiar with your company's benefits package, including its insurance offerings, retirement plan and other perks. And finally, some advisors specialize in certain industries — they may work primarily with doctors, or dentists, or tech employees. If that's you, working with an advisor who is familiar with your occupation and company gives you a bit of a head start.
If you're not comfortable broaching the topic at work, consider asking friends or even family. Some people joke that it isn't wise to use your parents' financial advisor, but it's also not wise to rule out that option if it's a good one. A personal recommendation goes a long way in these situations.
2. Use a financial advisor matching service
If you don’t want to search for a financial advisor on your own, you can work with a matching firm. These services match you with a financial advisor — in your area or online — for free. Typically, the advisors pay to be part of the service's network, and the service vets the advisors for you.
Here are three of the best financial advisor matching services according to our most recent reviews. (NerdWallet also operates NerdWallet Advisory, a registered investment advisor offering advisor matches. We don't review our own service.)
Provider | Cost | What to Know | |
Network advisors typically charge an annual fee from 0.75% to 1.25% of assets under management. Free initial consultation. | Zoe matches clients with vetted advisors who have certified financial planner (CFP) and/or chartered financial analyst (CFA) designations. Some of Zoe’s advisors can help you with tax preparation. To get matched, you’ll need at least $150,000 in investable assets. | ||
Network advisors typically charge around 1% of assets under management. Flat fee structures are also available for some services, such as financial plans and tax preparation and filing. | All of the firms on the Harness Wealth platform are fiduciaries, which means they are legally required to work in the best interest of their clients. Network advisors include CFPs, CFAs, CPAs and tax attorneys. Firms require a $250,000 investment minimum for investment management. But one-time financial plans don't have account minimum requirements. | ||
Varies. Typical advisor fees run 0.8% to 1.2% for accounts under $1 million; or flat fee of $1,500 to $10,000 per year. | Wealthramp offers a network of advisors that are vetted fiduciaries. Potential clients fill out an online survey and are matched with up to three advisors. You can review the advisors' profiles and schedule free initial consultations over phone, Zoom, chat or in person. Wealthramp matches clients based on specific criteria — a local area or other preferences. For example, if you’d prefer to work with an advisor who identifies as a woman, you can filter for that. Wealthramp doesn’t have any account minimum requirements. | ||
When you search for an advisor through a matching service, you'll often fill out a short questionnaire so the service can collect information about how much you earn, how much you currently have saved or invested, what sort of services you're looking for, where you live and other details. They use this information to identify the advisors in their network who might be best suited to work with you. Often, you'll receive two or three options.
Keep in mind that even if the service says the advisors are carefully vetted, you'll want to do your own due diligence. Part of selecting the right financial advisor is the feeling you get when you talk to that person — you want to feel comfortable opening up about your finances, and trust that the advisor understands your situation, both where you are now and where you want to go. That may mean meeting with a few advisors to find the right fit.
» Too many options? Learn how to choose a financial advisor
3. Check with professional financial advisor organizations
Many advisors are part of organizations or associations based on the type of client they work with, the type of expertise they have or other characteristics of their firm. These financial planner associations and networks can also help you search for an advisor in your local area.
This is how Lauren Schwahn, a personal finance writer at NerdWallet, and her husband found an advisor: They used the search tool on XY Planning Network, a network of fee-only advisors. Schwahn was familiar with that group of advisors because she often uses them as sources for the articles she writes; when it was time to find her own advisor, it was a natural place to look first.
Nerdy Perspective
"There are more than 2,000 advisors in the network. The thought of sifting through a lot of profiles seemed extremely daunting. But in reality, it wasn’t bad at all. The whole process from start to finish took less than 10 minutes."
Schwahn wrote all about her experience — including that first meeting with her advisor — for NerdWallet here. If Schwahn's approach sounds like a good option for you, here's an overview of some of the largest networks you might consider tapping, including XY Planning, the one she used:
Organization | Who’s included | Directory |
|---|---|---|
CFP Board | Certified financial planners (CFPs). CFPs have to pass a rigorous exam on a wide range of financial planning topics and must meet professional experience requirements. | Search via the CFP Board directory. |
The Financial Planning Association | Financial planners. | The site offers a location-based search. |
The Association of African American Financial Advisors (Quad-A) | Black financial services professionals. | Search via the Quad-A financial advisor directory. |
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors | Fee-only advisors who maintain a fiduciary duty to clients, which means they are legally required to act in clients’ best interests. | |
Garrett Planning Network | Fee-only advisors offering financial planning services on an hourly or as-needed basis. They must hold or be working toward a CFP, CPA or Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation, and they must act as fiduciaries. | Search Garrett Planning Network’s member profiles. |
XY Planning Network | CFPs working on a commission-free basis. They provide virtual services. | Search XY Planning’s database. |
CHIP | Black, Hispanic and Latinx financial advisors and professionals who can assist with estate planning, tax strategy and financial planning. | Search CHIP’s database. |
It's worth checking out a few of the options above and seeing what sort of results you get, as their membership and listings may vary by area — if you live in a larger city, your search will likely result in a lot of advisors, but in other more rural areas, just a few may turn up.