Understanding Financial Advisors
Overview
A financial advisor is anyone who helps you manage money, but the title alone does not tell you how they are paid or what legal duty they owe you. This section explains the roles, the all-important fiduciary standard, and the main types of advisors so you can judge advice with confidence.
In this section
Each page below answers one core question about who advisors are and how they differ.
How to use this section
Start with the types of financial advisors to learn who does what, then read what a fiduciary is — the single most important distinction when you are deciding whom to trust with your money.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a financial advisor?
- "Financial advisor" is a broad term for someone who helps you manage money, investments, or planning. It does not by itself tell you how the person is paid or what legal duty they owe you, so it pays to look deeper.
- Is a financial advisor the same as a fiduciary?
- No. A fiduciary has a legal duty to act in your best interest, but not every financial advisor is a fiduciary at all times. Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) are fiduciaries; brokers follow a different standard; CFPs follow a code of ethics to act as fiduciaries but that is not a legal duty.