When should I hire a financial advisor?

There is no income or asset threshold you need to hit first. If you are navigating a major financial decision, such as starting to invest, buying a home, managing student loans, or planning for retirement, a financial advisor can add real value. Many young professionals benefit from getting started sooner rather than later.

What does the CFP designation mean?

CFP stands for Certified Financial Planner. It is one of the most rigorous credentials in personal finance, requiring coursework, a multi-day exam, 6,000 hours of professional experience, and ongoing ethics requirements. CFP professionals are also required to act as a fiduciary when providing financial planning advice.

What is a fiduciary advisor?

A fiduciary is legally required to act in your best interest. That means recommending what is actually best for your situation, not what earns the advisor the highest commission. Not all advisors are fiduciaries, which is why confirming this status before you hire someone matters.

How much does it cost to work with a financial advisor?

Costs vary widely by model. Subscription-based advisors typically charge $50 to $500 per month. AUM-based advisors charge a percentage of assets managed, typically 0.5% to 1.5% annually. Some advisors charge hourly, usually $200 to $400 per hour. See the full fee breakdown at /fees.

What happens in the first meeting with a financial advisor?

Most advisors start with a free introductory call to understand your situation and goals. If there is a good fit, a more detailed discovery meeting typically follows. That session covers your income, expenses, debts, investments, insurance, and what you want your financial future to look like.

How do I find a fee-only financial advisor?

The CFP Board's planner search at cfp.net lets you filter by compensation method and location. NAPFA (napfa.org) maintains a directory of fee-only advisors. You can also search the SEC's IAPD database at adviserinfo.sec.gov to verify an advisor's registration and read their Form ADV.

How to Choose a Financial Advisor in Your 20s and 30s

Most guides on choosing a financial advisor were written for someone who already has $500,000 in a brokerage account and just retired. If you're in your 20s or 30s, building your career, managing student loans, trying to buy a house, and figuring out your 401(k), that advice doesn't really apply to you.

Here are the four things that actually matter when you're young and looking for an advisor worth working with.

The Four Non-Negotiables

These aren't preferences. They're the baseline requirements. If a potential advisor doesn't meet all four, keep looking.

1. Fiduciary

A fiduciary is legally required to act in your best interest at all times. Not "generally" in your interest. Not "mostly." At all times.

The alternative is the suitability standard, which only requires that an advisor recommend something suitable for you, not necessarily the best thing. That gap matters. An advisor under the suitability standard can recommend a higher-cost product that pays them a larger commission, as long as it's not wildly inappropriate for your situation.

Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) registered with the SEC are held to the fiduciary standard. Ask any advisor directly: "Are you a fiduciary, and will you act as my fiduciary at all times?" If they hesitate or qualify the answer, that's your answer. Learn more about what this means on the fiduciary financial advisor page.

2. Fee-Only

Fee-only means the advisor earns income only from what you pay them. No commissions, no referral fees, no third-party compensation from fund companies or insurance carriers.

Fee-based advisors charge client fees but also earn commissions on products they sell. That creates a conflict of interest every time they make a recommendation. It doesn't make them dishonest, but it does mean their incentives aren't perfectly aligned with yours.

According to NAPFA, fewer than 15% of financial advisors in the United States operate under a true fee-only model. It's worth seeking them out. Check the fees page for an example of what fee-only pricing looks like in practice.

3. CFP Designation

CFP stands for Certified Financial Planner. It's not the only credential worth having, but it's the most rigorous and widely recognized one in personal financial planning.

Earning a CFP requires completing an approved education program, passing a comprehensive two-day exam, accumulating 6,000 hours of professional experience, and meeting ongoing continuing education requirements. CFP professionals are also required to act as a fiduciary when providing financial planning services, and they're subject to the CFP Board's ethics standards and enforcement.

You can verify any advisor's CFP status at cfp.net. You can also find my CFP Board profile directly at letsmakeaplan.org.

4. No Account Minimum (or a Low One)

Most large wealth management firms require a minimum of $250,000, $500,000, or even $1,000,000 in investable assets before they'll take you on as a client. If you're in your 20s or 30s, that likely rules out most of the advisors in the world.

This is a real structural problem in the industry. The clients who arguably benefit most from good financial advice — young professionals at the start of their wealth-building journey — are often the ones locked out by minimums.

According to a 2024 Cerulli Associates report, the average financial advisor is 51 years old and a significant percentage are expected to retire within the next decade. Many of those advisors serve high-net-worth clients and have no interest in working with someone just starting out. Finding an advisor who actively works with younger clients, and has a model that makes it financially viable to do so, is part of the search.

Where to Find Advisors

There are a few reliable places to search for fee-only, fiduciary advisors who work with young professionals.

CFP Board's planner search: go to cfp.net and filter by location and compensation method. You can search for fee-only advisors specifically.
NAPFA: the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors at napfa.org maintains a directory of fee-only advisors. All NAPFA members are required to be fee-only.
XY Planning Network: a network of fee-only advisors who specialize in working with Gen X and millennial clients. Many have no minimums and use subscription-based pricing.
An advisor's own website: read it carefully. Look for clear fee disclosure, the fiduciary statement, and information about who they actually serve. An advisor who targets young professionals will usually say so directly.

Questions to Ask in a First Call

A good introductory call is two-way. You're evaluating the advisor as much as they're evaluating you. Here are specific questions worth asking.

Are you a fiduciary, and will you act as my fiduciary at all times?
How are you compensated? Do you earn any commissions or third-party payments?
What's your typical client profile? Do you work with people at my stage of life?
What does your planning process look like, and how often will we meet?
What's your investment philosophy?
What credentials do you hold, and how long have you been practicing?
Can I see your Form ADV Part 2A?

The answers matter, but so does how the advisor responds to the questions. Someone who answers clearly, without defensiveness or jargon, is showing you something about how they operate.

Red Flags to Avoid

A few patterns worth watching for as you evaluate advisors:

They won't give a direct answer when you ask if they're a fiduciary.
They earn commissions on the products they recommend but minimize or avoid mentioning it.
They push annuities or whole life insurance early in the conversation before they know your full situation.
They focus more on their investment performance track record than on your goals and plan.
They work for a firm that primarily sells proprietary products.
The fee structure is opaque or hard to find on their website.
They pressure you to act quickly or sign paperwork in the first meeting.

How Villaire Financial Fits the Checklist

Villaire Financial checks all four boxes. I'm a CFP, a fiduciary, fee-only, and I work without account minimums. The firm was built specifically to serve young professionals who want real financial planning but don't have the assets that most big firms require.

Learn more on the about page. Review the fee structure at fees. If you have specific questions about services, the FAQ and the investment management page are good starting points.

What to Look For	Why It Matters	Villaire Financial
Fiduciary	Legally required to act in your best interest	Yes, registered RIA
Fee-Only	No commissions, no conflicts of interest	Yes, no commissions
CFP Designation	Rigorous credential, ethics requirements	Yes, Chris Villaire, CFP
No Minimums	Accessible for young professionals	Yes, no account minimum
Transparent Fees	You know exactly what you're paying	Yes, published on /fees
Serves Young Professionals	Advisor understands your stage of life	Yes, this is the focus

The Short Version

The financial advisor industry is large, and most of it wasn't built for people in their 20s and 30s. The advisors who are a good fit for where you are right now tend to be fiduciary, fee-only, CFP-credentialed, and willing to work without large minimums.

Those four criteria alone will narrow your list significantly. From there, the first call tells you a lot. Ask direct questions, pay attention to how they respond, and trust your read of the conversation.

If you want to see if Villaire Financial is a fit for your situation, schedule a free intro call. No pressure, no pitch — just a conversation.

Disclosure: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. Individual situations vary. Please consult a qualified financial professional before making financial decisions. Villaire Financial, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Schedule a free intro call if you'd like to talk through your specific situation.