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Financial Advisors Database for Physicians
(How to choose a financial advisor & financial advisors for physicians)
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Questions for recommended financial advisors and finance related topics come up often on our physician Facebook communities. Hiring a financial advisor is one of our favorite "lazy" investing options for physicians. There are, however, an overwhelming number of financial advisors available. It's important to select one that you trust with your wealth and who can help guide you through retirement planning and keep you focused and on track during volatile seasons in the stock market.
Not all financial advisors are created equal, so it's important to do your own due diligence. A financial advisor is someone you'll work with closely over the years, so make sure you get along with them well too! The financial advisors below have been recommended by the members within our community. We hope you find the perfect partner to help with your finances.
Disclosure: Please note that these advisors have paid to be on this list. Although these are sponsored listings, they are advisors who have been recommended by members in our communities. We have made an effort to vet prior reviews of the firms listed here to the best of our ability and provide you with a place to start with your research. We do our best to ensure all information is current and up-to-date but cannot guarantee the information/documents provided are the most current. As always, we do recommend doing your own due diligence to assess whether the firms listed are a good fit for you, and you should view this list as a warm introduction, rather than a formal recommendation for your particular situation. This page may contain affiliate links, which support the group at no cost to you.
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If you are a financial advisor that would like to be listed on this list, please visit our partner with us page. Please note that partnerships are based on synergy and vetting, and spaces are limited on our listing. Therefore, not all partnership requests will be accepted.
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FINANCIAL ADVISORS FOR PHYSICIANS
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FINANCIAL ADVISORS FOR PHYSICIANS
Modern Dollar Planning
Company-submitted summary: In real estate it is all about location, location, location. In life it is all about taxes, taxes, taxes. Should I be making pre-tax or post-tax retirement contributions? Should I be making a back door Roth IRA contribution every year or converting IRA dollars to a Roth? What are my self-employed or small business retirement plan
options? These are the kinds of questions Modern Dollar Planning helps answer for you along with providing comprehensive financial planning services in a flat-fee, transparent manner. Yes, investment management, debt, insurance, estate and retirement planning are uber important financial topics and will be a big part of the services we provide to you, but tax planning is where we differentiate ourselves from our competition.
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PSG Perk: Mention PSG during your complimentary introductory call to receive $250 off of your upfront Financial Planning fee, which typically ranges from $1,500 to $3,000.
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Best Fit For: Busy medical professionals who are seeking financial peace of mind, place a high value on their time, are open to professional relationships, are intellectually stimulated and like to set and accomplish both personal and professional goals.
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Specializes In: Comprehensive financial planning services to medical professionals that are in any stage of life. Whether you are a business owner or an employee, just finishing up your fellowship or are getting ready to retire, Modern Dollar is ready to be your trusted financial advisor.
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Fees: Fair and transparent pricing with a one-time, upfront fee to complete an initial financial plan and a quarterly flat fee for on-going financial planning services. Both are calculated based upon the complexity of your situation.
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Thrift Financial, Inc.
Company-submitted summary: Thrift Financial, Inc. is an investment fiduciary focused on helping physicians and their families with their financial lives. Thrift Financial prides itself on being a Genuine Investment Fiduciary that extends from the investments we select for our clients to the fees we charge our clients. Thrift is a full-service investment consultant with a highly experienced staff.
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PSG Perk: Complimentary financial plans, retirement plans, and risk assessments of current and prospective investment portfolios with office hours that align with the complex lives of our clients.
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Best Fit For: Physicians across all phases of their careers and post-careers; Thrift does not have an investment minimum. We are particularly experienced in helping individuals manage existing retirement plans or helping physician practices implement retirement programs for themselves, partners, and staff.
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Specializes In: Investment consulting focusing on high-income earners, including 1099 physicians, partners, and owners who need assistance building investment portfolios that consider tax strategies and possible development of investment trusts.
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Fees: Flexible with customized services and fee programs. Standardized fees are a fixed quarterly dollar fee or a variable AUM quarterly fee. Thrift’s highest asset-based fee is
approximately ½ the industry average. A la carte pricing is also available through contracted projects or hourly pricing. Additional information on Thrift’s pricing options can be
found here.
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Wrenne Financial Planning
Company-submitted summary: At Wrenne Financial Planning, all advisors are CFP’s® with extensive experience working one on one with physician families. Their clients appreciate having them onboard to keep their plans fresh and make sure they’re taking solid steps toward their ideal future. In their experience, the longer they work with people, the more value they're able to provide. However, that’s not always the case, therefore, all of their agreements with clients are completely flexible and can be terminated at any time.
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PSG Perk: Wrenne Financial Planning offers generous discounts to residents/fellows
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Best Fit For: Our average client is an early to mid career physician, married with children, and has a lot going on. They are the types that appreciate the value of enlisting the help of other professionals to assist them on their financial journey. The majority are employees in hospitals or practices, however a pretty large and increasing chunk are either self employed or partners / owners in practices or other businesses.
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Specializes In: Ongoing financial assistance in a wide range of areas such as making a financial plan, tax strategy, investments, benefits review, deal review, job comparisons and budgets.
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Fees: 100% of WFP revenue comes directly from clients in the form of transparent fees for service. You can find their ultra-transparent fee schedule here.
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Physician Side Gigs “PSG” and Wrenne Financial Planning “WFP” have an advertising agreement in which WFP pays PSG an annual flat fee for the endorsement. Neither PSG nor its principals are clients of WFP. More information can be found here.
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Aptus Financial
Company-submitted summary: Aptus provides flat-fee, advice-only financial planning services to early-career attending physicians and other young professionals. Our clients manage their own investments in their own accounts with our guidance and detailed recommendations. We don’t sell anything and don’t manage our clients’ assets, so can give advice that is free of any significant conflicts of interest. Our planning process and investment advice is designed to educate and empower our clients. We help our clients determine a savings rate consistent with their goals, optimize their spending, slay student loans, automate cash flows, address risk with appropriate insurance, and invest in their own accounts simply and effectively.
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Best Fit For: Our ideal clients are eager DIYers who embrace our philosophy of simplicity, are willing to implement their financial plan with our help and are interested in a long-term relationship built on trust.
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Services: Financial planning, investment guidance for DIY investors
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Fees: Annual flat fee, monthly flat fee, flat fee for financial plan
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Facet
Company-submitted summary: Facet knows that as a busy medical professional, the long days and demanding schedule leave you with limited time and energy to effectively manage your personal finances. A Facet membership alleviates that financial stress, pairing you with your own CFP® professional who can provide expert advice on investments, taxes, business expenses, student loan debt, and more, so you know your money is working as hard as you do. Try Facet worry-free with our 30-day money back guarantee! If you don’t believe Facet is right for you, you can cancel for a full membership fee refund.*
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PSG Perk: Facet is offering a limited time $550 kick-start offer!** Get $300 into your brokerage account if you invest & maintain $5k within your first 90 days, plus the $250 enrollment fee will be waived for new annual members. Expires Dec 31, 2024
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Best Fit For: Industry professionals looking for a financial planning service that is convenient and effective
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Services: Unbiased, personalized, and affordable financial planning membership for everything your money touches
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Fees: Facet offers a flat annual membership fee that is based on your needs, rather than if or
how much you invest with them. For members that do choose to invest with Facet, investment
management services are included at no additional fee for Core, Plus and Complete members.***
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Disclaimer: Facet Wealth, Inc. (“Facet”) is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. This is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities. This is not investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. *In order to be eligible for a refund, member must complete onboarding, uploading all necessary documents within 7 days and attend their first planning meeting. Within 30 days, member must cancel and request a refund through their dashboard. Post the initial 30 day money back guarantee, all Facet memberships are non-refundable for the remainder of the annual subscription period. This excludes any estate planning expenses associated with our service delivered through our partner wealth.com. No other expenses or market losses will be waived or reimbursed under this guarantee. This guarantee may be subject to change. See full terms and conditions for details. **See Terms and Conditions and active promotions. Not available for Foundations members. ***Investment management is included at no additional fee for Core, Plus and Complete Memberships. Investment management is not included as a service in any other financial planning only membership level Facet may offer.
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Sarsi, LLC
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Company-submitted summary: Sarsi is a fee-only financial advisor. Sarsi provides comprehensive financial planning (tax planning, cash flows, debt planning, retirement planning, insurance/protection etc.), in addition to investment management and acts as a financial quarterback to reduce complexity and help with priorities.
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PSG Perk: Make sure to mention Physician Side Gigs for a free 1-hour discovery call ($500 value) after the initial introductory call.
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Best Fit For: Physicians 5+ years into their career and who are looking to outsource personal finance to an ‘approachable expert’ but wants customized, individualized service.
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Specializes In: Customizing an individual, comprehensive financial plan
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Fees: Flat fee for upfront financial plan including investment advice (AUM for investment management and ongoing financial planning)
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LOOKING FOR A LOCAL FINANCIAL ADVISOR?
If you are looking for a local financial advisor and aren't able to use one of our listed financial advisors above, check out our sponsor Zoe Financial.
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Zoe Financial
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Zoe Financial allows you to search their national network for advisors that fit your needs. Please note this platform has both flat fee and AUM advisors. Their fee structure is transparently listed under the matches they provide you, along with other information about each of them, so look at the disclosure pages and the fee structures of any matches before picking one you might want to schedule with.
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If you qualify to meet with a Zoe Advisor, we will receive a referral fee at no cost to you. This is not contingent upon your use of the financial advisor or based on the fees that you pay. Full advertising disclosure here.
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HOW DOCTORS SHOULD PICK A FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND WHAT TO ASK WHEN INTERVIEWING
Using Financial Advisors
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While we try our best to empower physicians with the tools they need to understand finances, we understand that DIY is not for everyone, and that there are several advantages to using a financial advisor. Many people prefer the comfort of having an additional set of eyes on their investments, especially as their wealth building and asset allocation become more complex. Advantages to having a financial advisor working with you include:
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making sure you stay disciplined about your approach
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educating you on different investment opportunities
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helping with things like rebalancing your portfolio
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providing backup if something happens to you
​We do encourage you to be involved and learn, regardless of whether you DIY, hire someone to provide occasional advice, or outsource all the logistics. This way, you can be an active participant in discussions and decisions, as well as possibly even bring some of your own ideas to the table. Personal finance is personal, and the more you can intelligently weigh in on it, the more your financial plan will reflect what's right for you. Also, make sure you only purchase what you need, because fees can add up quickly, and there may be times where you are comfortable doing some things and not others. Also, be careful of firms that try to do too much, as you may benefit from getting some services a la carte from relevant expertise (tax strategy, legal, estate planning, etc.), rather than paying one firm a very large fee to do everything, but potentially with less specialized expertise.
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How to Choose a FA
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Fiduciary Duty
Signed statement that they are willing to commit to you that they will do what’s in your best interest. Make sure they actually sign it, regardless of their certification.
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Types of Certifications
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CFP: Have to complete 200 hours of course work, have 3 years of experience, and have to pass a test
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ChFC (chartered financial consultant): Have to complete CFP type coursework but without the test
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CPA (certified public accountant) + PFS (personal financial specialist)
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CFA (Chartered financial analyst): This is the hardest one to get. Requires 750 hours of coursework and 3 exams over 18 months
Questions to Ask
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Ask about their investing strategy and make sure it’s reasonable.
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Are they buying individual stocks and do they believe in active management?
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Are they using low cost funds? Avoid advisors that use high cost mutual funds as they eat into your returns.
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Are they advocating for whole life insurance or do they sell insurance? Be careful about conflict of interest.
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Fee Structures: Pros and Cons to Each
There is no 100% 'right' way to pay a financial advisor, as it's going to depend on what makes sense for your net worth and your goals. Each fee structure has its pros and cons. What you want to do is make sure the fees are clearly defined and transparent so that you can make an informed decision. Ask them every way that they make money from you.
There is one fee structure we would caution you about. In general, we are advocates for fee only over fee based advising. In fee based advising, the person recommending a product will make money from the product that is being sold. The classic problem we see on the group in regards to this is when an advisor is selling expensive insurance products that don't make sense for people's life stages. Since insurance products allow those selling them to usually make somewhere between 50-100% (or more!) of the price of the annual premium, if someone sells you a whole life policy that costs you $100,000 a year, you can see the obvious conflict of interest. Fee only advisers don't make commission based on products they sell from you, which is why the advisors on our list are fee only. You should get your disability insurance and life insurance from other vendors. Learn more about if physicians should buy whole life insurance.
In terms of options for how you pay for fee only advice, there are many options (and many hybrids of options), again with its own pros and cons. You should do the math on what works for you as well as weigh the non-monetary pros and cons of each situation.
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AUM: Many charge as high as 2% or above of your total net worth. This may not seem like a lot when you’re first starting out, but it will add up quickly and significantly eat into your returns. It can also create a conflict of interest in the investment strategies recommended, as obviously the more money they are managing, the more money they make. If an AUM advisor is telling you not to pay off debt or contribute fully to tax advantaged options, it's okay to dig deeper into why exactly they feel this is best for you. All of this said, if your net worth grows, they also benefit, so they may be more incentivized to ensure that your accounts grow. Another potential situation in which this may be advantageous is if the AUM percentage of your net worth is lower than what a flat fee, advice only advisor charges.
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Flat fee: You pay an annual retainer and know the cost upfront, which may be quoted to you based on your individual circumstances or be the same for everyone depending on the firm. This comes with the advantage of knowing exactly what you're going to pay and knowing there is no conflict of interest in what they recommend. In some situations, this fee may be higher than what you would have paid an AUM advisor depending on your net worth; however, we find that for a lot of our physicians, flat fee is preferred on the financial planning side of things. This is because the amount of work done on the financial planners side may not increase linearly in accordance with your net worth and you could end up paying a very large amount for similar work on the part of the advisor. The potential downside is that since they’re getting paid the same regardless, they may not want to spend as much time corresponding with you or scheduling meetings. Make sure that you are open from the beginning about expectations you have for what you will get from the fees as well as review what they say they will include, to avoid potential conflict later by ensuring a good fit from the getgo.
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Hourly: This can be nice for many that feel like they have an overall grasp on DIY management, but like having someone to run decisions by, particularly as new situations arise (practice buy-in, inheritance, etc). The pro is that you only pay for what you use, but the flip side is that it may disincentivize you from asking questions that you could actually use advice on because you have to reach for your credit card each time.
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Other options: These can include Roboadvisors, Fidelity or Vanguard (can use their people for free or low fee). These are generally lower cost options who are good for people who have a solid foundational fund of knowledge and are confident that they can DIY.
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Remember, there are hybrid options here. For example, you may pay a flat fee for the financial planning side of things and then an AUM for the management side of things. Also remember, AUM fees can often be negotiated, especially as your net worth rises, so you should ask questions relevant to your personal situation.
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