Industry
3 viewpoints on this topic. ← All viewpoints
The financial advice industry uses language carefully, and not always in your favor. The viewpoints below decode terms that sound technical but are often marketing — fee-only, fiduciary, suitability — and explain how compensation structures shape the advice you actually receive. The intent is not to attack the industry; it's to give clients enough vocabulary to ask better questions before they sign anything.
The 401(k) secret your plan administrator isn't going to volunteer
The funds in your 401(k) didn't get there by accident. Here's who chose them, why, and what that arrangement is costing your balance.
"Fee-only" is a marketing slogan, not a virtue. Here's what to ask instead.
The compensation structure of your advisor matters far less than what their structure prevents them from doing for you. A short field guide to the question your advisor probably hopes you don't ask.
Maybe you don't need a financial advisor. Here's when that's true.
I'm going to argue something I don't fully believe. Maybe you don't need a financial advisor. Here's when that's true, and when it isn't.
Knowing how an advisor is paid tells you more about the advice you'll get than any credential on their wall. These essays exist so that conversation can start from informed footing rather than from a brochure.