Did you get good advice — or just a good sales pitch?
"Financial companies often pay advisers more to promote certain products rather than to recommend what is best for their customers. That incentive creates what is known as a conflict of interest. And conflicts of interests sometimes can cause advisers to give bad advice."
Let common sense be your guide
Choose what makes sense. Skip what doesn’t.
Fee-Only
If you want advice that’s never influenced by marketing incentives, choose advisors who don't hold licenses to receive marketing incentives.
Independent
If you don't want a company profit agenda driving your investment choices, choose a company that doesn't profit from your investment choices.
Expertise
If you want financial expertise, choose actual financial experts.
Advisor Checklist ✓
Trust but verify - this checklist can help you get the facts.
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Fee-Based ≠ Fee-Only
Don’t be fooled by clever semantics. “Fee-based” advisors can receive commissions and third-party incentives. Ensure your advisor is a Fee-Only NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor
True Fiduciary
We believe a true fiduciary should not also be licensed as a broker to receive commissions and promotional incentives. Before you hire, verify that your advisor is not listed as both on BrokerCheck.
Plain-English Fees
Avoid tiered, tax-like brackets and additional fees that make your true cost hard to see. A single flat percentage fee keeps pricing clear and easy to compare.
Get It In Writing
Don’t simply take their word for it, check your advisor’s Form CRS and search for the phrase "Conflicts of Interest". Read our Form CRS.
Independence
Check their business cards for “Securities offered through”. It may indicate an allegiance to a broker-dealer, an obligation to recommend investments the brokerage promotes, and/or a license to sell products.
Regulatory Record
Check advisors and their firms for disciplinary history, customer disputes, or bankruptcies. If there’s smoke, move on. Check through SEC IAPD.
Proven Credentials
Independent Custody
Don’t let your advisor "Madoff" with your money. Keep your assets at an unaffiliated third-party custodian with statements coming from the custodian, not just the advisor. Check: Form ADV Part 2
Frequently asked questions
Nope. "Fee-based" is the industry's sneaky term for "fees and commissions". FirsTrust advisors are Fee-Only - the only license we hold is to charge a fully transparent fee.
We believe it shouldn't be. Thanks to a massive lobbying budget, $153,075,783 in 2024, Wall Street continues to find new ways to take money out of your wallet.
Go to BrokerCheck and enter the adviser’s name and city/state. If they’re listed as a Broker, or as both a Broker and an Investment Adviser, they’re licensed to receive commissions.
Brokerages quietly promote certain Wall Street investments in exchange for revenue-sharing kickbacks or pay-to-play fees; costs that ultimately come out of your pocket. FirsTrust refuses to participate in any arrangement that divides our loyalties or clouds our objectivity.
There is no universal standard. At many large brokerage firms, representatives can be hired with no specific education or experience in financial planning or investments. They’re trained primarily in sales and relationship skills, while financial and investment education comes second. That’s why the culture so often prioritizes gathering assets and selling products instead of delivering skilled, objective advice.
Want more details?
Call, email, or meet with a member of our FinancialTeam.