Flat-fee and hourly financial advisors — no AUM percentage, no commissions.
Traditional AUM advisors charge 0.8-1.3% of assets — $8,000-$13,000/year at $1M, $80,000+/year at $10M. The actual advice is rarely 10x as valuable at $10M. Flat-fee and hourly advisors charge $3,000-$15,000/year regardless of asset base. For investors with straightforward portfolios and who want planning, the economics are dramatically better.
What our matched specialists handle
- I have $4M and my advisor charges 1% — $40K/year seems excessive
- Do I actually need full-service or just occasional advice?
- Hourly planner: what does $400/hr get me and is it worth it?
- My wirehouse advisor won't talk to me outside of quarterly reviews — how do flat-fee models work?
- I'm a DIY investor but want a second opinion on major decisions
- I manage my own money but hit a complex decision (exit, inheritance, divorce) — can I engage for a one-off?
Tools & guides
AUM vs Flat-Fee Lifetime Cost Calculator
Compare the lifetime cost of AUM advisory vs flat-fee engagement across your investing horizon.
Hourly Financial Advisor: What to Expect
$300–500/hr for one-off advice. When it makes sense, how to prepare, and what you can accomplish in a session.
Flat-Fee Financial Advisor Guide
Detailed framework — rules, tradeoffs, and common mistakes.
Fee-Only vs Fee-Based Advisor: What the Terms Mean
How advisor compensation works, how to verify fee-only status on Form ADV, and why conflicts matter.
How to Switch Financial Advisors
Contract review, tax planning, ACAT transfers, and timeline. Step-by-step guide for leaving your AUM advisor.
When Flat Fee Beats AUM: The Breakeven Math
At what portfolio size does 1% AUM cost more than a flat-fee retainer? Real dollar comparisons by asset level.
How Much Does a Financial Advisor Cost?
AUM fees, flat-fee retainers, hourly rates, and hidden costs — plain-English breakdown with real dollar amounts at every portfolio level.
How to Find a Flat-Fee or Fee-Only Financial Advisor
NAPFA, XY Planning Network, and Garrett Planning Network — what each requires from advisors, how to search, and what to ask in the first meeting.
20 Questions to Ask a Financial Advisor
Compensation screening, fiduciary vetting, and flat-fee-specific deal-breakers — the questions that actually separate good advisors from the rest.
Fiduciary Financial Advisor: What the Duty Covers
What fiduciary duty legally requires, how it differs from Reg BI, and why flat-fee removes structural conflicts that even fiduciary advisors have.
Fee-Only Financial Planner: CFP Planners and What They Charge
Comprehensive planning vs. investment management — what a fee-only CFP planner delivers, how fees are structured, and where to find one.
One-Time Financial Plan: What It Covers and What It Costs
Project-based engagement, no ongoing commitment. Written plan deliverable, $2K–$10K depending on complexity. Best for major life transitions and DIY investors wanting a professional roadmap.
Robo Advisor vs. Financial Advisor: Which Do You Need?
Robo advisors handle investing well. For Roth conversions, equity comp, retirement sequencing, and major decisions, a human planner adds clear value. Why robo + flat-fee often beats full-service AUM.
Retirement Tax Planning with a Flat-Fee Advisor
Roth conversion sizing, IRMAA avoidance, RMD planning, and withdrawal sequencing — the decisions worth $50K+ over retirement, handled by an advisor paid for planning, not asset percentage.
Financial Advisor for Early Retirement (FIRE)
Sequence of returns, Roth conversion ladder, ACA health insurance MAGI management, and 72(t) access before 59½ — the planning problems specific to retiring at 40, 45, or 55.
Independent Financial Advisor: What It Means and How to Find One
Not affiliated with a wirehouse or broker-dealer. What independence eliminates, what it doesn't, and why independent + flat-fee removes the most conflicts in financial advice.
Financial Advisor for Divorce: Why Flat-Fee Planning Fits
QDROs, alimony tax changes, Social Security divorced spousal benefits, and the tax cliff from joint to single filer. Project-based engagement — not an ongoing AUM relationship — matches the scope of divorce planning.
Financial Advisor for High Net Worth Investors
AUM fees at $2M–$10M scale are often economically indefensible. What HNW investors actually need from an advisor, what to pay, and how to screen for genuine flat-fee planners at scale.
Social Security Claiming Strategy: Timing, Spousal Benefits, and Tax Interactions
Break-even math, spousal and survivor optimization, WEP/GPO repeal, IRMAA interaction, and the Roth conversion tradeoff — why SS timing is worth $100K+ and how a flat-fee advisor models it right.
Tax Planning for High-Income Investors
Backdoor Roth, mega backdoor Roth, NIIT exposure, AMT after OBBBA, asset location, and tax-loss harvesting — the strategies worth $30K–$100K+ per year that AUM advisors have structural reasons to underdeliver.
Financial Advisor for Inheritance: What to Do with Inherited Money
Inherited IRA 10-year rule, annual RMD requirements, step-up in basis, spousal rollover options, and why flat-fee is the right model for windfall planning — no rollover incentive in the advice.
Financial Advisor for Retirement Planning
Six planning domains that determine whether retirement works: tax sequencing, Roth conversions, Social Security timing, IRMAA management, RMDs, and estate structure. Why AUM advisors have a structural conflict in drawdown — and what flat-fee retirement planning costs.
Financial Advisor for Annuity Review
Insurance agents earn 5–8% commissions on annuities. AUM advisors want your assets under management. A flat-fee hourly advisor has no stake in what you decide — the only structure for a genuinely objective annuity review.
Financial Advisor for Widows and Widowers
Survivor Social Security benefits, the inherited IRA rollover decision, the IRMAA bracket jump from joint to single, and the 9-month portability election deadline — the financial decisions surviving spouses must navigate in the first year, with conflict-free advice.
Wealth Management Fees: What You're Really Paying in 2026
Real dollar cost tables for $500K–$10M portfolios, hidden fee layers beyond the advisory percentage, and the 25-year compounding impact of switching to a flat-fee retainer.
Financial Advisor for Trust Planning
Revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, and grantor trust planning. Why AUM advisors have a conflict in trust advice — and what flat-fee trust planning looks like from funding to distribution optimization.
Charitable Giving Financial Advisor: DAF, QCD, and Appreciated Stock
Donor-advised funds, Qualified Charitable Distributions, appreciated stock donations, and charitable remainder trusts — the strategies that give HNW donors 15–24 cents more per dollar, and why a flat-fee advisor gives you unconflicted advice on all of them.
Financial Advisor for Retirees: Distribution Planning Without the AUM Conflict
Withdrawal sequencing, Roth conversion window, Social Security optimization, IRMAA management, and RMD planning — the distribution-phase work that AUM advisors have a structural conflict delivering, and what a flat-fee retirement income advisor charges instead.
Long-Term Care Insurance: Buy, Self-Insure, or Hybrid?
Insurance agents earn commissions if you buy. AUM advisors lose fee base when premiums pull assets out. A flat-fee advisor has no stake in what you decide — just the math on your specific retirement income plan and assets.
How matching works
Get matched with a specialist
Fee-only advisor with no commission conflict. Free match.
Flat Fee Advisor Match is a matching service. We connect you with vetted fee-only financial advisors in our network — we don't manage money or provide advice ourselves. Advisors in our network are fiduciaries who charge transparent fees (not product commissions), and we match you based on your specific situation.