How Financial Advisor Matching Services Work

Finding a financial advisor who offers what you need and has your best interests in mind can be difficult. With so many firms and professionals to choose from, it may be hard to know you’re making the right choice.

With the help of online matching services, it may be easier to identify potential advisors, compare your options, and decide whether one is right for you. In this article, we’ll explain these tools in detail, including how to use them and when they might make sense for you. We’ll cover the types of information they collect, how they connect you with advisors, and the next steps after you receive a match from one of these sites.

What Is a Financial Advisor Matching Service?

Financial advisor matching services are online platforms that can help you connect with a financial advisor or advisory firm, either near you or remotely. They typically ask a range of questions, such as about your location, investment goals, preferred communication style, and others, so they can point you toward a fit. Afterward, they will often present you with one or more options to consider.

It’s important to note that matching services do not provide personalized financial advice or investment recommendations. Instead, they act as search and connection tools. They can help you narrow your options and, ultimately, decide whether you want to connect with an advisor who offers what you’re looking for.

Receiving a match from one of these tools also doesn’t usually mean the same thing as hiring an advisor. Before working with a firm, it’s vital to do your homework and research their credentials, fees, services, and fiduciary status.

How the Financial Advisor Matching Process Works

Advisor matching tools are often quick and relatively easy to use, depending on the platform. As mentioned, they usually start with a questionnaire with distinct questions and end with either one or a few matches.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how many of them work:

1. You share basic information about yourself and your situation

To match your needs and goals with an appropriate professional, these services typically require you to answer several questions about your financial situation and general personal circumstances. These all work to narrow in on the advisor expertise and relationship you’re looking for, and can help identify matches for the type of client you are.

While not every platform is the same, expect to provide some of the following:

• Estimated assets. Services may require you to specify dollar amounts or ranges allocated among parts of your portfolio (e.g., cash, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts such as a 401(k) or Roth IRA, home equity, etc.). This can help you match with advisors who serve your wealth segment.
• Retirement timeline. Tools may ask when you see yourself retiring. This could give prospective advisor matches an idea of how far along you are in life or how financially stable you are.
• How you currently manage your finances (alone, with an advisor, robo-advisor, etc.). Services ask this to understand your level of familiarity with financial management, or whether you’ve worked with an advisor or robo-advisor before.
• Whether you’ve used an advisor before. A commonly asked question, this directly shows potential advisors your level of experience in receiving financial advice.
• Preference in advisor services. This might ask you to choose one or more types of financial advisor skill sets or relationships you’re looking for (e.g., financial planning, retirement planning, estate planning, investment management, etc.).
• Location. Matching websites typically ask for your location in the form of a ZIP code in case there’s an advisor who serves your area.
• Remote or in-person? Many tools ask if you would prefer to work with your professional online or face-to-face. While in-person can be favorable for some, being open to remote advice gives you access to a wider array of qualified experts beyond your immediate area.
• Age range. To better understand your financial picture and timeline, these tools often ask for your age. However, many simply ask for a range instead of an exact birth date.
• Name, phone number, and email. This allows any matches you receive to contact you and lets tools verify that you are a real person and a potentially interested client.

2. The service identifies potential advisor matches

After providing details such as those listed above, tools will pinpoint and present financial advisor options in real-time. However, the number of matches you receive can vary significantly depending on the service. Some websites may provide a single match, while others may give you up to three or more.

To find the right selections for you, services may use criteria such as:

• Advisor availability
• Whether you fit a firm’s minimum account level
• The array of services offered
• Location
• Network participation

3. You review and compare your matches

Whether it’s one match from a certain service or up to three or more, the next step will be to review and compare advisors on your own. While the tool may make its strongest guess for a suitable option based on the information provided, it’s up to you to evaluate what’s best for your situation.

Once you receive your matches, websites will usually show them to you directly on-screen with a picture of the advisor or a company logo, contact information, and facts about the firm’s location, services, minimums, and credentials. You can use this information to look up the advisor’s website, verify information, and examine it further.

4. Advisors may follow up

After completing the form and receiving your matches, advisors may reach out to verify your interest or move forward. You may receive an email or text message, but in many cases, you may get a call directly from the advisor you matched with to help you set up an initial appointment.

A critical piece to remember about matching services is that there’s often no obligation to hire. Even if you go through the form and see your matches, you don’t have to pick up the phone or respond to emails if something doesn’t feel right. This is why it’s smart to vet any firm you’re matched with before connecting with them directly or agreeing to go forward as a client.

Are Financial Advisor Matching Services Free?

In general, financial advisor matching services are free to use for consumers. This usually involves everything up to the point of connecting with the advisor, including the tool and the match with one or more potential professionals or firms. If you choose to hire an advisor, you’ll then be subject to that advisor’s fees.

But you might be wondering, what’s the catch? While there are no usage costs that are passed on to the consumer, it’s crucial to be aware of how these services make money and how that could affect your results.

Advisors and firms may pay fees to matching providers to be listed on a given platform. Therefore, services often have unique networks of firms that they’ve onboarded to appear in their recommendations.

A common business model is lead generation, where an advisor or firm pays for a qualified introduction to a prospective client based on the information provided in the questionnaire. This often occurs at the point you match with them or shortly thereafter. While your match is still based on what you provided, it’s worth noting that only firms in the platform’s network are usually available, which could be limiting.

What to Know Before Using a Matching Service

Matching services could help you find a financial advisor who aligns with your goals and situation. But before using one, it’s smart to understand their limitations, privacy, and what you may need to do after you receive a match.

Matches May Be Limited

The first thing to understand is that, especially in a lead generation model as described in this article, not every advisor in your area may be available. Rather, your match will be from a network of advisors who have a relationship with a platform.

This isn’t necessarily a con, especially because matching services often have large pools of professionals and firms; it just means that not every financial advisor option would be presented to you as if you did a Google search in your city. You might still get options near you, but some others may not be listed.

Privacy Awareness

The second aspect to consider is that when you fill out a form, you may be providing information about yourself that the service may collect or send to advisor firms you match with.

As noted, many forms ask for general details about your investment allocation, retirement timeline, and goals. They’ll also almost always require you to enter personally identifiable information (PII), such as your ZIP code, age or age range, first and last name, email, and phone number.

While this information helps provide tools with accurate matches for you and even verifies you as a real interested party, consider whether you’re comfortable sharing this online and review the service’s privacy policy and terms of conditions before submitting anything.

Also, keep in mind that you’ll likely be contacted by phone or email by one or more financial advisors you’ve matched with. Though this can be a helpful way to meet and build a relationship with your match, whether you want phone calls is a legitimate aspect.

Fiduciary Status and Credentials

Finally, it’s crucial to be aware of the credentials and fiduciary status of the firms and experts that any services put forward. While some websites may match you exclusively to fiduciaries, others may offer connections to hybrid broker and advisory firms or those with fee-based or commission-based compensation models, which can muddy the waters on fiduciary duty.

While independent research is a must, credentials and registration status can help you evaluate an advisor’s background and professional obligations. For professionals, look for designations and titles such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) that require them to uphold a fiduciary standard. Advisors may hold a wide variety of certifications, so it’s worth double-checking that they fit your needs and that they must uphold specific requirements.

For firms, look for whether the company is a registered investment advisor, or RIA. These are registered with the SEC or a state securities regulator and must uphold a fiduciary standard. They must also file Form ADV, which provides detailed information about their services, fees, and business practices. Some larger firms may also be registered as broker-dealers; however, they must clearly outline how this affects their advisor business and when conflicts of interest exist.

What to Do After You’re Matched With an Advisor

Using a service and receiving a match is just the first step. Before deciding to hire an advisor, take some time to check their background, verify their credentials, and figure out if you think they’ll work for you.

A good way to start is reviewing the advisor or firm’s website and regulatory profile. If the firm is an RIA, you can look it up on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) database, which includes facts about services, fees, disciplinary history, conflicts of interest, and business practices. You can also use this to look up individual professionals you’ve matched with. If the company is also a broker, you can also find similar information on FINRA’s BrokerCheck tool.

You can also compare each match you’ve received on factors such as:

• Services offered
• Account minimums
• Fee structure (e.g., AUM percentages, flat-fee, retainer, etc.)
• Fiduciary status and credentials of advisor(s)
• Disciplinary disclosures
• Whether the advisor operates remotely, in person, or both
• Alignment with your situation, needs, and goals

Consider speaking with more than one advisor before deciding on one. Sometimes, you won’t be truly sure how it would feel to work with a company or person unless you’ve talked to them in an initial consultation, which is usually offered for free in the industry.

For a closer look at what to look for and how to think about your choice, read our guide on how to choose a financial advisor.

When a Financial Advisor Matching Service May or May Not Make Sense

Financial advisor matching tools can be helpful, but they’re not for everyone, and it’s vital to set clear expectations for what they could do. They can provide a powerful way to narrow your options and get an idea of what types of advisors you could hire, but they may not solve every problem when you’re searching for an expert. These services may also work better for certain types of clients over others.

Here’s an overview:

A matching service may make sense if…

• You want help narrowing your options.
• You are nearing retirement.
• You have a growing portfolio.
• You are OK comparing local and remote advisors.
• You are not sure what type of advisor you need.
• You want to develop a long-term relationship with an advisor.
• You want to compare multiple options without contacting firms one by one.

A matching service may not be the best fit if…

• You already know which advisor you want and where to find them.
• You only want a one-time hourly planner.
• You do not want advisor follow-up via phone or email.
• You want to research every firm independently.
• You are not ready to speak with advisors.
• You don’t meet minimums to work with a financial advisor.

How ComparisonAdviser Helps Consumers Compare Financial Advisors

ComparisonAdviser helps consumers research financial advisor firms, compare advisory options, and connect with financial advisors based on their needs. Our resources include firm reviews, robo-advisor reviews, and advisor-selection guides. Additionally, we offer a free matching tool designed to help users make a more informed decision and connect with a fiduciary financial advisor either near them or remotely.

Like many comparison and matching services, ComparisonAdviser may receive compensation from partners or participating firms. It’s important to compare fees, services, and other details before hiring a professional or advisory company.