5 Situations to Consider Hiring a Financial Advisor

Financial advisors can help individuals, couples, and families manage their finances, navigate complex financial decisions, and achieve both short-term and long-term goals. But at what point should you seriously consider hiring one? While many may assume it’s more common for the highly wealthy or for people with no experience to hire a professional, this isn’t always the case.

It can be smart to work with a financial advisor when your life has become complex, uncertain, or has stakes it may not have had before. Here are five situations where it can make sense to hire a financial advisor:

1. You’re Approaching Retirement

Around the time of retirement, people often begin asking questions about their finances and life direction. For example, you might wonder about how you can maximize Social Security or withdraw from tax-advantaged accounts to create income after you leave your job. Similarly, questions may arise on investment strategy, risk management, and income taxes.

“When people are 5–10 years away from retirement, the questions usually become more real and personal,” says Marianna Goldenberg, founder of CURO Wealth Management. “The biggest one is often: ‘Are we actually on track to retire comfortably?’”

All of this can be complicated and difficult to handle alone, regardless of net worth. It can also be challenging to think ahead when you’re already busy enough figuring out how to manage the present day. Because of this, it’s not uncommon for people to seek guidance from a qualified financial advisor in the decade before retirement.

An advisor can sit down with you to understand your situation and goals and help you craft a retirement blueprint that works for you and the level of comfort you desire. They may assist with elements such as building a sustainable income plan that supports your needs, managing investments, and creating a withdrawal strategy that accounts for taxes and benefits like Social Security.

2. Your Investments Have Become More Complex

At any level of wealth, managing investments can be hard. Therefore, people commonly turn to a financial advisor when their portfolio gets too large or complex to manage alone. While the exact reasons can vary from person to person, it’s often due to a lack of experience, time, or a need for better coordination across all aspects of their financial picture.

Portfolio complexity can surface differently across investors and be gradual or sudden. You might have your assets spread across multiple accounts, retirement plans, and vehicles, each with unique goals and investment strategies, that you’ve collected as your net worth has grown. Alternatively, you may also have received a windfall or a large amount of compensation, drastically transforming your investing outlook and plans.

A fiduciary financial advisor or investment management professional can work either hands-on or as a source of directional guidance to help you align your portfolio with your goals, risk tolerance, and life timeline. They can help you select the right investments or do so on your behalf, understand how to use investing to reach your objectives, monitor risk, and manage your accounts cohesively.

Periodically, a financial professional can also help you know when to revisit your plans and ensure your portfolio is fitting your goals, rebalancing when necessary. They can be a resource during troubling times, such as market downturns or periods of volatility when uncertainty runs high.

When you have a highly valuable portfolio, the investing decisions you make could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or more one way or the other. The stakes are high and could bring significant returns, especially over time, but mistakes could also be as damaging as good decisions are rewarding. Working with a financial advisor can help keep you on track and up to date on your portfolio.

3. You’ve Experienced a Major Financial Change

Major life events introduce a host of new decisions, raising questions about how to save or invest funds, how new assets fit your goals, and more. All of this can make it a prime time to connect with a professional and get guidance.

It’s typical to consider speaking with an advisor after one or more of the following:

• Receiving an inheritance
• Selling a business
• Retiring early
• Getting married or divorced
• Receiving a large raise or significant bonus
• Receiving miscellaneous windfalls (e.g., lottery winnings, equity cash out, etc.)

“People often seek financial advice when they’re navigating major life changes, things like marriage, divorce, the loss of a loved one, or a significant career shift,” explains Tracy Andrade, CFP^®, CIM^®, Associate Wealth Advisor at Marnoa Private Wealth Counsel. “These transitions can make their financial picture feel more complicated, and they want clarity on whether they’re on track and how to move forward confidently.”

Sudden changes such as those mentioned above can influence several aspects of your financial picture, including your investment allocation, taxes, and your time horizon toward specific goals such as retirement. Depending on the amount you’ve received, your financial landscape will change to the point that what worked before may no longer work. An advisor could help you implement a plan and figure out broadly where to go from here and answer any questions you may have.

Goldenberg explains that “people delay” seeking advice commonly “during emotional life transitions—like divorce, caring for aging parents, or selling a business—because everything feels overwhelming and they’re not sure where to start,” but when “they come in, they usually say some version of, ‘I wish I had done this sooner.’”

4. Your Net Worth Has Grown Significantly

As wealth grows, financial decisions often tend to become more strategic and complex. Investment choices, tax planning, and long-term goals can begin shaping each other, and it’s not uncommon for people to feel like they have an overwhelming amount to keep track of.

“As someone’s net worth grows, their financial life naturally becomes more complicated,” says Goldenberg. “Decisions around taxes, investing, and long‑term planning carry more weight, and people often start feeling like they have more moving pieces than they can comfortably track on their own.”

For instance, if you’ve crossed into the high-net-worth territory, you might begin thinking about limiting your tax exposure, putting together an estate plan, and ensuring your portfolio functions to support lifestyle needs and plans. Even if you’re entering six figures for the first time, you may want to know how to structure your investments and savings to continue supporting long-term growth.

“Gradual growth gives people time to adjust and learn as they go. But a sudden increase—like an inheritance or business sale—can feel overwhelming because all the big decisions hit at the same time,” Goldenberg shares. “In both cases, people usually reach a moment where they think, ‘I want to be smart about this, and I don’t want to make a mistake.’ That’s often the point when working with an advisor starts to feel not just helpful, but necessary.”

While there’s not necessarily a perfect dollar amount where it’s a guaranteed good choice to hire an advisor, you may look at your portfolio and realize at some point it’s gotten larger than it’s ever been. Whether it’s how diversified your investments have become, your net worth crossing $500k to $1M+, or you’ve experienced a sudden increase in wealth as described above. At this point, expert financial guidance may make sense.

5. You Feel Uncertain About Your Financial Plan

One of the most common reasons many people seek financial advice is uncertainty about what step to take next. Finances can get complicated over time, and it may not always be clear if you’re making the right decisions to put yourself on track.

“Financial mistakes, particularly early in life, can be difficult to overcome. People can dig a financial hole that is so deep that it can be very difficult to recover from,” says Robert R. Johnson, PhD, CFA, CAIA, Professor of Finance, Heider College of Business, Creighton University. “I would encourage people to establish a relationship with a financial advisor early on and create a lifetime financial plan.”

Many people find themselves wondering if they’re on track for retirement, prioritizing the right goals, or investing properly. In these situations, a financial advisor helps evaluate your strategy and work alongside you to set clear objectives and develop a structured plan that’s aligned with your goals.

Bottom Line

Working with a financial advisor can be a wise idea in situations where you’re faced with uncertainty, increased complexity, or a new change in circumstances that changes your finances. While it can seem daunting to work with a person you may have never met on personal things like retirement or your investment portfolio, a professional could give you the clarity and structure you need to save and invest appropriately, manage your financial life, and accomplish your short- and long-term goals.

It’s critical, however, to work with a professional who upholds a fiduciary duty. Be sure to prioritize advisors who carry reputable credentials, such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), among others.

If you’d like to find a financial advisor and are unsure where to begin, we recommend using this free matching tool. After answering a few questions about your goals and needs, it’ll connect you with a vetted fiduciary professional.