You may have typed in any of the following challenges or questions to get to this page:
Do I need a financial advisor?
I just inherited money. What do I do with it?
My husband handled all the finances, and now he's gone. Where do I start?
How do I manage my money after a divorce?
Is a financial advisor worth it?
How much does a financial advisor cost?
Written by Amy Parvaneh, founder and CEO of Select Advisors Institute
Excerpt and Summary:
If you're suddenly in charge of a lot of money, whether from an inheritance, the loss of a spouse, or a divorce, you're probably asking yourself if you need a financial advisor, how to find one you can trust, and what it should cost. You can search directories like NAPFA or the CFP Board, but if you'd rather have someone walk you through it, Select Advisors Institute can educate you on the landscape, help you compare advisors, and sit with you in those first meetings. Read more about this topic.
Do I need a financial advisor?
I'm suddenly in charge of the money. Where do I even start?
Do I really need a financial advisor, or can I just leave the money where it is for now?
You may be asking yourself that question at one of the hardest moments of your life.
You might have just inherited money from your parents, and you don't even know who their advisor was.
You might have lost your spouse, and he (or she) was the one who handled everything.
You might have just finalized a divorce, and your ex always paid the bills, talked to the advisor and did the taxes.
You might have received a windfall, and everyone around you suddenly has an opinion about what you should do with it.
In these moments you know one thing. You need help, and you need someone who can guide you without pressure.
There is no such thing as a silly question here. I promise.
I just inherited money. What do I do with it?
First, take a breath. There is no prize for investing it all by Friday.
Many of the people I speak with feel guilty, overwhelmed or even a little frozen after an inheritance. (Some call it sudden wealth syndrome, and it's far more common than you'd think.) Here are a few things to think about:
Where is the money right now? Is it in your name, in a trust, or still sitting in your parents' accounts?
Are you a trust fund beneficiary, or were you named the trustee? Those are two very different jobs. If you're the successor trustee, you may now be responsible for paying bills, filing taxes and distributing money to your siblings. (Not sure what a trustee even is? You're not alone.)
Did you inherit an IRA or a 401k? These come with their own rules and deadlines, and they're easy to get wrong.
Do you want to keep your parents' advisor? You're allowed to say no. You're also allowed to say "not yet."
[read our article around generational wealth transfer]
My spouse handled all the finances. What do I do now?
I hear this one more than any other: "He took care of everything. I don't even know the passwords."
If this is you, please know you are in very good company. And nothing has to be decided this month.
What usually helps in the first few months:
Make a simple list of every account, every bill and every person your spouse worked with (the advisor, the CPA, the attorney, the insurance agent).
Keep the bills paid. A daily money manager or bill pay service can take this off your plate right away.
Don't make big decisions yet. Selling the house, moving money, or lending money to family can wait.
Meet the current advisor, but don't sign anything new. You want to understand what you have before anyone changes it.
You deserve an advisor who talks to you, not around you.
How do I manage my money after a divorce?
If your ex always handled the money, the settlement can feel like being handed the keys to a car you've never driven.
Some questions to ask yourself:
Do I actually know what I received, and where it's held?
Did I keep my ex's financial advisor? Should I? (Many women tell me they don't feel comfortable staying with "his" advisor.)
Do I need a certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA) during the divorce, and a wealth manager after?
What does my new budget look like, now that it's just me?
There are advisors who specialize in working with divorced women, and others who are wonderful but simply not the right fit for this chapter.
[read: Life After Divorce: Who Helps You Get It All Together?]
So…do I need a financial advisor? Is it worth it?
For most people with significant money and a lot of complexity, the answer is yes. But it has to be the right one.
A good advisor (or wealth manager) does much more than pick investments. What does a wealth manager do? In an ideal world, they look at your whole picture: your investments, taxes, insurance, estate plan, the trust you just inherited, and the life you actually want to live. Then they make sure all of it works together.
A not-so-good advisor sells you products, talks over you in meetings, and sends a quarterly report you never read.
Bottom line: the process of becoming a financial advisor is quite easy, so there are plenty of "fish" in the sea…the catch is finding the right one for your specific goals and needs.
[read: Financial Advisor vs. Wealth Manager, which ones better?]
How much does a financial advisor cost?
There are so many different types of advisors, and they all charge differently. Below are just a few examples:
Fee-Only Advisors charge a percentage of the assets they manage for you, typically between 50bps and 1%. They don't earn commissions on products they sell you.
Fixed-Fee Advisors charge a flat retainer, monthly, quarterly or annually, regardless of your asset size. These are harder to find, but can be a better fit if a lot of your wealth is in a house, a business or a trust.
Commission-Based Advisors earn money through the products they sell, which can create conflicts.
Make sure you get the full answer. For example, a wealth manager may say "we charge 0.75% on your total assets." On $5 million, that's $37,500 a year.
Examples of follow up questions from you can include:
"Do I pay a separate cost, besides your advisory fee, to the investment managers?"
"Is there a lower fee as my assets grow?"
"What if I don't need financial planning and just want the money managed? Should I still pay the 1%?"
[read about the cost of financial advisors]
What's the difference between a fiduciary and a financial advisor?
This one confuses almost everyone, so you're in good company.
"Financial advisor" is a broad title. A fiduciary is someone who is legally required to act in your best interest. Some advisors are fiduciaries all the time. Some are fiduciaries on some accounts but not others. And some operate under a lower "suitability" standard, meaning a product only has to be suitable for you, not necessarily the best option.
The simple question to ask: "Are you a fiduciary at all times, on every account you manage for me?"
[RIA vs CFP vs wealth manager vs financial advisor!]
What questions should I ask a financial advisor?
You may be asking many questions around the process of selecting a financial advisor. Some of the most common ones we hear are:
How do you get paid? Get the full answer, including any costs besides your advisory fee.
Are you a fiduciary at all times?
Who will I actually talk to? You, or a junior person on your team?
How often will we meet, and what happens in those meetings?
Have you worked with someone in my situation before? (A widow, an heir, someone newly divorced.)
Will you work with my CPA and estate attorney, or will I be the go-between?
What happens if I want to leave? How to switch financial advisors should never feel like a breakup.
Do I just go with the person my estate planning attorney referred me to?
The list of questions goes on and on!
What if I just want someone to handle it all?
This is the part nobody tells you: for many families, the investments are the easy part.
The hard part is everything around it. The bills, the insurance renewals, the trust paperwork, the tax documents, remembering to call the CPA back, and wondering if your advisor and your attorney ever actually talk to each other.
That's where these come in:
Personal CFO: someone who oversees your whole financial life and keeps every professional on track.
Daily money manager / bill pay: someone who pays the bills, tracks spending and organizes the paperwork.
Virtual or fractional family office: family office style support, without hiring a full staff. (A full single family office often costs over $1M a year to run.)
Financial concierge: someone in your corner who joins meetings, decodes the jargon and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks.
[read: Do You Need a Family Office, or Just Someone Who Makes Sure Everything Gets Done?]
And that's exactly where Select Advisors can come in and help!
Don't go through the process of finding or changing a financial advisor alone. We can help!
How can Select Advisors Institute help me find the right financial advisor?
At Select Advisors Institute, we do not manage investments or provide financial advice. Instead, we offer strategic support to help you navigate the complexities of wealth management, ensuring that your financial relationships are structured to serve your best interests. By providing these services, we help you maintain control over your financial decisions, ensuring that your wealth management strategy aligns with your unique needs and objectives.
We'd love to speak with you about your goals, answer some of your top questions about the financial industry, and/or refer you to some of my favorite financial advisors in this space that may match your exact needs.
If you've just inherited money, lost a spouse, or come out of a divorce, you face unique challenges. Managing significant wealth for the first time involves more than investment decisions. It means organizing everything you now own, understanding who is already involved, and choosing the people you can trust for the next chapter.
We provide comprehensive support by assisting in the organization and management of your financial advisor evaluation process. Our services include helping you define your financial needs and priorities before engaging professionals, drafting or reviewing RFPs for advisory and planning services, and building comparison frameworks across firms, services, and compensation models. We also track communications during advisor meetings to identify gaps or follow-ups, ensuring that you have all the necessary information to make informed decisions.
Hi, I'm Amy Parvaneh,
Since 2014, my firm has guided 100s of financial firms and thousands of financial advisors. I have been in the financial services industry since 2001, with a successful career at Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management and then PIMCO.
Beyond advisor selection, we assist in gathering background materials and documentation for review, help interpret fee structures and service models, and coordinate introductions to firms that meet your specific criteria. Our team reviews public disclosures, monitors advisor changes or staff turnover that may impact your relationship, and facilitates communication with your legal, tax, and family office teams. We aim to translate industry jargon into terms that align with your values, providing debrief support after advisor interviews and designing internal decision-making frameworks across stakeholders. By serving as a neutral, long-term liaison, we help monitor alignment, organize your existing team for better visibility and clarity, and support onboarding logistics for newly selected firms. Our goal is to ensure that the advisor you choose fits your actual life, not just their presentation.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyparvaneh/
If you have any of the below questions, it's time to call us!
Do I need a financial advisor?
Is a financial advisor worth it?
What do I do with inheritance money?
How do I invest a large inheritance?
Should I keep my parents' financial advisor?
What is a trustee, and what are my duties as successor trustee?
What is sudden wealth syndrome?
My spouse handled all the finances. Where do I start?
What should I do financially after my spouse dies?
Is there a financial advisor for widows?
How do I manage my finances after a divorce?
Do I need a certified divorce financial analyst?
Should I keep my ex's financial advisor?
How much does a financial advisor cost?
What is a fee-only financial advisor?
What is the difference between a fiduciary and a financial advisor?
What does a wealth manager do?
What questions should I ask a financial advisor?
How do I switch financial advisors?
What is a personal CFO or a virtual family office, and do I need one?
Select Advisors Institute is not a registered investment adviser and does not provide investment, legal, or tax advice. We are a boutique management consulting firm deeply embedded in the wealth management, asset management, family office, and UHNW sectors, advising financial institutions on strategic growth, talent development, investor communication, and brand positioning, while guiding ultra-high-net-worth families in advisor selection, coordination, and the day-to-day management of complex wealth structures.
Selecting a financial advisor is a critical decision that should be based on more than just surface-level rankings and accolades. By considering factors such as technology investments, client engagement capabilities, modernization efforts, and the authenticity of awards, you can make a more informed choice that aligns with your financial goals and values. Remember, the best financial advisor is one who not only manages your wealth effectively but also prioritizes transparency, communication, and a client-centric approach.