Advice-only planners charge for advice and nothing else, and US fee-only firms whose websites list no percentage-of-assets fee charge a median $1,950 for a one-time plan, $300 an hour or $5,000 a year for ongoing planning. They tell you what to do with your money but don’t hold or manage your investments. You carry out the advice yourself, at your own bank or brokerage.
In Canada, where the term is most common, 83% of fee-only firms whose websites say how they charge list no asset-based fee at all.
What advice-only means
Most advisors who manage your investments charge a percentage of what they manage, often 1% a year. An advice-only planner doesn’t manage your money, so there’s nothing to take a percentage of. You pay for their time and thinking instead, in one of three ways:
- A one-time plan for a fixed price
- By the hour, for a specific question
- An ongoing fee (sometimes called a retainer or subscription) for help through the year
The name changes across the border. In Canada, “advice-only” is the usual term. In the US, the same planners more often say flat-fee, hourly, project-based, or “hourly, advice-only.” The labels overlap but don’t match exactly: some flat-fee firms also manage investments for their fee. If you want advice only, ask the planner directly whether they’ll ever hold or trade your accounts.
What it costs
These are prices from US fee-only firms whose websites list how they charge and don’t include a percentage of assets, the closest public sign that a firm works advice-only.
US medians at fee-only firms that list no percentage-of-assets fee
Source: Wellspent fee report data
In Canada, the same firms charge a median C$1,600 for a one-time plan (middle half C$900 to C$2,900, 41 firms), C$250 an hour (C$180 to C$300, 13 firms) and C$2,300 a year for ongoing planning (C$1,200 to C$4,000, 21 firms).
One pattern stands out. Ongoing planning costs more at firms with no asset-based fee: a median $5,000 a year, against $3,600 at firms that also charge a percentage of assets. One likely reason is that at an advice-only firm the planning fee is all the firm earns from you, while at a firm that also manages money it may sit alongside an investment fee.
Who offers it
Advice-only is the norm in Canada and a large minority in the US.
Across both countries that’s 986 of 2,574 firms, or 38%. The count comes from what firms say on their own websites, so a firm that manages investments for a flat price would still be in it. Treat it as the pool to start from, then confirm with each planner.
Browse flat-fee advisors in the public graph, or fee-only advisors in Ontario if you’re in Canada.
What you pay on top
Advice-only doesn’t mean investing is free. You’ll still pay the costs of the funds you hold and any account fees at your brokerage. The difference is that those costs don’t include an advisor’s percentage. Before you start, ask the planner which kinds of accounts and funds they’d expect you to use, so you know the full yearly cost in dollars, advice and investing together.
That difference grows with your balance. A percentage fee rises as your investments do, while an advice-only fee doesn’t.
Yearly cost by balance. Above $450K, the percentage fee costs more every year.
Source: Wellspent fee report
Data
| Assets | 1% of assets | $4,500 flat fee |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $0 | $4,500 |
| $50K | $500 | $4,500 |
| $100K | $1,000 | $4,500 |
| $150K | $1,500 | $4,500 |
| $200K | $2,000 | $4,500 |
| $250K | $2,500 | $4,500 |
| $300K | $3,000 | $4,500 |
| $350K | $3,500 | $4,500 |
| $400K | $4,000 | $4,500 |
| $450K | $4,500 | $4,500 |
| $500K | $5,000 | $4,500 |
| $550K | $5,500 | $4,500 |
| $600K | $6,000 | $4,500 |
| $650K | $6,500 | $4,500 |
| $700K | $7,000 | $4,500 |
| $750K | $7,500 | $4,500 |
| $800K | $8,000 | $4,500 |
| $850K | $8,500 | $4,500 |
| $900K | $9,000 | $4,500 |
| $950K | $9,500 | $4,500 |
| $1M | $10,000 | $4,500 |
| $1.1M | $10,500 | $4,500 |
| $1.1M | $11,000 | $4,500 |
| $1.1M | $11,500 | $4,500 |
| $1.2M | $12,000 | $4,500 |
| $1.3M | $12,500 | $4,500 |
| $1.3M | $13,000 | $4,500 |
| $1.4M | $13,500 | $4,500 |
| $1.4M | $14,000 | $4,500 |
| $1.4M | $14,500 | $4,500 |
| $1.5M | $15,000 | $4,500 |
| $1.6M | $15,500 | $4,500 |
| $1.6M | $16,000 | $4,500 |
| $1.6M | $16,500 | $4,500 |
| $1.7M | $17,000 | $4,500 |
| $1.8M | $17,500 | $4,500 |
| $1.8M | $18,000 | $4,500 |
| $1.9M | $18,500 | $4,500 |
| $1.9M | $19,000 | $4,500 |
| $1.9M | $19,500 | $4,500 |
| $2M | $20,000 | $4,500 |
| $2M | $20,500 | $4,500 |
| $2.1M | $21,000 | $4,500 |
| $2.1M | $21,500 | $4,500 |
| $2.2M | $22,000 | $4,500 |
| $2.3M | $22,500 | $4,500 |
| $2.3M | $23,000 | $4,500 |
| $2.4M | $23,500 | $4,500 |
| $2.4M | $24,000 | $4,500 |
| $2.5M | $24,500 | $4,500 |
| $2.5M | $25,000 | $4,500 |
| $2.5M | $25,500 | $4,500 |
| $2.6M | $26,000 | $4,500 |
| $2.6M | $26,500 | $4,500 |
| $2.7M | $27,000 | $4,500 |
| $2.8M | $27,500 | $4,500 |
| $2.8M | $28,000 | $4,500 |
| $2.9M | $28,500 | $4,500 |
| $2.9M | $29,000 | $4,500 |
| $3M | $29,500 | $4,500 |
| $3M | $30,000 | $4,500 |
Run your own numbers in the fee calculator, which compares 1% with a flat fee over 10, 20 or 30 years.
Who it suits
- People comfortable running their own investments, often with a few low-cost index funds, who want a plan around them.
- People with large balances who don’t want to pay a share of the whole portfolio for advice.
- People still building savings, who may be below a firm’s asset minimum.
- Anyone who wants advice with no reason to keep money invested. An advice-only planner earns the same whether you invest, pay off the mortgage or buy a business.
It suits you less if you don’t want to place trades and rebalance yourself, or if you know you won’t follow through. A plan nobody carries out is the most expensive kind.
How advice-only planners are regulated
In the US, someone paid to advise on investments as part of their business is generally an investment adviser under federal law, even if they never touch your money. Smaller firms, generally those managing under $100 million, register with their state rather than the SEC. Either way, the firm’s Form ADV is on the SEC’s free adviser search, and Item 5E shows whether it charges hourly, fixed or subscription fees, a percentage of assets, or commissions. Under federal law, investment advisers owe clients a fiduciary duty.
In Canada, recommending specific investments tailored to you generally requires registration with a securities regulator. An advice-only planner who stops short of naming specific investments may not be registered, so check their planning credential instead. Ontario has regulated who can use the titles “financial planner” and “financial advisor” since 2022, and in Quebec the financial planner title requires a certificate from the AMF.
Questions to ask an advice-only planner
- Will you ever hold, manage or trade my investments?
- Do you earn anything from the products you recommend, including insurance?
- Will you recommend specific funds, or only an approach?
- What will I pay in total this year, in dollars?
- Will you help me put the plan in place, and is that in the price?
A fee-only advice-only planner answers no to the first two. For more on the payment models, see what an hourly financial planner costs and what a one-time financial plan costs.