A good financial advisor for doctors understands the arc of a medical career: years of training on a small salary and large loans, then a sharp jump in income, a late start on retirement saving, and decisions about loans, disability cover and contracts that are hard to undo. Fee-only planners who publish prices charge a median $4,500 a year for ongoing planning and $2,000 for a one-time plan. What matters more than the price is whether the advisor has worked through these problems with other physicians.
It’s a rarer specialty than it looks
Plenty of advisors market to doctors. Fewer fee-only firms back it up. In our study of fee-only firm websites, physicians were among the least common specialties firms named, rarer than founders before an exit, which 7% of firm sites named. Many advisors who target doctors are paid by commission on insurance or investment products, so check how an advisor is paid before anything else. Our guide to telling whether an advisor is fee-only shows how.
What the situation demands of an advisor
Student loans and PSLF
For many physicians the loan decision is worth more than any investment choice. Public Service Loan Forgiveness cancels the remaining federal Direct Loan balance after 120 qualifying monthly payments made under a qualifying repayment plan while working full time for a qualifying employer, such as a nonprofit hospital or a government. The new Repayment Assistance Plan, available from July 1, 2026, is among the plans that count.
The traps are in the details. You must be directly employed by a qualifying employer; a physician paid through a for-profit medical group that staffs a nonprofit hospital may not qualify. An advisor should be able to tell you whether your job counts, what your payment would be under each plan, and whether forgiveness or paying the loans off is the better bet for you. Advisors with this as a specialty are on the student loans page.
Disability insurance
Your ability to earn is your largest asset for the first decade or more. An advisor who knows physicians will look at whether a policy pays if you can’t do your own specialty (often called own-occupation cover), whether a group policy through the hospital ends when you leave, and how much of your income is actually covered. A fee-only advisor reviews the policy without earning a commission on it.
Hospital retirement plans and the late start
A physician who starts saving seriously at 33 has less time to compound than a peer who started at 23, so using every account matters. In 2026 you can defer up to $24,500 into a 401(k) or 403(b), with $8,000 more from age 50 and $11,250 from 60 to 63. Many hospitals also offer a 457(b) with its own separate $24,500 limit.
That 457(b) needs a careful look. At a nonprofit hospital it is usually a non-governmental plan: the IRS says the money stays the employer’s property and is available to its general creditors if the employer is sued or goes bankrupt. A good advisor weighs that risk, and the plan’s payout rules when you leave, against the tax saving.
Roth IRA by the back door
In 2026 the ability to contribute to a Roth IRA phases out between $153,000 and $168,000 of income for single filers and $242,000 and $252,000 for joint filers. Most attendings are above that, so many put a nondeductible contribution into a traditional IRA and convert it. If you hold pre-tax money in any traditional, SEP or SIMPLE IRA, part of the conversion is taxed. It’s reported on Form 8606, and an advisor should check it every year.
Contracts, partnership and practice ownership
An employment contract sets pay, call, non-compete terms and benefits for years. A partnership buy-in or owning a practice adds a business balance sheet to the household one. An advisor with physician depth will model the offer in dollars and know when to bring in a contract attorney. If you own a practice, our guide for small business owners covers the rest.
Questions to ask an advisor for doctors
| Ask | A good answer includes |
|---|---|
| How many physician clients do you have, and at what stages? | A real number, and clients at your stage |
| Does my job qualify for PSLF, and should I go for it? | Your employer type, your plan, and the payment under each option |
| What would you look for in my disability policy? | Own-occupation definition, portability, benefit amount |
| Should I use the hospital’s 457(b)? | Whether it’s governmental or not, creditor risk, and payout rules |
| How are you paid, and do you earn anything on insurance? | A dollar fee and no commissions |
The last answer should be a plain no. An advisor who earns a commission on the disability or life policy they recommend has a reason to sell you more of it.
What it costs
US medians from prices firms publish on their own websites
Source: Wellspent fee report
How you pay should follow the stage you’re in:
- Residents and fellows. A one-time plan or a few hourly sessions usually covers the loan strategy, disability cover and a savings plan. Of fee-only firms that state an asset minimum, 50% say they have none, so a small balance isn’t a barrier.
- New attendings. Income is high and decisions come fast. A flat yearly fee for ongoing planning keeps the price tied to the work, not your balance.
- Established physicians. If you want your investments managed, the median rate is 1% of assets. On $1 million that is $10,000 a year, and on $2 million $20,000, based on that rate with no discount for larger balances. See what an advisor costs on $1 million for the long-run effect.
Ask every advisor for the total yearly cost in dollars, and what it includes.
How to find one
Browse the physicians specialty in the public graph, where every advisor’s record shows how they’re paid and what they focus on. Lists for high earners, HENRYs and early-career professionals cover many doctors too. Take the questions above to two or three of them, and choose the one whose answers are about your loans, your contract and your plan, not their products.