How to Find a Fee-Only Fiduciary (and Verify It)
The person who "manages your money for free" is usually paid by commission to sell you the product that pays them the most, and you can screen that out in about fifteen minutes.
The simple version
A fiduciary is legally required to put your interests ahead of their own paycheck. But "fiduciary" is a word anyone can say in a meeting, so you need two things you can actually check. First, how they get paid. Fee-only means the advisor is paid only by you (a flat fee, an hourly rate, or a percentage of what they manage), and takes zero commissions for selling products. Fee-based sounds almost identical but is not the same thing: a fee-based advisor charges you a fee AND can still earn commissions on products they sell you, which is exactly the conflict you are trying to avoid. Commission-based advisors are paid by the product, so the incentive is to sell. Second, their record. Every legitimate advisor is in a free federal database that shows their fees, their conflicts, and any time they got in trouble. Fee-only is the standard you want, and it is verifiable, in writing, in about fifteen minutes. Here is exactly how.
Do this today
1. Pull a starter list from a fee-only-only directory (about 10 minutes).
Do not start with a Google ad or a "top advisors near me" list, those are usually paid placements. Start with a directory where fee-only is a membership requirement, so the pool is pre-screened:
- NAPFA (National Association of Personal Financial Advisors), at napfa.org/find-an-advisor. Every member is required to work fee-only. On the page, accept the disclaimer, then filter by fee structure (Fixed Fee, Hourly, AUM) and your area, and save a few names.
- XY Planning Network, at connect.xyplanningnetwork.com/find-an-advisor. Every member signs a fiduciary oath and works fee-only, and many offer a flat fee or monthly retainer instead of requiring a big account balance, which fits if you are just getting your VA back-pay or comp organized.
- Optional: letsmakeaplan.org (the CFP Board's "Find a CFP Professional") to find a Certified Financial Planner, who commits to a fiduciary duty when giving financial advice.
Write down each advisor's full name and their firm's name. You need both for the next step.
2. Run the firm and the person through the free federal database (about 5 minutes).
Go to adviserinfo.sec.gov (the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site, "IAPD"). It is free, official, and open 24/7. Search the firm name, then search the individual's name. You are looking for two things: that they actually are a registered investment adviser, and the "Disclosures" section, which lists any regulatory, customer, or criminal events. A clean record is common. Anything there is not automatically disqualifying, but you should ask about it directly.
If the person has ever been a broker (many "advisors" wear both hats), also check brokercheck.finra.org. Same idea: search the name, read the disclosures. Checking both sites gives you the full picture.
3. Read the two disclosure forms before you meet (about 10 minutes).
Both are free on adviserinfo.sec.gov from the firm's profile, or the advisor can email them to you. Ask for them by name:
- Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary, also called Form ADV Part 3). It is a short, plain-language summary: services, fees, conflicts of interest, standard of conduct, and whether anyone at the firm has a disciplinary history.
- Form ADV Part 2A (the "brochure"). Longer, but you only need three sections: Fees and Compensation, Conflicts of Interest, and Disciplinary Information. If the fee section says they receive commissions, 12b-1 fees, or compensation from selling insurance or funds, that is fee-based, not fee-only, no matter what the website says.
4. Get fee-only confirmed in writing (about 5 minutes, at the first meeting).
Ask two specific questions and get the answers in writing (email is fine):
- "Are you fee-only, and do you or your firm accept any commissions, referral fees, or product compensation from anyone but me?" The only answer that keeps you clean is: fee-only, no commissions, no exceptions.
- "Will you sign a fiduciary oath that covers all the advice you give me, for the whole engagement?" A real fiduciary says yes without flinching. Get that oath, or the fiduciary language, in your signed engagement agreement.
5. Save your proof.
Keep the Form CRS, the Form ADV Part 2A, your IAPD/BrokerCheck screenshots, and the written fee-only and fiduciary confirmation in one folder. If anyone ever tells you something that contradicts those documents, you have the receipts.
The catch
"Fiduciary" is not an on/off switch that stays on. A dual-registered advisor can act as a fiduciary while planning and then switch to a commissioned salesperson the moment a product comes out, sometimes in the same meeting. That is why the written, all-of-the-engagement oath in Step 4 matters more than a friendly "of course I'm a fiduciary." And a clean record plus fee-only does not guarantee good advice or a good fit. It only removes the built-in incentive to sell you the wrong thing. You still have to like the plan.
Two fences worth stating plainly. If your question is about your rating or a claim (too low, want P&T, thinking about a new claim), that is claims work and you should never pay for it. A free accredited VSO (DAV, VFW, American Legion, or your county VSO, find one through VA.gov) helps at no cost. And nothing here is a recommendation about your specific money. For your actual decisions, that is exactly what a fee-only fiduciary is for, which is the whole point of vetting one correctly.