The easiest way to verify that an advisor is a fiduciary financial advisor is to simply ask them if they are willing to take a fiduciary oath, in writing. And then verify their status. Fiduciary advisors must be registered with the SEC or with their state securities’ regulatory agency.
You can check for an advisor’s Form ADV on the SEC’s IAPD page, which catalogs their registration with the SEC or state, along with disclosures about the firm, the firm’s business operations, conflicts of interest, and any misconduct the firm or advisor may have been involved in.
Some red flags that an advisor doesn’t always act as a fiduciary include:
- Series 7 license: If a financial advisor has a Series 7 license they are allowed to collect commissions from the sale of investments, which means they don’t always act in a fiduciary capacity
- Series 63 or 66 license: A Series 63 or 66 is another license that a financial advisor needs to collect commissions, but if they collect commissions on product sales that means they don’t always act as fiduciaries
- Website Disclosures: Many financial advisory firms include disclosures including “securities offered through …” or “representatives licensed with …” that are red flags that these firms collect commissions from the sale of securities — meaning they don’t always act as fiduciaries
When you work with Wealthramp to find your financial advisor, we’ve done that work for you - only vetted fiduciary advisors can join our platform. And we’ll give you easy access to Form ADV so you can verify any advisor we recommend.
