BEST OF

10 Best Financial Advisors of February 2023

The best financial advisors offer financial planning and investment management for a low fee. Some of the services below can match you with a local advisor, while others operate entirely online.

Alana Benson
By Alana Benson 
Edited by Arielle O'Shea

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.


The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

When searching for the best financial advisors, you’ll find options that range from automated investment management services called robo-advisors to traditional, in-person financial advisors. In the middle are online financial advisors and financial planning services: These companies offer many of the services of a traditional financial advisor, but operate online to reduce fees.

Here's how to find an advisor who works for your situation:

1. Keep your budget in mind. Simple, digital-only services will be less expensive; holistic financial planning will be more. It's a good idea to know what you're comfortable spending before you dive in.

2. Decide what services you need. Maybe you just want help picking investments, or maybe you need advice on more advanced topics, like estate planning or insurance needs. These requirements will help you choose what type of financial advisor you need — typically, a robo-advisor is a good fit for investment management, but you'll need an online planning service or traditional human financial advisor for advanced planning. (View our picks for the best robo-advisors.)

3. Choose whether you want in-person or online advice. If you don’t mind meeting with your advisor virtually, you'll often save money with an online service. These services also typically have lower account minimum requirements than traditional investment advisors. No matter what option you choose, it's always important to check qualifications and make sure they follow a fiduciary standard, which means your needs come first.

» I need more information. Learn how to choose between financial advisors

If you're still not sure how to find the right financial advisor for you, it often makes sense to start with a robo-advisor or online planning service — you can always hire a traditional financial advisor if your situation grows more complex. Below are our picks for the best online financial advisors.

Best Financial Advisors

NerdWallet rating 

5.0

/5

Reviewed in: Oct. 2022

Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2022

Facet
Learn more

on Facet's website

AD

Paid non-client promotion

Fees

$2,000 and up

per year (free initial consultation)

Account minimum

$0

Promotion

Get $250 reward

into Facet brokerage account for new members who transfers at least $5,000 within the first 90 days of their Facet membership.*

NerdWallet rating 

4.3

/5

Reviewed in: Oct. 2022

Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2022

Vanguard Personal Advisor Services
Learn more

on Vanguard's website

AD

Paid non-client promotion

Fees

0.30%

management fee

Account minimum

$50,000

Promotion

None

no promotion available at this time

NerdWallet rating 

5.0

/5

Reviewed in: Oct. 2022

Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2022

Zoe Financial
Learn more

on Zoe Financial's website

AD

Paid non-client promotion

Fees

Varies by Advisor (free initial consultation)

Account minimum

$100,000

Promotion

3-Month Satisfaction Guarantee

NerdWallet rating 

5.0

/5

Reviewed in: Oct. 2022

Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2022

Harness Wealth
Learn more

on Harness Wealth's website

AD

Paid non-client promotion

Fees

Up to 1%

per year

Account minimum

$250,000

Promotion

$250 off

one year of financial or tax planning

NerdWallet rating 

4.7

/5

Reviewed in: Feb. 2023

Period considered: Aug. 2022 - Feb. 2023

Empower
Learn more

on Empower's website

AD

Paid non-client promotion

Fees

0.49%-0.89%

management fee

Account minimum

$100,000

Promotion

Get 6 months

of free wealth management for new clients. Must fund above $250,000 within 30 days of account opening. Terms Apply.

NerdWallet rating 

4.1

/5

Reviewed in: Oct. 2022

Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2022

Betterment Premium
Learn more

on Betterment's website

AD

Paid non-client promotion

Fees

0.40%

management fee

Account minimum

$100,000

Promotion

Up to 1 year

of free management for new clients. Terms apply.

NerdWallet rating 

3.9

/5

Reviewed in: Oct. 2022

Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2022

Merrill Guided Investing with advisor

Unpaid non-client promotion

Fees

0.85%

management fee

Account minimum

$20,000

Promotion

None

no promotion available at this time

Want to compare more options? Here are our other top picks:

Last updated on February 1, 2023

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People often identify opening a savings account as their next money move.

Varo Savings Account

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Varo Savings Account

APY

5.00%

With $0 min. balance for APY

at Varo Bank, Member FDIC

SoFi Checking and Savings

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
SoFi Checking and Savings

APY

3.75%

With $0 min. balance for APY

Bonus

$250

Earn up to $250 with direct deposit. Terms apply.

UFB Preferred Savings

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
UFB Preferred Savings

APY

4.55%

With $0 min. balance for APY

at UFB Direct, Member FDIC

Methodology

NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks companies that provide financial planning services online or connect users to a financial advisor. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.

We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).

For more details about the categories considered when rating financial advisors and our process, read our full methodology.

Frequently asked questions