Advice-Only Terms
Advice-only terms define a specific way of paying for financial advice: flat, hourly, or retainer fees for advice alone — no commissions, no products, no percentage of your assets under management. This vocabulary distinguishes advice-only from the models it’s frequently confused with, fee-only above all.
The distinctions matter because compensation shapes advice. Understanding this small cluster of terms is the fastest way to see how any advisor’s incentives line up with yours — whatever model you ultimately choose.
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- Advice-Only Financial Planning
Advice-only financial planning is a model where you pay a financial planner purely for their advice — an hourly rate, a flat project fee, or a retainer — and they never manage your investments, sell financial products, or earn commissions.
- Flat-Fee Financial Planning
Flat-fee financial planning is a model where a planner charges a fixed dollar amount — for a project, a plan, or a year of service — stated up front, instead of commissions or a percentage of your investment accounts.
- Hourly Financial Planning
Hourly financial planning is a fee model where you pay a financial planner a stated hourly rate for exactly the time you use — like hiring an attorney or CPA — with no products sold and no percentage taken from your accounts.
- Subscription Financial Planning
Subscription financial planning is a fee model where clients pay a flat monthly (or quarterly) amount for ongoing access to a financial planner — pricing advice like a membership rather than a percentage of investments.
Related topics
The decisions behind these terms
Definitions get you oriented; an advice-only advisor helps you apply them to your situation — for a transparent flat fee, with no products, no commissions, and no asset management.
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