Recommended Financial Advisors for Physicians - Physician on FIRE (2024)

This page lists PoF’s recommended financial advisors. We have only included firms with the lowest fee structures (i.e., flat fee, hourly rate, or AUM / equivalent fees well below the industry average) to help lower your costs and help you reach early financial independence.All the advisors listed on this page are paid advertisers on the site that we have vetted extensively.While our financial advisors may not be located where you live, all routinely work with clients nationwide. Feel free to contact any advisor on the list regardless of your location.We appreciate hearing feedback on these advertisers, both good and bad. Thank you for supporting those who support this site.

If this is your first time choosing a financial advisor, you are likely overwhelmed and need guidance on what to look for. Here are some things you should consider when choosing your financial advisor.Type of Financial Advice You NeedOne of the most essential steps in choosing a financial advisor is determining the type of financial advice you need. To start, ask yourself if you need assistance with:

• Financial planning
• Estate planning
• Tax planning
• Debt management
• Student loan management
• Investment management
• Investment advice
• Savings planning
• Multiple of the above

If you are looking for an advisor to help you manage investments, you likely don’t want a financial advisor specializing in estate planning or debt management. Similarly, if you are looking for an advisor specializing in estate planning, you probably don’t want someone solely focused on investment management.

Further, choose a financial advisor who understands your profession and finances well.

Many financial advisors we recommend specialize in financial planning for physicians. This experience and knowledge can make their financial planning much more effective. Fee Structure

When choosing a financial advisor, you have two options for fee structure: flat fee or commission based.

PoF prefers a flat-fee structure to avoid conflict of interest. Commissions or sliding scale structures can skew your financial advisor’s interest and turn them into sales representatives rather than fiduciaries.

Financial advisors on flat fee structures are more likely to recommend products and investment instruments that are the best for your financial situation rather than what generates the highest commission.

Scholar Financial Advising

Earned

Earned is a wealth management platform that is exclusively for physicians. They provide a comprehensive 360-degree approach to wealth management.

They offer assistance for debt management, investments and tax planning, career advisory, and more. They also provide one dedicated point of contact to assist with your custom wealth plan.

Earned also makes receiving and reviewing your information easy with their online portal. Their patent-pending Intelligent Advice Engine™ allows their advisors to deliver robust, precisely tailored financial advice that you can check and track all in one place.

Their wealth plan is built for physicians with experienced experts in the field combined with a scientific and data-driven approach. With open and rigorous practices, Earned shares the scientific basis for recommendations, including the impact on your wealth.

Earned offers three different services depending on your needs:

• Wealth Planning
• Wealth Diagnostic
• Earned Opportunity Index Report

For full assistance, they provide wealth management, which will walk you through every aspect of your finances to provide you with a custom wealth plan. They also give you a wealth diagnostic contract as a short-term option. In three months, they will deliver a detailed plan and analysis of your financial situation that will impact your net worth.

Finally, Earned examines your financial wellness across seven wealth pillars and provides an Earned Opportunity Index Report outlining personalized recommendations to maximize your wealth.

Earned has created a seamless white-glove onboarding and transition experience. All you need to do is give your Concierge the authorization, and we’ll migrate all your assets for you.

Thrive Retirement Specialists

Thrive Retirement Specialists are retirement experts who have helped many physicians nationwide. They have over 25 years of experience and are one of the few fee-only fiduciaries with an all-in-one flat fee.

Thrive Retirement Specialists deliver customized retirement plans to help you meet your financial goals. Their staff uses the 8-Step Thrive Retire™ Planning Process process to create a comprehensive and personalized financial strategy that incorporates your values, current financial goals, and future aspirations you have for retirement.

They maximize retirement planning by following four main pillars:

• Low-Cost Index Investing
• Dynamic Withdrawal Rules
• Optimized Asset Usage
• Tax-Efficient Withdrawal Coordination and Asset Management

Thrive’s planning process goes above and beyond the industry standard. As a part of their program, you will meet with your advisor semi-annually for updates and make minor adjustments when necessary.

Schedule a friendly, informal call to meet and get your questions answered, or contact them here.

WealthKeel

WealthKeel was founded by Chad Chubb, a CFP and fiduciary who has been helping physicians, dentists, and other families across the United States for over 11 years. They have helped approximately 225 physician families and have over $103M in assets under management just from physicians.

WealthKeel’s primary goal is to simplify and organize financial planning for physicians using personalized financial plans. When creating your custom financial plan, they consider your cash flow, debt management, savings, financial goals, retirement, and estate planning.

WealthKeel doesn’t limit its services to just investment or retirement advice. Their services include financial planning, investment management, and student loan management.

WealthKeel crafts simple, actionable financial plans for busy doctors who feel overwhelmed by the increasing complexity of the decisions they must make with their money. In doing so, they free up time and energy to focus on family, work, and the things you love most.

Personal Choice Financial Advisors

Personal Choice Financial Advisors was created to help make financial planning easier for physicians. They are experienced with every phase of a physician’s journey. Whether you are trying to make a residency, a resident, an attending physician, or are well on your way to financial independence, they can offer high-quality financial advice.

Personal Choice Financial Advisors offer two key services: ongoing financial planning and investment management.

Their ongoing financial planning is a three-phase process, which includes understanding all aspects of your financial situation, goals, and values. This is followed by integrating and planning based on where you are in life and where you want to be. Finally, they provide a custom financial plan that continues to evolve alongside your financial situation, goals, and values. With limited access to your financial advisor, you’re always one phone call away from receiving financial advice.

As for investment management, Personal Choice Financial Advisors’ portfolios are built using years of academic research to identify persistent market premiums. They target low-cost, no-load mutual funds and ETFs and build a custom portfolio to meet your financial goals.

They also provide financial planning services with expertise in student loans, disability insurance, first-time home buying, planning for marriage and children, cash flow, investment advice, and retirement.

FPL Capital Management

FPL Capital Management (FPLCM) is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) that offers comprehensive wealth management. It’s also one of the fastest-growing RIAs since 2021 and specializes in financial and wealth management for medical and legal professionals.

They have three different annual plans for $5,000, $10,000, and $15,000 that offer different levels of services depending on your needs.

If you are not looking for a financial advisor, they also offer Self-Managed Access (SMA) for the more hands-on investors. Their SMA platform gives you institutional access to Charles Schwab, Fidelity, or TD Ameritrade, as well as automatic portfolio rebalancing. SMA fees start at $1,000 per year and vary depending on your investment and activity levels.

FPLCM offers a broad range of management options, which include both model and customized portfolios. Most investment strategies utilize low-cost funds from Vanguard, Dimensional (DFA), iShares, and WisdomTree.

In addition, FPLCM offers an Institutional Platform that provides clients access to private funds from companies such as Goldman Sachs, Origin Investments, CRG, Blackstone, Starwood, PIMCO, Carlyle, and Owl Rock. They also have custodial relationships with Schwab, Fidelity, and TD Ameritrade and offer ERISA Fiduciary services utilizing the Vanguard Retirement Plan Access (VRPA) platform.

Clark Asset Management

Clark Asset Management offers strategic, personalized, data-driven solutions to your retirement planning. They specialize in retirement income planning and are one of the few fixed, flat-rate fee retirement income experts on the market.

Clark Asset Management charges a single fixed, flat fee of $9,500 per year (regardless of your assets) for investment management & financial planning. They serve clients across the country and specialize in advising individuals who:

• Are retired
• Are planning to retire in the next 7 years
• Have a total portfolio of $2M or more
• Are concerned about generating (and protecting) income for life
• Don’t like complex fee structures (%, tiered, hybrid, etc.)

Clark Asset Management follows a simple, low-cost, tax-efficient investment strategy. They allow you to choose between their Vanguard ETF strategy and DFA (Dimensional Fund Advisors) strategy.

Here are three ways to learn more about their beliefs and approach:

1. Schedule a complimentary call with Bradley Clark
2. Watch their short, awesome, and free video class on retirement income
3. Access their retirement income cheat sheet

CMG Financial Consulting

CMG Financial Consulting specializes in assisting medical professionals get out of student loan debt, save money, invest in tax-efficient strategies, manage and protect their assets, and give back their most scarce resource – time.

CMG Financial Consulting was founded by Clint Gossage CFA, CFP, and CPA. Clint has been married to a Surgical Oncologist for the past 15 years and has experienced first-hand the ups and downs of that arduous journey from undergrad to attending. After helping friends in medical school, residency, and fellowship with their finances, he left a lucrative job managing the investments at a multi-billion dollar family office to start CMG Financial Consulting and focus full-time on helping physicians.

CMG Financial Consulting offers a wide range of services depending on your needs. The great thing is that because they specialize in helping physicians, they understand the nuances of a physician’s situation. Regardless of your stage, they can offer valuable advice and services to assist you with your financial planning. This includes student loan review, ongoing student loan support, and investment planning.

RFK Capital Management

RFK Capital Management specializes in one-time, project-based financial planning for DIY investors.

They believe that most investors can manage their investment portfolios using index funds if they receive good advice and follow that advice. As a result, they don’t offer management or other recurring services. Rather, RFK Capital management provides investors and individuals with professional and financial advice to implement autonomously for the lowest cost possible.

RFK Capital Management’s main service is its financial review. During this service, they will learn all about your financial situation and goals. They will provide you with an 8-12 page personalized letter based on their review, including investment recommendations tailored to your circ*mstances and goals. Finally, you will receive two additional meetings to review, ask questions, and implement their recommendations.

In addition to their financial review, RFK offers a DIY Investing Service. This service combines comprehensive financial planning with DIY investing support and guidance. Similar to the review, they will provide you with the recommendations as well as assist you with implementing those recommendations.

If you are a more hands-on investor, then RFK Capital Management is perfect for you. They will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and recommendations you need to make sound investment decisions while allowing you to remain in control.

Aptus Financial

Aptus Financial specializes in early-career physicians. They offer flexible processes and payment terms for physicians transitioning from residency or fellowship to their first attending position.

They offer multiple financial planning services depending on what you need. Their services include processes to help you develop a financial plan, implement it, and update it. They offer straightforward flat-rate pricing for all their services.

In addition to financial planning, they offer workplace retirement programs and physician financial education.

Their planning process and investment advice focus on education. They aim to empower you to fully understand their recommendations so you can be comfortable implementing them.

Aptus Financial’s core philosophy is simplicity beats complexity. They will collaborate with you to develop your initial financial plan and provide long-term support as you implement and update the program. They will give you professional customized advice and planning but let you implement and take action.

Acts Financial Advisors