Wiser Advisor Review
Finding a vetted and reliable financial advisor can seem daunting because so many factors go into making the right choice. WiserAdvisor seeks to simplify the process by connecting clients to financial advisors who meet their needs.
Is WiserAdvisor as good as it seems? Read on to find out.
Key Takeaways
• WiserAdvisor matches customers with pre-vetted financial advisors tailored to their needs.
• Customers don’t have to pay to use WiserAdvisor’s services, but financial advisors have their own fees.
• Financial Advisors listed on WiserAdvisor are vetted and fully licensed.
WiserAdvisor Overview
One of the first things you should know about WiserAdvisor is that it does not provide financial advice. Instead, it acts as a middleman, connecting customers with financial advisors.
WiserAdvisor uses customer-generated information to match financial advisors with clients looking for those types of services. The number of advisors provided depends on each customer's specific needs and availability within a particular area. In most cases, after signing up with WiserAdvisor, customers are introduced to three financial advisors who specialize in the services being requested.
WiserAdvisor’s matchmaking service is usually quite successful. Customer reviews on websites like TrustPilot and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) are primarily positive, with people reporting that they found the services they needed with the help of WiserAdvisor’s service.
WiserAdvisor Features
In addition to matching its clients with financial professionals, WiserAdvisor provides various calculators and educational content.
Matching Service
WiserAdvisor matches its clients with several different types of financial advisors. Whether you are looking for help planning for major expenses, retirement, emergency funds, or anything else, WiserAdvisor does a good job of finding suitable professionals for its clients.
Here are a few examples of the types of financial advisory designations found on WiserAdvisor’s directories.
• Certified public accountant (CPA)
• Certified financial planner (CFP)
• Chartered financial analyst (CFA)
• Chartered life underwriter (CLU)
• Chartered financial consultant (ChFC)
• Chartered alternative investment analyst (CAIA)
• Chartered investment counselor (CIC)
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Directory
In addition to the matching service, WiserAdvisor customers can also browse the advisor directory if they wish to take control of the selection process. Customers can search by firm, advisor name, or by location.
Search results review lists of vetted financial professionals, and each listing shows the most essential details for selecting a financial advisor, including licensing, specializations, experience, minimum asset limits, and fee structure.
Calculators
Understanding your goals is often a good idea before speaking with a financial advisor. To help with that, WiserAdvisor provides a few helpful calculators on its site.
There are calculators that help you understand how much you need for retirement, whether you have already saved enough, and how different retirement accounts can impact your long-term savings.
The calculators are easy to use, and they can give you a good generalized idea about topics they help you calculate, but they are not comprehensive.
Education
WiserAdvisor's website offers several types of educational content, including a blog, articles, and ebooks.
Both the articles and blogs are quite helpful and cover a wide range of topics. Whether you need to learn how to prepare for a meeting with a financial advisor, how fees work with advisory services, or how to best secure your future, chances are good that you’ll find something helpful.
WiserAdvisor’s ebooks are also helpful, but they are focused more directly on the company's services. They break down issues like deciding whether using a financial advisor is a good idea and what to consider when selecting one.
Fees
WiserAdvisor makes money from the advisory side. There are no matching fees or costs associated with having an account with WiserAdvisor or using its services.
WiserAdvisor doesn’t provide any information about whether financial advisors listed on its platform attempt to pass those fees on to their clients. Each advisory service likely takes a different approach to charging, and it would be good to check with them to find out.
Usually, financial advisors operate on one of two fee structures. There are ‘Fee-Only’ and ‘Fee-Based’ approaches. Fee-only advisors charge based on a percentage of the accounts they manage, and fee-based advisors charge based on the services they perform.
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Safety and Reliability
Everything about WiserAdvisor and its services seems to be top-notch in terms of safety and reliability. Although WiserAdvisor doesn’t provide financial guidance, it still has permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to connect its customers to the help they need.
Additionally, all of the financial advisors on WiserAdvisor have gone through the company’s vetting process. Financial advisors must be reputable and have all the appropriate licensing for their services to be included on the list.
It should be noted that each of the listed advisors is responsible for acting within the bounds of their licenses. WiserAdvisor has no control over how well regulatory requirements are upheld. With that in mind, reading customer reviews about the advisors you have been put in contact with could be a good idea.
WiserAdvisor Review Summary
To sum up, WiserAdvisor does a great job of putting its customers in touch with the guidance they need. Customer reviews show that people are mostly happy with the connections they find through the company, with the only major complaints being that third-party firms contacted them with aggressive sales tactics. Other than that, WiserAdvisor’s services are trustworthy and useful.
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Updated on 10/15/2024.
I work in investment analytics and have been investing in the market since I was in high school. I enjoy anything that involves lots of strategy (i.e. a good game of chess), which is why I was naturally drawn to investing and researching companies. Outside of investing, I’m a big fan of the outdoors. In summer, you’re most likely to find me kayaking, camping, and hiking in the mountains.
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