Financial Help Matcher

The gate: No asset minimum — but the good ones run waitlists.

• Incentive alignment: no AUM, no commissions — the fee is the whole business model
• Cost at your asset level: a fixed annual fee often undercuts 1% AUM from $400k upward
• Handles your complexity: full-scope planning: taxes, equity comp, retirement, insurance review

• You implement the recommendations yourself
• A small (but growing) corner of the industry — expect waitlists

Sharper with: DIY comfort, fee sensitivity

The gate: Open engagement — pay the project fee, no ongoing minimums.

• Incentive alignment: project pricing; no ongoing pull on your assets
• Cost at your asset level: one defined fee instead of a percentage forever
• Handles your complexity: covers the whole picture once — retirement, tax, insurance, estate touchpoints

• The plan is only as good as your follow-through
• Refresh it after major life events — it goes stale

Sharper with: main need, engagement style

The gate: No minimums at all — works at any asset level.

• Cost at your asset level: a few hundred dollars can answer the question that actually worries you
• Incentive alignment: clock-based billing has the fewest hidden incentives in the industry

• Scope creep bills by the hour — agree on scope up front
• Not built for ongoing management

Sharper with: main need

The gate: Most set $100k–$500k minimums; some waive them for planning-only clients.

• Matches your DIY comfort: they trade, rebalance, and call you — not the reverse
• Handles your complexity: built for multi-account, tax-aware, life-event-heavy situations
• Incentive alignment: fee-only fiduciary duty, though AUM still rewards gathering assets

• 1% of assets compounds — always convert it to a dollar figure per year
• Ask what you get beyond portfolio management; that’s where the value hides

Sharper with: Investable assets, engagement style

The gate: Typically $1M+ investable minimum; the marquee shops start at $2M–$5M.

• Matches your DIY comfort: white-glove: they run the process and bring in the specialists
• Handles your complexity: the only tier built for business sales, trusts, and multi-entity money

• Highest all-in cost of any option here
• Bank-affiliated shops may sell proprietary products — verify fiduciary status in writing

Sharper with: Investable assets, estate needs

The gate: Low minimums — typically around $25k.

• Cost at your asset level: meaningfully cheaper than a traditional advisor relationship
• Matches your DIY comfort: a human to call before big decisions, without full-service pricing

• You get a rotating bench of planners, not one who knows you
• Advice depth varies — probe with a hard question before signing up

Sharper with: DIY comfort

The gate: No minimums — opens in minutes.

• Cost at your asset level: 0.25% or less — an order of magnitude under a human manager

• No human judgment when life gets complicated
• Tax-loss-harvesting marketing tends to oversell the benefit

Sharper with: Investable assets

The gate: Zero friction — it’s attached to your existing account.

• Cost at your asset level: often free or already bundled into plan fees

• Scope usually ends at the plan’s edge — outside accounts are invisible to it
• Conflict profiles vary by provider; ask how the advisors are paid

Sharper with: main need

The gate: Always available — the only gate is your own follow-through.

• Cost at your asset level: a single fund at ~0.10% doing 90% of what most people need
• Incentive alignment: nobody is paid to steer you anywhere

• You are the behavior management — the real fee is panic-selling in a downturn

Sharper with: DIY comfort