Advice Only Financial Planning
Advice-only financial planning means you pay a planner for advice and time, and that's the whole transaction. No investment products, no insurance sales, no commissions, no percentage of your assets, no referral fees. You pay a transparent fee, you get advice, and you stay in control of your own money.
Plenty of people haven't heard of the model. It's still a small corner of the Canadian financial industry, but it's growing for a good reason.
How does financial advice usually work in Canada?
Most advisors in Canada are paid in one of two ways. Some earn commissions on the products they sell, like mutual funds or insurance. Others charge a percentage of the assets they manage for you, often between 1% and 2% per year.
Neither of these makes someone a bad advisor, and plenty of people in those models work hard for their clients. But the structure creates an incentive that's not in your favour. When an advisor earns more by selling you a particular fund or gathering more of your assets, their pay and your best interests are working against each other.
Many of the advisors who charge around 1% also want you to bring a fair amount to invest, often $500,000 or more, before they'll take you on. If you have less than that and want a lower-cost option, there aren't many places to turn. That gap is a big part of why I started Smallbird.
Why does advice-only remove the conflict of interest?
When no one is paid to sell you anything, the advice is much less biased. An advice-only planner has no product shelf, no quotas, and no reason to prefer one investment over another beyond the evidence.
It also tends to make costs visible. You see exactly what the advice costs in dollars, instead of paying through fees buried inside a product.
Who is advice-only planning for?
It's a great fit for people who want a clear plan, a second opinion, or answers to specific questions, and who are comfortable acting on the advice themselves. Acting on it is easier than it used to be. Setting up and buying a high-quality, low-cost investment at your own bank or brokerage has never been simpler, and you don't need to be tech-savvy to do it. If you'd like, I can share my screen and walk you through it step by step, so you can set everything up yourself with confidence. Setting things up at your own institution this way can save you thousands of dollars compared with paying someone an ongoing percentage to do it for you. If you want someone to manage your investments for you on an ongoing basis, advice-only isn't that, and that's okay. Different people need different things.
Why I chose this model
I built Smallbird Financial as an advice-only practice because I wanted my only incentive to be giving you good advice. That's the whole business model, and it's on the homepage for a reason: no products, no commissions, just advice.
Common questions about advice-only
How much does a financial planner cost in Canada?
It depends on how they're paid. Commission-based advisors are paid through the products they sell, so the cost is buried inside the product. Percentage-of-assets advisors usually charge around 1% to 2% of what they manage for you each year. On a $500,000 portfolio, that is roughly $5,000 to $10,000 every year. An advice-only planner charges a flat or hourly fee you can actually see. At Smallbird, that's $75 an hour, or $250 for the Financial Foundations package.
What's the difference between advice-only and fee-only planning?
They sound the same but they're not. Fee-only usually means the advisor doesn't earn commissions, but they can still charge a percentage of your investments and manage the money for you. Advice-only goes further. I don't sell products, take commissions, or manage your money at all. You pay for advice and time, and you keep control of your own accounts.
Do I need a lot of money to work with an advice-only planner?
No. Many percentage-based advisors want you to bring $500,000 or more before they'll take you on. Advice-only doesn't work that way. There's no asset minimum, because I'm paid for advice, not for managing a balance, so it's a good fit for people who are just getting started.
Do I have to move my investments to get advice?
No. Your accounts stay right where they are, at your own bank or brokerage. I give you the plan and, if you'd like, walk you through setting it up yourself on a screen share. Nothing moves to me, because I don't hold or manage your money.
Is advice-only planning right for me?
It's a good fit if you want a clear plan or an answer to a specific question and you're comfortable carrying out the steps yourself. It's not the right fit if you want someone to manage your investments for you on an ongoing basis. Different people need different things, and I'll tell you honestly if it isn't a match.
If you're curious whether it fits your situation, the easiest way to find out is a short, free conversation.