Y'all may or may not know that I returned to finance several years ago, launching my own Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), Verbatim Financial, but in addition to helping folks keep their financial houses in order, what I'm really passionate about is improving the financial advisory industry.
For far too long, financial advisors were nothing more than glorified salesmen. Happily, the growth of fee-only fiduciary RIAs has given people a better option, where they can find financial advisors who are required to act in a fiduciary capacity, meaning to act only in their client's best interest.
Unfortunately, most RIAs still use the traditional fee model, charging their clients an annual fee based on a percentage of their assets under management (AUM). While this is better than commissions based compensation at reducing conflicts of interest, I don't believe it goes far enough.
Thankfully, there is a growing cohort of financial advisors who manage investments on an ongoing basis (like me) for a flat, or fixed annual fee, based on the work needed vs the amount of money you happen to have in your brokerage account.
Flat fee advisors are a very small part of the financial services community (I'll link to the latest industry report with more detail in the comments). But we're growing fast, and I founded Flat Fee Advisors.org as a place where consumers can find an advisor who fits their style, at a logical fee.
Check it out, and if you know anyone who needs help with their finances, share.