The term “financial advisor” makes a lot of people squirm. And for good reason. Most charge in really deceptive ways, like earning a commission based on what financial products they sell you. Those who seek out a financial advisor for help with their money, often end up in the office of an insurance salesman looking to profit based on what he can convince them to buy.

When people ask me “how do I find a good financial advisor?” I used to launch into this explanation of the different business models and all of their conflicts of interest. I would advise the investor to seek out a FLAT-FEE financial advisor. That is an advisor who ONLY makes money by charging a clearly advertised FLAT RATE, either by the hour or by the project. No commissions. No percent of your investments. No weird hidden fees. A good way to identify whether you are talking to a flat-fee advisor is to ask “can I pay with a credit card?” flat-fee advisors will say “Yes” and advisors who charge in some other tricky way will give some other long winded answer.

The next question I would get is “How do I find a flat-fee advisor?” and my answer would be “I have no idea”. They’re hard to find, often booked up, hard to compare, etc. I was sick of giving that answer, so Vivi, Shane, and I started Nectarine! And it’s going GREAT! Financial advice tends to be pretty seasonal, like gym memberships, with most looking to get organized in January. So it’s cool to see a new record in JUNE which is typically a slower summer month. We’ve served over 9,000 clients already which is so cool!

We’re also working on lots of EXCITING NEW STUFF. You can see it over at the @hello_nectarine page.

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.

-Jeremy