Does the age of your financial advisor matter? (2024)

According to various studies and publications, the average age of financial advisors is somewhere between 51 and 55 years, with 38% expecting to retire in the next ten years.

But does the age of your financial advisor really matter?

Travis Maus

Chief Executive Officer, Senior Wealth Manager

Average age of Financial Advisors

For most of your life, a financial advisor is a coach, your biggest fan, and in many cases considered a close friend. They cheer you on and steer you to a brighter financial future by helping you make good decisions and sometimes even saving you from yourself.

It can feel wonderful to know that someone is watching out for those things that are most important to you. Then “life happens,” and you get older. With age comes retirement, elder care, and then your own estate. No one is immune to this.

What does financial planning cover?

Financial planning is the practice of contingency plan design. Plans are made for so many life happens moments, such as retirement, stock market crashes, disability events, health crises, early death, nursing homes, college tuition, relocation, income reductions, tax law changes, Social Security timing, etc.

There seems to be a plan for everything, except for what happens when your financial advisor (a.k.a. contingency plan expert) has their own life happens issues.

How important is age, and is there a better way?

Age obviously matters, but how are you supposed to contingency plan for losing decades’ worth of trust, experience, and sometimes even friendship?

Having a team of financial advisors is how you can plan around losing one financial advisor. It’s also how you can gain access to even more experience and expertise, all while working with younger financial advisors.

A financial planning team should work for you in a fee-only capacity. Fee-only advisors cannot charge commissions or hidden fees because they are fiduciaries who are required to put each individual client’s needs first, so they are most concerned with the outcome of their financial advice.

This is important because as you age, you should be confident that your financial advisor will protect you and those you love from financial mismanagement.

Considerations

No one knows when a life event will happen that will necessitate their dependence on a financial advisor, but we do know the likelihood increases with age.

Shouldn’t you make sure that your financial advisor will be there for you and always obligated to put your needs first when you or your family needs them the most?

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC (S.E.E.D.) is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with the Securities Exchange Commission. S.E.E.D.’s team provides investment fiduciary and financial planning services to clients. Our fees are disclosed, easy to understand, and not predicated on product sales.