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"Our mission is to empower people to make smart financial decisions. The right financial advisor can help you achieve your financial goals and prepare for retirement."

Michael Carvin, CEO

Get Smart with Your Assets

Investing involves risk and no situation is the same. This is in no way intended as a personal recommendation and investment decisions are solely those of the reader.

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5 Ways a Financial Advisor Can Help Boost Your Career

Get Smart with Your Assets

SmartAsset is a personal finance technology company that features a financial advisor matching service. Financial Advisors who appear on SmartAsset are from companies with which SmartAsset receives compensation. SmartAsset takes into consideration wealth and location to determine how to match users with advisors. SmartAsset doesn't include the entire universe of Financial Advisors.

Making the most of your professional successes means making smart, strategic financial decisions.

A 2019 Northwestern Mutual study found that U.S. adults who work with a financial advisor report “substantially greater financial security, confidence and clarity than those who go it alone.”

The value of working with a financial advisor varies by person and advisors are legally prohibited from promising returns, but research suggests average additional investment returns can range from 1.5% to 4% more each year.

SmartAsset’s new tool makes it easy to find the right financial advisor near you in just a few minutes. Our exclusive, no-cost tool matches you with up to three local fiduciary financial advisors that have passed a rigorous screening process. We confirm each is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the appropriate state regulator, possess the proper licenses and have no pending or valid regulatory disclosures within the past 10 years.

Here are five ways working with a financial advisor can help boost your career.

1. Making smart retirement choices

No matter how long you’ve been working, you should always be thinking ahead to retirement.

Financial advisors specialize in the best ways to invest your savings to grow over time, depending on your risk tolerance and target retirement date. They can help you determine the right balance of stocks and bonds and how to best optimize your 401(k) and/or IRA account to reap the largest returns.

All of the financial advisors on SmartAsset’s matching platform are registered fiduciaries. This means they’re required to work in your best interest and won’t constantly push investment products on you. Use this no-cost tool to find an advisor who has your best interest in mind.

2. Navigating tax traps

Do you know the U.S. tax code and all the ways moving your money around could result in a hefty, unexpected tax bill? Financial advisors with tax expertise can help ensure this doesn’t happen.

For example, knowing whether to choose a direct or indirect rollover for your 401(k) when starting a new job could end up costing you 20% of the balance, getting taxed on the balance and a potential 10% tax penalty if you don’t complete the transaction within 60 days.

Similarly, when you receive a raise, it could bump you into a higher tax bracket. If you don’t adjust how much tax you withhold from each paycheck, you could end up owing more taxes at the end of the year.

Financial advisors can assist you in ensuring you don’t end up owing the government more taxes than should.

3. Properly investing bonuses

As you grow in your career, you’ll likely be awarded a few bonuses along the way. While it’s tempting to reward yourself with something extravagant in the moment, it could be more beneficial to invest it for the future.

Financial advisors can help you determine the best strategy for turning your bonus into a savings vehicle that continues to grow. It could be an additional 401(k) deposit or opening an additional investment account, but looking at your bonus as a tool rather than extra spending money can pay dividends in the future.

4. Starting college savings plans for children

At some point in your career, you may have children you want to eventually send to college.

Financial advisors are well-versed in which college savings programs would best benefit your specific situation. Many people use a 529 plan, but other options include custodial accounts, education savings accounts and pre-paid plans. Advisors can lay out the pros and cons of each to help you make an informed decision.

5. Helping build overall financial confidence

As your career blossoms, you’ll have additional decisions to make, including whether to start a trust for your family, purchasing life insurance, as well as creating a will and determining inheritance for your heirs. Financial advisors can help simplify these decisions.

Northwestern Mutual recently found that 71% of U.S. adults who work with a financial advisor are happy with their lives, compared with 50% who don’t use one. It also found that 3 out of 4 people who use an advisor have financial plans built to withstand market downturns.

Chances are, there are several highly qualified financial advisors in your town. However, it can seem daunting to choose one.

Our no-cost tool makes it easy to find the right financial advisor for you. Now you can get matched with up to three local fiduciary investment advisors that have been rigorously screened for regulatory disclosures and to confirm their licenses. The entire matching process takes just a few minutes.

Follow These Steps to Get Matched With the Right Advisor for You

1. Simply enter your ZIP code below.

2. After you enter your ZIP code and answer questions about your financial goals, you can compare up to three top advisors local to you and decide which to work with.

3. Enjoy a better financial future!

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