Financial Planner vs. Advisor vs.Coach: What's The Difference?
The terms Financial Planner, Financial Advisor, and Financial Coach have become a bit blurry as the swipeable financial advice has become even more robust. My shift from building financial products to a Finance Content Creator to a Financial Planner has been interesting, I’ve noticed that not many people grasp the differences between the three. Did you know that 73% of Americans rank finances as the primary cause of stress in their lives? I’m not shocked by that number and your mind probably hurts reading it.
Over time, I’ve noticed how people would complain about the fees of Advisors, Planners, and Coaches and how the value wasn’t there for those who needed it. Yes, you would pay for a lawyer to tell you about a case - but people are starting to look for other ways to get their needs met. This is why in 2023, I got clarity within my business to become not only a merger of the three, but to change how the price point looked for the affordable, not just the affluent. But, let’s break it down to what each means…
Understanding Financial Guidance Options
When it comes to these Big 3, they each do something different when it comes to guiding you when it comes to your wallet (money) and your wealth:
Financial Planner: Creates a personalized financial blueprint (e.g., budgeting, debt management, retirement goals). With some Financial Planners, you will be charged between 0.5% and 2% of your Assets Under Management (AUM) annually, $150 to $400 per hour, or a flat fee of $1,000 to $3,000 for a comprehensive financial plan. Be mindful of how those fees would be applied to different things like trading (buying stocks/bonds/crypto) or meetings. Some are Fiduciaries; which provide ethics/trust on your behalf and execute your planning.
Financial Advisor: Recommends specific investments and financial products to execute the plan. You can find yourself paying Financial advisors typically between 0.25% and 1% of the assets they manage, but fees can vary based on the advisor's structure and your overall finances. Again, the level set on the fees you could see.
Financial Coach: Provides ongoing support and accountability to help you stick to the plan and develop healthy financial habits. For them, you will find you paying between $100 and $300 per hour, but annual packages can cost thousands of dollars.
One of the things that I’ve been noticing within this industry is that people need help to learn and leverage their money - no matter the tax bracket. But find themselves in some buckets:
Those who know that they need help but can’t find it within their budget
Those who don’t want to give up all of their information to get insights to implement
Those who don’t trust some folks because they talk to them vs to them.
Those who feel that social media gives them enough info - I get it, I create content for folks like you.
Here are some questions you should ask no matter which of the “Big 3” you decide to work with (even The Brands And Bands, Me):
Are you a Fiduciary?
What are your fees? Are there any fees that aren’t included on your website?
What services are included in your fee?
What is your experience and education?
Who are my contacts within your firm?
Do you offer financial planning for someone in my financial situation/status?
How would we communicate?
What do you specialize in? Do you offer the kind of help that I need?
Will you consider my risk tolerance?
Are you acting with my best interest/funds at heart?
Do you have any testimonies from former/current clients?
Common Misconceptions of Financial Guidance
When it comes to not only the African American community but the collective in general - when it comes to learning or working with a Financial Planner/Advisor / Coach - oftentimes people would either say that most will tell you to cut expenses or budget. Depending on which of the Big 3 you are working with, they will ask you about not only your bills and expenses but also your mannerisms. This will funnel into building a financial plan that is layered with goals, products, and a roadmap for you to get there.
I recently saw this on FB and it legit tickled me because many people feel that working with someone to help improve your finances will look like that. We want to know your money, while we build to make a money system that works for you now and later. Even if you were to make more money, if you don’t have a money system it would be hard to see the growth. Yes, you can look online for insight (that’s how you got there), but you might need some context behind the content you’re viewing. Which is what I’ve been on both sides of the coin. Some people need more money to manage, most need to know about money management and then there’s a collective who needs both. How you handle $10 will determine how you handle $10,000. While most people feel that those of the 1% work with a Financial Planner/Advisor/Coach, there’s barely 82% of Americans don’t have an HYSA, and 32% don’t have access to $400 for emergencies. Another stat that moves beyond budget and saving, roughly half of working adults in the United States don't have any retirement savings. This reason could be due to not seeing how you can do some than none with the funds you have and others do have the money but don’t know how to make their money grow. My focus is on those who feel they can’t afford a financial advisor. According to Statista, 35% of Americans worked with a financial advisor in 2022, while 57% said they didn't have a financial representative.
Both pulled up — great pieces to weave in, and they map almost perfectly onto what we've already written. Here's the full updated blog addition with both included, plus a note on where the second one fits best.
So What Should A Retainer Fee Actually Get You?
I saw a post in a Threads finance community that stopped me mid-scroll: "If I'm paying a financial advisor a yearly retainer fee, what should I expect in my quarterly planning meetings? I'm trying to see if I'm tripping."
She's not tripping. This is one of the most common questions I get — people just usually ask it quieter. In a DM. At the end of a session. Or six months into a relationship where the meetings started feeling more like a check-the-box call than an actual conversation about their money. I’ve had clients come to me asking the same when wanting to transfer to me as a client from an advisor who didn’t give them context or even explained things too big for Elmo.
Here's the thing: "retainer" gets used two very different ways depending on who's charging it.
If you're paying AUM (Assets Under Management) — that 0.5% to 2% we talked about above — part of that fee is compensation for managing your investments day to day, whether or not you ever talk to your advisor. The quarterly meeting, if you get one, can end up being more of a relationship-maintenance touchpoint than a working session. You should still walk away with a portfolio review, performance against your goals, and any rebalancing that happened. If you're not getting that, ask why.
If you're paying a flat-fee retainer — like mine — there's no AUM cushioning the relationship. The fee is the meeting. It's the support in between. It's the accountability. So honestly, the bar should be higher, not lower.
Either way, here's what a quarterly check-in should actually include, no matter whose name is on the invoice:
Progress against your actual goals — not a generic "how's it going," but a real look at the one or two things you said mattered last time.
An updated timeline — are you closer, further, or on pace? Say it plainly.
Room for what's new — a job change, a baby, a move, a windfall. Life doesn't wait for Q3.
Answers to your questions — not just the ones on their agenda.
Clarity, not confusion, when you hang up.
If your quarterly meetings feel like small talk with a bill attached, that's not you being dramatic. That's a fair thing to bring up with your advisor — or a sign to find one who treats the retainer like the relationship it's supposed to be.
How To Know What You're Actually Buying — À La Carte Or Retainer
Here's a rule I wish more people knew before they ever pulled out a card: whatever you're paying for — a one-time session or a retainer — you should be able to point to something in writing that spells out exactly what's included, not just a vibe or a "we'll figure it out as we go."
That writing usually has a name: an engagement letter, or a service agreement. And a real one answers three questions plainly — What am I actually getting? How am I being billed? How often will we talk? If a planner, advisor, or coach can't answer those before you sign — or worse, only after — that's worth pausing on. It should show up before you lock in, or at the very latest, as the first real thing that happens in onboarding.
I actually broke this down with Parade a few weeks back — the questions I think everyone should ask in a first meeting, starting with "How do you get paid?" and "What happens after today's meeting?" (There's a third one in there almost nobody thinks to ask.) You can read the full piece here: 3 Questions Everyone Should Ask a Financial Advisor During the First Meeting.
This matters even more with retainers, because "I'm on a retainer" tells you almost nothing on its own. Retainer structures aren't standardized — they vary by practice, sometimes wildly:
Some are billed monthly, like a subscription — commonly $200 to $900 a month depending on scope.
Some are billed annually, paid in full or split into installments.
Some bundle a one-time plan with ongoing sessions built in.
Some include between-session access with no cap; some cap it.
Some guarantee a fixed number of meetings a year; some don't guarantee any at all.
None of those is automatically the "right" one. But you should know exactly which one you signed up for — not find out in month four, when you're wondering why your "unlimited access" retainer only answers emails twice a month.
This is part of why, whether you work with me through a single session or a longer retainer, you already know what you're getting before you ever pay me a dollar.
I’m Building Different
But over the last year or so, I felt the need that more people needed a combination of the Big 3 within one entity. This rhymes, but it’s true. I’m aligned to more Advice-Only Financial Planning and Education within the price range that aligns with what people can afford as they build toward their sense of alignment with money. Advice-only financial planning is a model where financial planners guide a range of financial matters, such as retirement planning, tax reduction, estate planning, investment strategy, and insurance needs, but don't manage investments. But with my practice, I want to include talking about the basics of money -budgeting, spending, saving, behavioral finance, and more - for a flat fee.
The Brands And Bands (*cough me*) collaborate with clients to create a custom financial plan no matter your funds. You don’t have to have $500K like some practices/firms; I want you to save $500 for your emergency fund at least. I want you to understand your emergency fund while planning how to optimize your retirement fund (talked about this here). I add the coaching and education aspect to your services because most planners/advisors don’t; some might even just manage your investments and have you with unknown fees later on. Providing ongoing support and motivation within our conversations - which I’m told is like therapy or a big conversation in a way. When people are at ease with the means they have, they can build towards the more.
I talked about this with Parade too, because it's one of the biggest myths I run into — that financial planning is only for people who already have money. You can read that one here: Yes, You Still Need an Advisor Even if You Make Under $100K a Year.
The advantage to working with someone who gets it, I’ve been the person who didn’t build an emergency fund and had to cash in their retirement to survive a layoff. I’ve been that person who had a spending problem but didn’t know it was linked to my behaviors that were mixed with being depressed. I get it. Here are some more advantages:
Transparency: Clients know the upfront cost.
Holistic Guidance: Combines planning, strategic advice, and behavioral coaching. Some might talk about doing budget cuts, but we need to look at what’s going on in your whole money house to configure the floor plan. Like I say over on my YouTube, you aren’t just here to pay bills and die, you’re here to find balance to do with what you can while building towards what you want.
Empowerment: Clients gain financial literacy and confidence to manage their money.
Guidance + Grace: You have control over your accounts, budgets, etc. I guide what to do, and advise you if you do differently or anything else. Not the middle man, but the wo(man) to help you understand where you are with your money.
What Should You Do?
Whatever you decide. I can’t sway you to move one way or another, but many people who do take the information they swipe through end up working with someone professionally. So, working with someone who understands your “ah ha” and aligns it with how you accumulate your assets (money, etc.) over time to give you a sense of realizing your goals.
To learn about who we work with, click here.
To learn more about what your financial experience could be with B+B, click here. Or to work with us directly, learn about our services here.
Click the links at the top of the website to find our social media channels. I would highly suggest the YouTube channel or the newsletter.
Whatever you pick, I’m proud of you. It takes one risk-taker to shift your generational narrative - and if you’re reading this, you’re doing the work.
