Financial planning

What Is a Fee-Only Certified Financial Planner?

Fee-only describes how a planner is paid: only by clients, with no commissions or other sales-related compensation. CFP® is a credential, and fiduciary is a standard of conduct. A CFP® professional can be fee-only, but the three terms answer different questions, and none of them guarantees suitability or lower cost.

9 min read•Updated October 2026•By Austin Hunt, CFP®, CIMA®

What does fee-only mean for a certified financial planner?

A fee-only financial planner is compensated solely by their clients, not through commissions, product sales, or third-party kickbacks. The fee may be a flat rate, an hourly rate, or a percentage of assets managed. Because no other party pays the planner, there is no built-in incentive to recommend one product over another based on what it pays the advisor. For a shorter version of this explanation, see the short definition.

A fee-only structure removes one source of conflict, but it does not remove all of them. A planner paid as a percentage of assets, for example, may still have an incentive to keep assets under management, and fee-only does not guarantee suitable advice or a lower total cost. Understanding the distinction is a useful step before choosing who manages your money.

Fee-only vs. fee-based vs. commission-based

These three terms sound similar, but they describe different compensation structures with different implications for whose interests an advisor's income is tied to.

None of these models make an individual advisor dishonest. Many commission-based and fee-based advisors act in good faith and disclose their compensation clearly. The distinction is about incentive alignment, not character: a compensation structure that ties an advisor's income to product sales creates a potential conflict that a fee-only structure is designed to remove.

01Fee-only: The advisor is paid only by the client, through a flat fee, an hourly rate, or a percentage of assets under management. There are no commissions, no product sales, and no third-party compensation of any kind.
02Fee-based: A hybrid model. The advisor can charge fees to clients and also earn commissions from selling certain products, such as insurance or annuities. This dual structure can create potential conflicts of interest, since the advisor may have a financial incentive to recommend a commission-paying product.
03Commission-based: The advisor's income comes from the financial products they sell rather than directly from the client. The client may not write a check to the advisor at all, but the cost is generally built into the product, and the advisor's compensation flows from the product provider.

Fee-only vs. CFP® vs. fiduciary: three different questions

People often search for a "fee-only CFP®" or a "fee-only fiduciary" as if each phrase named one thing. Each phrase combines separate questions, and each question has its own source of truth. The definitions below draw on CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct and the SEC's Commission Interpretation Regarding Standard of Conduct for Investment Advisers. The SEC does not define the term fee-only, so the compensation definition comes from CFP Board.

Term	What it is	Question it answers	What it does not tell you
Fee-only	A description of compensation. CFP Board allows a CFP® professional to use it only when neither the professional nor the firm receives sales-related compensation, such as commissions.	How is the planner paid?	Whether the advice is suitable, whether the cost is lower, or whether the planner is a fiduciary.
CFP®	A certification awarded by CFP Board to people who meet its education, examination, experience, and ethics requirements and agree to follow its Code and Standards.	Has this person met CFP Board's requirements, and are they in good standing?	How the planner is paid, what the planner charges, or whether a recommendation fits your situation.
Fiduciary	A standard of conduct built on a duty of care and a duty of loyalty. Investment advisers owe it under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and CFP Board requires it of CFP® professionals when they give financial advice.	Whose interests must the advice put first, and how must conflicts be handled?	How the planner is paid, or whether results will be good. A fiduciary duty is not a guarantee of any outcome.

What the CFP® designation does and does not tell you

CFP® certification is awarded by CFP Board. It indicates that a person has met CFP Board's education, examination, experience, and ethics requirements and has agreed to follow its Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. Under that code, a CFP® professional must act as a fiduciary, in the client's best interests, at all times when providing financial advice.

What the certification does not tell you is how the planner is paid. CFP Board describes a CFP® professional as fee-only only when neither the professional nor the firm receives sales-related compensation, and it uses "fee and commission" for professionals who receive both. A CFP® professional must tell clients how they are compensated, so the answer is available, but the credential alone does not establish it. In short, a CFP® can be fee-only, and some CFP® professionals are not.

Certification also is not a measure of investment results or cost. Treat it as one verified fact about a planner, alongside how they are paid, what they charge, and the services included.

Why fiduciary duty matters

Fiduciary duty is a legal standard. Under the SEC's 2019 interpretation, an investment adviser's fiduciary duty includes a duty of care and a duty of loyalty. In practice, that means providing advice that is in the client's best interest and either avoiding conflicts of interest or disclosing them fully enough for the client to give informed consent.

This is different from the standard that applies to many broker-dealer representatives. Broker-dealers that make recommendations to retail customers are generally subject to the SEC's Regulation Best Interest rather than the Advisers Act fiduciary duty. The two standards are not the same: an adviser's duty applies across the whole relationship, while Regulation Best Interest applies when a recommendation is made.

Registered investment advisers (RIAs) operating under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 are generally held to the fiduciary standard. Not all financial professionals are, and the distinction is not always obvious from a title alone. A fee-only fiduciary has two protections that address different conflicts: compensation that comes only from the client speaks to conflicts tied to commissions, and the fiduciary duty speaks to how the adviser must handle the conflicts that remain. Neither protection guarantees suitable advice or good results, so it is still worth asking questions and understanding what you are paying for.

What to ask when choosing a fee-only planner

Before you hire any financial planner, it is worth asking a few direct questions:

01How are you compensated? Ask specifically whether the answer is fee-only, and whether that includes every source of revenue related to your account.
02Are you a fiduciary at all times, for all services you provide? Some advisors are fiduciaries only in certain contexts.
03What credentials do you hold? Look for designations such as CFP® (Certified Financial Planner) or CIMA® (Certified Investment Management Analyst), which require ongoing education and adherence to ethical standards.
04Can I confirm that independently? Use CFP Board's verify a CFP® professional search and the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure search, and read Part 2A of the firm's Form ADV, which describes fees, compensation, and conflicts.
05Do you have account minimums? Minimums can determine whether a planner is accessible to you, especially earlier in your career.
06What services are included in your fee? Ask whether the fee covers investment management alone or also includes financial planning, tax planning, and ongoing advice.

How Hunt Wealth Planning works as a fee-only fiduciary

Hunt Wealth Planning is a fee-only fiduciary firm, which means we do not earn commissions or sell products of any kind. Our only compensation comes from the fees our clients pay us directly, so our recommendations are not shaped by what a product provider is willing to pay us. Our published fees are on the pricing page.

We also have no account minimums to start. We built the firm for professionals who are still accumulating wealth, including young professionals, high earners, and equity compensation recipients, not only for retirees or the already wealthy. Before founding Hunt Wealth Planning, Austin Hunt spent years advising other financial advisors nationwide on asset allocation and tax strategy, experience that now works directly for clients. Austin holds the CFP® (Certified Financial Planner) and CIMA® (Certified Investment Management Analyst) designations.

Our approach is modern and tech-forward: clients get a client portal, real-time data, and a paperless onboarding process designed to make working with us straightforward. We work with clients in Tampa, FL and the surrounding area, and offer financial planning in Tampa alongside virtual service for clients elsewhere. This is simply how we operate, not a claim that it is the only way to do good planning.

Talk to a fee-only fiduciary

If you are looking for a fee-only fiduciary financial planner in Tampa, we would welcome a conversation. There is no obligation, and no pressure to move forward afterward.

Schedule your free intro call to talk through how you are currently working with an advisor, or how you might start, and see whether our approach is the right fit for you.

The short version

Fee-only describes how a planner is paid. CFP® is a credential. Fiduciary is a standard of conduct. They answer three different questions.
A CFP® professional can be fee-only, but the CFP® designation alone does not tell you how a planner is paid.
Fee-only, fee-based, and commission-based describe different compensation structures, not a judgment on any individual advisor's honesty.
Investment advisers owe a fiduciary duty of care and loyalty; broker-dealers making retail recommendations are generally subject to Regulation Best Interest, a different standard.
You can check a CFP® professional with CFP Board and a firm's Form ADV through the SEC's adviser search. None of these terms guarantees suitability, results, or lower cost.
Hunt Wealth Planning is a fee-only fiduciary with no account minimums, serving clients in Tampa, FL and virtually.

Talk it through with Austin

FAQ

Is fee-only the same as fee-based?

No. Fee-only means an advisor earns no commissions at all, only fees paid directly by the client. Fee-based allows an advisor to earn commissions in addition to client fees, which can create a compensation structure with more potential conflicts of interest.

Is a CFP® always fee-only?

No. CFP® is a certification, and fee-only describes how a planner is paid. CFP Board allows a CFP® professional to describe their compensation as fee-only only when neither they nor their firm receive sales-related compensation, and it recognizes other methods, such as fee and commission. Ask how a specific CFP® professional is paid and read the firm's disclosures.

Are all fiduciary advisors fee-only?

Not necessarily. Some advisors held to a fiduciary standard in certain contexts may still earn commissions in others. A fee-only fiduciary, who is both a fiduciary at all times and compensated solely by the client, has two protections that address different conflicts: one tied to how the planner is paid and one tied to the standard of conduct. Neither guarantees suitable advice or lower cost.

How do I check whether a planner is fee-only and a fiduciary?

Use two public tools. CFP Board's verify a CFP® professional search confirms certification status and any CFP Board disciplinary history. The SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure search at adviserinfo.sec.gov lets you read a firm's Form ADV, including Part 2A, which describes how it is paid and what conflicts it discloses. Then ask the planner in writing whether they or their firm receive any commissions or other compensation beyond client fees. These tools are a starting point, not a guarantee.

How much does a fee-only financial planner cost?

Costs vary by firm and by structure. Common approaches include a flat annual or project fee, an hourly rate, or a percentage of assets under management. It is worth asking any planner directly how their fee is calculated and what it includes.

Do I need a certain amount of money to work with a fee-only planner?

It depends on the firm. Some fee-only planners require a minimum amount of investable assets, while others do not. Hunt Wealth Planning has no account minimums to start.

Keep reading

Let's build something together

If you're looking for a financial partner who's in it for the long haul, let's talk.

See if we're a fit See how it works

No obligation. No sales pitch. Just a conversation.

Loading…