Stop Worrying About Your Financial Advisor and Start Finding the Right One
About this episode
The episode discusses how to choose the right financial advisor and explores emerging threats in identity crime.
Learn what financial advisor fee structures could mean for your wealth and how to find someone who won't sell you out. What new threats are emerging for identity crime victims? Host Sean Pyles, CFP®, and news colleague Rick VanderKnyff are joined by Mona Terry, chief operating and programs officer of the Identity Theft Resource Center, to walk through the ITRC's 2026 Trends in Identity Report. They explore why more than 1 in 4 victims now face two or more simultaneous identity incidents, how device compromise differs from the scams most people think to watch for, and whether AI is already making identity crimes harder to detect and resolve. Do financial advisors have a built-in conflict of interest that could be costing you money? Sean is joined by co-host Elizabeth Ayoola and NerdWallet Wealth Partners CEO Ryan Sterling to tackle a listener’s question about whether they should hire a financial advisor. They dig into how different advisor fee structures — from AUM (assets under management) percentages to flat-fee plans, hourly rates, and commissions — create different kinds of conflicts, what the fiduciary standard actually guarantees (and what it doesn't), and what red flags…
People in this episode
Host: Sean Pyles
Guest: Mona Terry
Topics covered
- financial advisors
- identity theft
- fee structures
- conflicts of interest
- identity crime
- fiduciary standard
Keywords
- financial advisor
- identity theft
- fee structures
- fiduciary
- identity crime
- AUM
- conflicts of interest
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Identity Theft Resource Center, NerdWallet Wealth Partners
More episodes of NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
- Don't Let Inconsistent Income Derail Your Finances — or Your Relationship
- It's Not Too Late: How to Reset Your Money Habits at 50
- Stop Guessing and Start Comparing: Is One Bank Enough for Everything?
- Stop Assuming Payment Plans Are a Debt Trap and Start Doing the Math
- Building Wealth Without Betraying Your Values: Tips for Mission-Driven Careers
- Free Tools to Earn More Rewards Points on Online Shopping, Dining, and Rideshares
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast podcast page.