The Advice-Only™ Standards of Practice define how the Advice-Only™ Methodology must be delivered in the real world.
They translate a structurally deconflicted framework into concrete professional obligations, so that planning
engagements are conducted in a way that is as objective, transparent, and client-centered as possible.
These Standards do not describe a fee label or marketing claim. They define a professional discipline:
a standardized way of delivering more unbiased financial planning through strict structural separation,
fiduciary duty, and a clearly defined planning process.
1. Purpose of the Advice-Only™ Standards of Practice
The purpose of these Standards is to establish the minimum professional obligations for anyone
delivering planning under the Advice-Only™ Methodology. They explain how advisors must conduct
themselves, how conflicts must be eliminated or contained, and how the planning engagement
must be structured so clients can rely on the integrity of the process.
- Operationalize the Advice-Only™ Methodology in real client work.
- Provide a benchmark for consistent, high-quality, structurally deconflicted planning.
- Differentiate Advice-Only™ planning from fee models or marketing phrases.
- Protect clients by making the structure of objectivity visible and verifiable.
These Standards apply from the first point of professional engagement — including the paid
consultation — through delivery of the final planning deliverable.
2. Scope, Applicability, and Compatibility With Existing Advisor Business Models
The Advice-Only™ Standards of Practice apply to:
- Financial planners who deliver services under the Advice-Only™ Methodology.
- Any advisor representing themselves as practicing the Advice-Only™ Method or Advice-Only™ planning.
- Any platform or firm using the Advice-Only™ name to connect clients and advisors.
- Educational or planning engagements conducted under the Advice-Only™ framework.
These Standards are methodology-specific. They do not depend on any one professional designation,
third-party licensing structure, or external fee label (such as AUM, commission, or “fee-only”). An advisor cannot
“partially” adhere to these Standards. Within an Advice-Only™ engagement, compliance is all-or-nothing.
2.1 Designed for the Real World: Any Advisor Can Use It, Every Client Can Rely on It
The Advice-Only™ Methodology is designed to be compatible with the real advisory landscape, where most
firms and advisors already have existing business models, licenses, and compensation structures. Advisors are
not required to abandon other parts of their practice to deliver Advice-Only™ engagements.
What matters is not what an advisor offers elsewhere, but what they are permitted to do inside the Advice-Only™ engagement itself. During an Advice-Only™ planning engagement:
- The advisor must not receive compensation that creates incentives tied to implementation.
- The planning process must remain structurally separate from sales, qualification, or asset management.
- No product-, custodian-, or platform-based benefits may influence recommendations.
This structure allows any advisor to adopt the Advice-Only™ Methodology, while ensuring that every client
can rely on a structurally deconflicted environment throughout the engagement.
3. Foundational Obligations Under the Advice-Only™ Standards
- Mandatory paid consultation and written advisory agreement: Every Advice-Only™ engagement — including the initial consultation — must begin with a paid, written advisory agreement establishing fiduciary duty at the outset. Free consultations are discouraged because they often function as qualification, sales screening, or solicitor referrals.
- Actionable advice from Day One: The initial paid consultation is a true fiduciary meeting that provides immediate, actionable guidance — not a sales pitch or intake screen.
- Continuous fiduciary capacity during the entire Advice-Only™ engagement, with duties disclosed in writing and acknowledged before any professional service begins.
- Client-first recommendations based solely on the client’s best interest, supported by structured analysis.
- Structural independence from all product manufacturers, custodians, platforms, and implementation incentives within the Advice-Only™ process.
4. Standards of Structural Separation
Structural separation is the core safeguard of the Advice-Only™ Methodology. It ensures that advice is delivered
in a clean, deconflicted environment that is not intertwined with sales functions.
4.1 Prohibition on Implementation Influence During the Engagement
During an Advice-Only™ planning engagement, the advisor:
- May not execute trades or manage assets.
- May not deliver product recommendations tied to compensation.
- May not steer clients toward specific platforms, custodians, products, or firms.
- May not negotiate implementation terms that could lead to future compensation.
Any discussion of implementation must occur only after the plan has been delivered, and only if the client independently initiates that discussion under a separate engagement.
4.2 No Co-Mingling of Advice and Solicitation
Advisors may not:
- Combine advice delivery with any form of product solicitation or asset-gathering pitch.
- Imply that implementation with the advisor or their firm is expected or required.
- Use the planning process to qualify or screen clients for future sales or AUM relationships.
An advice meeting and a solicitation meeting may never co-occur, be combined, or be presented as continuous parts of the same engagement.
4.3 No Asset-Based Qualification
- Advisors must not set asset minimums for Advice-Only™ engagements.
- Clients must not be screened, prioritized, or selected based on wealth or account size.
All clients must have equal access to the Advice-Only™ planning process.
5. The Fee Structure Firewall™
To preserve structural objectivity, compensation inside the Advice-Only™ engagement must flow
one direction only: directly from the client to the advisor via explicit, transparent fees.
The following forms of compensation are prohibited within the Advice-Only™ planning engagement:
- Commissions (direct or indirect).
- Revenue-sharing or 12b-1 fees.
- Referral fees, kickbacks, or cross-selling incentives.
- Asset-based (AUM) fees tied to the client’s accounts.
- Platform, product, or custodian incentives.
- Non-monetary benefits or consideration of any kind.
- Bonuses tied to product sales, account movement, or asset retention.
- Any future compensation contingent on implementation choices.
The advisor may only receive:
- The stated planning fee(s) disclosed in advance.
- Paid invoices for clearly defined additional sessions.
Prohibition on gifts and consideration: Advisors and their access persons may not give or accept any monetary or non-monetary gifts, benefits, services, discounts, or other consideration from clients, prospects, or implementation providers that could influence — or appear to influence — advice.
This section closes the “referral loophole” by prohibiting all monetary and non-monetary referral incentives within an Advice-Only™ engagement. Any referral made in the client’s best interest must be documented and acknowledged in writing by all parties.
Free planning as data collection: Offering “free planning” in exchange for collecting, analyzing, or sharing identifiable planning data with third parties is incompatible with the Advice-Only™ Standards of Practice.
6. Standards for Fiduciary Conduct
6.1 Duty of Care
- Gather enough information to provide well-reasoned, defensible advice.
- Analyze cash flow, risk, taxes, and long-term outcomes holistically.
- Use reasonable, clearly documented assumptions.
- Stress-test strategies where appropriate.
6.2 Duty of Loyalty
- Avoid conflicts where possible, and eliminate compensation-based conflicts within the engagement.
- Disclose any unavoidable conflicts in plain language and in writing.
- Document the rationale behind each recommendation.
6.3 Documentation Requirements
- The underlying rationale.
- Key assumptions used.
- Alternatives considered.
- Tradeoffs and limitations.
7. Diagnostic & Planning Standards
Advice-Only™ planning must follow a structured, repeatable diagnostic process. At a minimum, this includes:
- Defining the client’s questions, concerns, and priorities.
- Collecting relevant quantitative and qualitative data.
- Building projections and aligned scenarios.
- Evaluating tradeoffs and constraints.
- Synthesizing strategies into a coherent plan.
- Delivering the plan in a form the client can reference.
Advisors may not provide pre-determined or templated recommendations. Recommendations must arise from the client’s actual facts, goals, and constraints.
8. Implementation Independence Standards
- The client retains full autonomy over implementation decisions.
- The advisor may not receive future compensation tied to implementation choices stemming from the Advice-Only™ plan.
- The advisor must avoid creating dependency or implying that implementation with them is expected.
If a referral is necessary, it must be accompanied by explicit written conflict acknowledgment from all parties and must create no compensation or obligation within the Advice-Only™ engagement.
9. Education & Client Empowerment Standards
The Advice-Only™ Methodology supports competence, not dependency. Advisors must:
- Explain recommendations in client-friendly language.
- Provide context for tradeoffs, not just conclusions.
- Use educational resources free from product or institutional bias.
- Support decision-making without steering toward specific providers.
The Methodology values real-world advisor experience but filters that experience through structural safeguards — ensuring insight does not become influence. Clients should leave better informed, more confident, and capable of independent action.
10. Practice Management Standards
- Maintain accurate and complete records of each Advice-Only™ engagement.
- Protect client confidentiality and follow privacy best practices.
- Deliver services within reasonable, represented timeframes.
- Avoid exaggerated claims or over-promising results.
- Ensure service quality is consistent regardless of client wealth.
The Advice-Only™ Methodology is designed to create a structurally clean environment for planning — even when advisors maintain additional business models outside the engagement.
Advisors must also adhere to the Advice-Only™ Data Ethics & Privacy Standards, which govern the protection of client information and prohibit data monetization or third-party use of planning outcomes. These obligations apply specifically to Advice-Only™ planning engagements and do not require advisors to alter their firm’s global privacy policy outside this context.
11. Standards of Professional Conduct
- Communicate honestly, clearly, and without unnecessary jargon.
- Avoid misleading statements, including claims of being entirely conflict-free in all parts of their business.
- Accurately represent qualifications and experience.
- Maintain professional boundaries and respect client autonomy.
- Engage in ongoing learning to remain current in planning topics.
12. Non-Compliance and Remediation
- Receiving prohibited compensation within an Advice-Only™ engagement.
- Using the planning process to qualify clients for future sales or AUM relationships.
- Misrepresenting the Advice-Only™ Methodology as a fee label.
- Delivering pre-determined recommendations.
- Failing to disclose material conflicts in writing.
Consequences of non-compliance may include:
- Revocation or restriction of permission to use Advice-Only™ marks.
- Required correction of misleading public statements.
- Referral to regulatory authorities where appropriate.
13. Relationship to the Advice-Only™ Methodology, Principles, and Philosophy
The Advice-Only™ Standards of Practice are part of an integrated framework:
- The Methodology defines what the system is — its design, pillars, and engagement model.
Learn more about the Advice-Only™ Methodology - The Principles explain why the system works — the foundational laws behind structurally deconflicted planning.
Learn more about the Advice-Only™ Principles - The Standards of Practice (this page) define how professionals must apply the Methodology in real engagements.
- The Philosophy describes the narrative, history, and values that shaped the development of the Advice-Only™ framework.
Learn more about the Advice-Only™ Philosophy. - The Data Ethics & Privacy Standards define how client information must be protected within the structurally deconflicted Advice-Only™ environment. Learn more about the Data Ethics & Privacy Standards.
Together, these layers distinguish Advice-Only™ as a disciplined, teachable, and verifiable system — not a fee label or marketing phrase.
14. Next Steps
For Clients
- Experience the Methodology:
Schedule a paid consultation to experience a structurally deconflicted planning session. - Explore our services:
See how the Methodology applies across planning needs on our
services page. - Learn more about the framework:
Read the Advice-Only™ Methodology
and 4-Step Planning Process.
For Advisors
- Explore practicing under these Standards:
Visit the For Advisors page to learn about adopting a structurally deconflicted Advice-Only™ track. - Evaluate your current structure:
Consider how your practice can incorporate a clean, structurally separate Advice-Only™ planning channel clients can rely on.
Editor’s note: This page provides general information about professional standards and methodology design.
It does not constitute personalized financial, legal, compliance, or regulatory advice. Advisors and firms should consult
their own legal resources to ensure alignment with their jurisdiction.