How to Read a Financial Advisor's Form ADV Before You Hire Them
Every SEC or state registered investment advisor files a Form ADV, and the brochure section spells out exactly how they get paid and what conflicts they've disclosed. Most people never open it.
Where to Find It and What You're Looking At
Every advisor registered with the SEC or the state of Florida files a Form ADV, and it's public. Go to adviserinfo.sec.gov, search the firm or individual by name, and pull up Part 2A, sometimes called the brochure. Part 1 is dense regulatory filing language written for examiners, but Part 2A is written in plain English on purpose, because regulators want clients to actually read it. If a firm can't be found on IAPD at all, that's worth asking about directly before you go any further.
The Sections Worth Reading Closely
Start with the fee schedule, usually Item 5, and confirm you understand whether you'd pay a flat fee, an hourly rate, or a percentage of assets managed. Then check Item 10, financial industry affiliations, which shows whether the advisor or firm is also tied to a broker-dealer, insurance agency, or fund company that could shape what gets recommended. Item 14 covers client referral arrangements, meaning any firm or website that gets paid for sending clients their way. That's relevant here too. Tampa Wealth Pro is a referral service, and any planner you're matched with should be able to explain that arrangement to you as plainly as their own fee schedule.
When to Bring In a Professional
A clean Form ADV confirms what's disclosed, not whether the advisor is a good fit or a good performer, and it can't substitute for a real conversation. Pair it with a FINRA BrokerCheck or IAPD background check before you share any account numbers or tax returns. If a disclosure section raises a question you can't answer on your own, or the fee structure is more layered than you expected, that's exactly the point to get a second opinion from a matched planner or, for a specific legal question, an attorney, rather than guessing at what it means.
Rather have a planner walk you through it?
Free matching across the Tampa Bay area. A real person picks up.
Keep reading.
10 Questions to Ask a Financial Planner Before You Sign Anything
A first meeting with a planner is also an interview you're conducting. These are the questions that surface how they get paid, whether they're a fiduciary all the time, and what happens if the fit isn't right.
A Florida Retirement Checklist by Decade: Your 50s, 60s, and 70s
What actually needs attention changes by decade, and Florida adds its own layer with the homestead exemption, no state income tax, and Medicare enrollment timing that trips up new residents mid-move.
How Florida's Homestead Exemption Affects Your Estate Plan
Florida's homestead protections are unusually strong, and they catch new residents and longtime Floridians alike off guard when it comes to estate planning. A plain language walkthrough of what homestead status actually changes.