The Most Transparent Financial Advisors on Sam's List
Kimberly Green | 2026-04-12
Most financial advisors are not transparent about price.
They'll schedule a call, run you through a discovery process, and present a proposal at the end. The fee is a number you find out after you've already invested time and built a relationship. That's not an accident — it's a sales structure.
The advisors on this list do it differently. Pricing is on the profile. Ideal client descriptions are specific. Services are listed clearly, not buried in fine print.
That transparency is a professional choice — and it tells you something about how they operate.
Advisors Who Publish Their Fees
Anthony Syracuse, CFP — $7,500/year flat retainer
The most transparent thing about Anthony's practice is the price: $7,500 per year, flat. No percentage of your assets. No "it depends." No sliding scale revealed after a multi-step discovery process.
That number is on his Sam's List profile before you schedule a call. If it doesn't work for you, you know before you've spent any time.
Beyond pricing, his ideal client description is unusually specific: high earners, high-net-worth individuals, and tech professionals who want financial planning that connects to actual life goals. He's not for everyone. He knows who he's for.
Services include comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and tax strategy — all under the flat fee.
Bull Oak Capital — Flat $15,000/year, no AUM fee on first $1M
Bull Oak publishes a specific pricing structure: $15,000 per year, covering financial planning, investment management, tax strategy, and tax preparation. No AUM fee on the first $1M in assets managed.
That last part matters more than it looks.
Most advisors charge a percentage of assets under management — so as your wealth grows, so does their fee, even if the work doesn't. Bull Oak's model decouples fee from asset growth. You know what you're paying. It doesn't change when your portfolio does.
Full-service advisory from a team recognized on InvestmentNews 40 Under 40. Based in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
Ian Weiner, CFP, CEPA — 0.5%–1.75% of AUM, clearly disclosed
Ian publishes an AUM range, not a single number — 0.5% to 1.75% depending on portfolio size and service complexity. That's not a trick; it's accurate.
Fee-only advisors charging on AUM typically scale down as assets grow, and Ian discloses the range so you can estimate where you land before the first conversation.
His profile also makes his specialization clear upfront: business owners planning exits, wealth preservation with a generational focus. If you're not that client, you'll know before you schedule a call.
Serves clients nationally. Based in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Capital Area Planning Group — 0.25%–1.5% of AUM, published
Malcolm Ethridge's profile on Sam's List lists his fee range (0.25% to 1.5% of AUM) and his specialization (tech executives and senior managers with equity compensation) before you click to schedule anything.
He also discloses his credentials — CFP and IRS Enrolled Agent — which tells you exactly what he can and can't do for you.
His client reviews are specific enough to be useful. They're not "Malcolm is great!" — they describe real situations and outcomes. That level of specificity in reviews reflects a practice that produces specific results, not just general warmth.
Why Transparency Is a Signal, Not Just a Feature
An advisor who publishes their pricing has made a business decision: they'd rather attract the right clients than trap the wrong ones.
That's actually useful information. An advisor who hides the fee is usually doing it because the fee doesn't hold up to scrutiny on its own — it needs to be revealed after rapport is established.
An advisor who shows you the number upfront is confident the value justifies it.
Transparency about pricing also usually correlates with transparency in everything else: how they invest your money, what they earn on each product they recommend, and what happens if things go wrong. It's a culture signal.
How to Read a Transparent Profile
When you're comparing advisors, start with the profiles that give you the most information before you schedule anything. The ones hiding the most upfront will also be the hardest to get straight answers from later.
Look for:
- Published fee range or flat fee. Can you figure out roughly what you'll pay before a call?
- Specific ideal client description. Do you see yourself in it?
- Service list with real scope. Does it tell you what's included, or just list vague categories?
- Verified reviews with real detail. Do clients describe outcomes or just express satisfaction?
The profiles that answer these questions clearly are the ones worth calling.