There are roughly 300,000 people in the United States who call themselves financial advisors. The word "advisor" comes from "advice" — guidance from someone you trust, like a doctor or a parent. Someone whose loyalty runs toward you.

Most of those 300,000 don't work for you.

Here's how the trick works. You sit down with a "financial advisor" at a major firm. They're well-dressed, articulate, credentialed. They ask about your goals, your timeline, your risk tolerance. They recommend investments. It feels like advice. It looks like advice.

Then you ask: "How do I pay you?"

And they say: "Don't worry — my company pays me, not you."

That sentence should terrify you. Because if you're not paying them, someone else is. And whoever is paying them is the one they actually work for.

The majority of financial "advisors" in this country are legally salespeople. They work for broker-dealers. They earn commissions from the products they sell you — mutual funds with 1.5% expense ratios, annuities with 7-year surrender charges, proprietary funds their firm manufactures. The advice they give you has to be "suitable" — a legal standard that essentially means "not obviously terrible for you." That's it. Not best. Not optimal. Not in your interest. Just not actionable malpractice.

Meanwhile, the word "advisor" in their title makes you believe they're looking out for you. They're not required to. The legal structure explicitly allows them to prioritize their firm's profits over your outcomes. And most clients — understandably — have no idea.

A fiduciary is different. Legally, structurally, in every way that matters.

A fiduciary advisor is required by law to act in your best interest. Not their firm's. Not their commission schedule's. Yours. They get paid directly by you — a transparent fee you can see, question, and compare against the value you're receiving. There's no hidden revenue stream, no product kickbacks, no incentive to put you in Fund A over Fund B because Fund A pays a higher commission.

You negotiate a $10 discount on your phone plan. You compare prices on flights. You read reviews before buying a $30 kitchen gadget. But when it comes to the person managing what could be your largest lifetime asset — hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of dollars — most people don't even know how they're paying, let alone how much.

And the industry likes it that way. If the fee was low and transparent, they'd promote it. The fact that it's hidden tells you everything.

Here's my rule: If the advice is for you, the payment should come from you. That's it. That's the whole test.

When I pay my doctor, I know they work for me. When I pay my lawyer, I know whose side they're on. Financial advice should be no different. The moment someone else is paying your advisor, the loyalty equation shifts — and it shifts away from you.

At StandUP Advisors, the fee is yours. You see it. You can question it every quarter. And because you're paying me directly, I work for you — not for a product manufacturer, not for a broker-dealer, not for anyone else at the table.

That's what fiduciary means. Not a marketing buzzword. A legal obligation. And if your current advisor can't say the same, it's worth asking why.

Find out who's paying your advisor. If it's not you, you already know who the patsy is.