Transparency
How Fiduciary Check makes money.
We are paid by advisors who subscribe. There are three tiers, Basic, Plus and Studio, and the paid tiers appear first in the directory. That is it. Verification is identical for every advisor regardless of tier. Here is exactly how the model works.
Nothing else.
The model
Three tiers. Same verification. Different visibility.
Advisors who want the Orange Check pay a monthly or annual subscription. The subscription covers SEC and FINRA verification, the directory listing, the profile page, and the co-branded article tools.
Basic earns the Orange Check, the directory listing, and the profile page. Plus adds priority placement on the directory, deeper profile analytics, compliant review collection tools, and concierge support during onboarding and re-certification. Studio adds everything in Plus plus a seat in Sage, a third-party AI video editor, for advisors who want to produce compliant marketing video.
Plus and Studio are visibility and software upgrades. Neither is a verification upgrade. Every advisor, Basic, Plus or Studio, passes exactly the same SEC and FINRA review.
Studio also does not outrank Plus. The two sit in the same placement band on the directory and are ordered against each other on rating and reviews alone. Paying us more than a Plus advisor does not put an advisor above them.
What we do not take
We never take money for any of these.
- Money to alter verification outcomes
- Money to soften disqualification criteria
- Banner or display ads
- Sponsored articles or undisclosed sponsored posts
- Pay-per-lead fees from advisors
- Commissions from product companies
- Kickbacks from fund managers
- Money from insurance carriers, custodians, or fund families
What is included
What an advisor gets in each tier.
- Verification of fiduciary status (every tier)We pull SEC and FINRA filings, read the Form ADV, and confirm the firm is fee-only and acts as a fiduciary at all times. Identical review for all three tiers.
- Annual re-certification (every tier)The Orange Check expires unless the advisor re-earns it every year. The subscription covers that work.
- Directory listing and profile (every tier)A profile page on /advisor/<slug> with credentials, services, and contact info. Same template for every advisor.
- Co-branded articles (every tier)The advisor writes a piece on a topic in their niche. We post it under their byline, help with SEO and AEO, and link to their profile. Advisors do not pay extra for this.
- Priority directory placement (Plus and Studio)Plus and Studio subscribers appear before Basic subscribers on the advisors page and on state and specialty pages. Plus and Studio share one placement band: neither outranks the other. Inside that band, and inside Basic, the order is set by rating, then reviews, then last name.
- Profile analytics, review tools and concierge (Plus and Studio)Deeper visibility into how consumers find a profile, compliant review collection, white-labeled marketing materials, and concierge support during onboarding and re-cert. These are tools, not endorsements.
- Sage AI video editor seat (Studio only)Studio includes a seat in Sage, a third-party AI video editing tool, with two video credits at signup and further credits at $50 each, which is what the credits cost us. It is production software for the advisor's own marketing. It changes nothing a consumer sees on the directory.
How ranking works
How the order on the advisors page is set.
The directory sorts in two stages. First, by band: paid subscribers come before Basic subscribers. Plus and Studio are one band, so a Studio advisor and a Plus advisor start level with each other. Second, within each band, by consumer rating, then by total reviews, then alphabetically by last name.
This means a Plus or Studio advisor with weaker reviews can appear above a Basic advisor with stronger reviews. We are telling you that directly so you can decide how to read the directory. The ratings and reviews are real; the band order is paid. Beyond that one step, no amount of money moves an advisor up.
What money does not change: the verification standard, the disqualification bar, the rating an advisor receives, the reviews on their profile, or whether the Orange Check is awarded.
Common questions
Questions people ask.
- 01
Do advisors pay for ranking?
Partially, yes, and we will not pretend otherwise. The directory has three tiers: Basic, Plus and Studio. Plus and Studio subscribers appear before Basic subscribers. Plus and Studio are treated identically in that ordering: paying more for Studio does not move an advisor above a Plus advisor. Within the paid band, and within Basic, the order is set by consumer rating, then by total reviews, then alphabetically by last name. The amount any individual advisor pays does not change their position relative to others in the same band. Inside the band it is purely merit. Paid placement is paid visibility, not paid endorsement.
- 02
Is the Orange Check different for Basic, Plus and Studio advisors?
No. Verification is identical regardless of tier. Every advisor on Fiduciary Check passes the same SEC and FINRA review, the same Form ADV read-through, and the same annual re-certification. No subscription buys a friendlier review, a faster decision, or a softer disqualification bar. It buys priority placement on the directory and a richer set of advisor tools.
- 03
What does Plus actually include beyond visibility?
Higher placement on the directory and on state and specialty pages, deeper profile analytics so advisors can see how visitors found them, compliant review collection tools, white-labeled marketing materials, and concierge support during onboarding and re-certification. Plus does not include sponsored articles, paid testimonials, or anything that would alter how a consumer evaluates an advisor's fitness, only how easy the advisor is to find.
- 04
What is Studio, and does it buy a better position?
Studio is our top tier at $249.99 a month. It includes everything in Plus plus a seat in Sage, a third-party AI video editing tool, so advisors can produce marketing video that meets the SEC Marketing Rule. It does not buy a better position. Studio and Plus advisors sit in the same placement band and are ordered against each other by rating and reviews, exactly as if they paid the same. Studio is a software tier, not a ranking tier.
- 05
Do you make money on the Studio video credits?
No. Studio includes two video credits at signup and additional credits cost $50 each, which is what we pay our vendor for them. We pass them through at cost. What we are paid for is the subscription itself.
- 06
Do you run ads on the site?
No. We do not run banner ads, paid third-party placements, or sponsored posts from product companies. The only money we take from advisors is the subscription. We do not sell ad space to fund managers, insurance companies, or anyone else.
- 07
What about the co-branded articles?
Co-branded articles are included with an advisor's subscription regardless of tier. The advisor writes the piece. We help with SEO and AEO and we post it. Advisors do not pay extra for an article, and a piece is not promoted because they paid more.