AdvisorSmart® Charitable Fund

Advancing Financial Literacy, Consumer Protection & Investor Advocacy

The AdvisorSmart® Charitable Fund, established in 2025, supports nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving financial literacy, advancing consumer and investor advocacy, and promoting financial advice that places the interests of individuals first.

The fund is grounded in a simple conviction: Better financial advice begins with financially literate and well-informed consumers.

Too many individuals make critical financial decisions without a clear understanding of advisor compensation, conflicts of interest, or how financial advice works. The AdvisorSmart® Charitable Fund was created to help address this gap by supporting education-based initiatives that empower consumers and strengthen trust in the financial advice profession.

AdvisorSmart® Charitable Giving Focus

Charitable Fund Areas of Focus

The AdvisorSmart® Charitable Fund provides support to nonprofit organizations engaged in:

Financial Literacy: Expanding access to unbiased financial education that helps individuals understand money, investing, and financial decision-making across all stages of life.
Consumer Advocacy: Supporting efforts that protect consumers from conflicted advice, misleading marketing, and opaque fee structures.
Investor Advocacy: Promoting transparency, accountability, and investor-first standards within the financial planning profession.
Promotion of Fee-Only Financial Planning Advice: Advancing public understanding of the consumer benefits of fee-only financial planning advice, including:
- Reduced conflicts of interest
- Clear and transparent compensation
- Alignment between advisor incentives and client outcomes
- A planning-first, advice-driven approach to personal finance

Promoting Fee-Only Financial Planning

Building the Next Generation of Fee-Only Financial Planners

In addition to serving today’s consumers, the AdvisorSmart® Charitable Fund is committed to encouraging high school and college students to pursue careers in fee-only financial planning.

Our fund supports educational programs and nonprofit initiatives that:

Introduce students to financial planning as a profession
Highlight the ethical and consumer-focused benefits of fee-only financial advice
Promote careers built on education, transparency, and fiduciary responsibility
Expand awareness of financial planning as a service profession—not a sales role

By investing in early education and career awareness, the fund seeks to strengthen the long-term integrity of the financial advice profession.

Aligning Our Gifts with Our Mission

Mission Alignment

The AdvisorSmart® Charitable Fund reflects the core values of the AdvisorSmart® mission:

Independence from product sales and commissions
Education over marketing
Advocacy for consumers navigating complex financial decisions
Support for financial planning advice models that prioritize client interests and long-term outcomes

The fund does not support nonprofit organizations that promote financial product manufacturers, financial product sales organizations, or entities built around conflicted compensation structures. Its purpose is to elevate financial literacy, empower consumers, and encourage ethical career paths within the field of financial planning.

Helping Investors

A Long-Term Commitment to Impact

The AdvisorSmart® Charitable Fund is designed as a long-term platform for impact, supporting nonprofit organizations whose work contributes to a more transparent, ethical, and consumer-centered financial advice ecosystem.

Through education, advocacy, and career development initiatives, the fund aims to help individuals understand better:

How financial advisors are compensated
Why conflicts of interest matter
The role of financial literacy in long-term outcomes
How to identify advice aligned with their best interests