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Episode 133 – Big Brand or Independent Advisor? How to Choose

Insights from Last Paycheck Podcast Episode 133

Choosing a financial advisor is one of the most consequential financial decisions you will ever make. Yet many people start in the same place. They open a browser, search for “financial planner near me,” and are immediately faced with a confusing choice.

Do you work with a large, nationally recognized firm?
Or do you choose a local, independent advisor?

In Episode 133 of the Last Paycheck, Rob Hoxton and Jimmy Sutch, both financial planners at Hoxton Planning & Management, unpack this question in a practical, transparent way. Rather than positioning one option as universally better, they focus on what clients should understand before deciding who to trust with their financial future.

Understanding the Two Models

At a high level, most financial advisors fall into one of two categories:

  • Advisors affiliated with large firms such as banks, wirehouses, or broker-dealers
  • Advisors working at independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firms

While both can provide competent advice, the structure behind each model affects how decisions are made, how advice is delivered, and whose interests are prioritized.

How Large Firms Operate

Large financial institutions offer scale, brand recognition, and extensive research capabilities. For many advisors, they provide a structured environment with built-in compliance, oversight, and predefined investment platforms.

Rob Hoxton brings a unique perspective to this discussion. Over his 30-plus-year career, he has operated both as an independent advisor and as part of a large Wall Street firm, that experience revealed a key distinction.

In large organizations, many investment decisions, recommendations, and guardrails come from centralized committees. These committees may be far removed from the day-to-day realities of individual clients, especially those living outside major metropolitan areas.

This does not mean advisors at large firms are ineffective or untrustworthy. In fact, Rob emphasizes that many excellent advisors work in those environments. However, the structure itself limits how customized and locally responsive advice can be.

What Independence Really Means

Independent advisory firms operate differently.

At independent firm, decisions are often made at the local level with the specific client in mind. There are usual no centralized product mandates dictating what advisors can or cannot recommend.

Jimmy Sutch explains that many clients value this independence because it aligns incentives more clearly. Advisors are accountable directly to the client, not to a corporate hierarchy. In smaller communities, that accountability is amplified. Advisors see their clients at the grocery store, at community events, and at their children’s baseball games.

That proximity creates trust and responsibility in a way no national brand can replicate.

Fiduciary vs. Suitability Standards

One of the most important distinctions discussed in this episode is the difference between fiduciary and suitability standards.

A fiduciary is legally obligated to act in the client’s best interest at all times. Suitability, by contrast, requires only that a recommendation be appropriate, not necessarily optimal.

This distinction becomes murky when advisors operate in environments where they may act as a fiduciary in some situations but not others. Rob points out how confusing this can be for clients trying to determine when advice is truly conflict-free.

Independent RIAs typically operate under a fiduciary standard across all aspects of their work. For many clients, this clarity is a deciding factor.

Custody, Safeguards, and Misconceptions

A common concern when choosing a smaller firm is safety. Clients often ask whether independent advisors can offer the same protections as large institutions.

Rob and Jimmy address this directly. Independent advisors do not normally hold client assets themselves. Instead, assets are custodied at well-known third-party firms such as Fidelity or Charles Schwab. These custodians provide the same safeguards, reporting, and protections clients expect from large institutions.

This separation between advisor and custodian is intentional and plays a critical role in protecting clients from fraud or misuse of assets.

Conflicts of Interest and Transparency

No financial relationship is entirely free of conflict. Even an independent advisor wants a prospective client to say yes. The difference lies in disclosure and transparency.

Rob and Jimmy explain that commissions can still exist in certain products, particularly insurance solutions, even within a fiduciary framework. The key is that compensation is clearly disclosed and aligned with the client’s best interest, not hidden behind opaque structures.

Clients should feel comfortable asking how their advisor is compensated and why specific recommendations are being made.

The Changing Landscape of Independence

The episode also explores a newer trend. Private equity and consolidation are reshaping the advisory industry. Many firms still market themselves as “independent” while operating at a massive scale that closely resembles traditional broker-dealer models.

While these firms may technically qualify as RIAs, important decisions are often centralized, reducing the very independence clients believe they are getting.

Rob draws a clear distinction between independence in name and independence in practice.

What Should Clients Take Away?

This episode is not about steering everyone toward one model. Instead, it equips listeners with the right questions to ask.

  • Who ultimately makes decisions about my financial plan?
  • Is my advisor acting as a fiduciary at all times
  • Where are my assets held and who safeguards them?
  • How transparent is the compensation structure
  • How customized is the advice to my life and community?

Understanding these factors helps clients make confident, informed choices rather than relying on brand recognition alone.

Your Next Step

If you are currently evaluating financial advisors, or wondering whether your current relationship truly aligns with your best interests, clarity is the first step.

Hoxton Planning & Management offers a Retirement Readiness Checklist designed to help you evaluate your financial picture objectively. It can also serve as a useful framework when comparing advisory relationships.

You may also choose to schedule a complimentary conversation with the Hoxton team to ask questions, understand their process, and determine whether an independent approach is right for you.

Start with clarity.

Download the Retirement Readiness Checklist or schedule a meeting with us!
Download the Checklist
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.