What Should Entrepreneurs Look for in a Financial Advisor?

Key Takeaways:

• Recent survey shows top entrepreneurs tend to rely heavily on referrals to find their financial advisors.
• Many business owners are self-directed in making financial decisions—but want their advisors to offer reality checks.
• Consider whether you prefer using one advisor or multiple advisors.

Successful entrepreneurs often rely on a variety of financial professionals to help them manage their businesses and their personal wealth. Such experts can be valuable resources and sounding boards when it comes to mitigating financial risks, identifying (and positioning to capture) financial opportunities and preserving the wealth that business owners have worked hard to build.

If you’re reading this, chances are you work with one or more professionals who advise you on business and money matters. But are you getting what you want and need from those professionals? And if you’re searching for new or additional resources, what are some selection factors that you might consider?

To answer such questions, CEG Insights surveyed 2,049 entrepreneurs from a variety of industries and published the findings in its 2024 report Unlocking Entrepreneurial Markets. The findings offer important insights into business owners’ experiences with—and attitudes about—financial advisors. This information may help you better assess your existing advisor relationships and think about what matters most to you as you work with financial professionals who can potentially improve your outcomes.

Entrepreneurs’ perception of value

Exhibit 1 shows that entrepreneurs overall indicated that trustworthiness and expertise are, far and away, the most valued features of their primary financial advisors—with trustworthiness just slightly more valued (62.4%) than expertise (60.6%). Personalized service and strong advisor-client communication were cited as top traits by more than 40% of business owners. Financial advisors’ comprehensive planning and proactive approach were most valued by around one-third of entrepreneurs.

When focusing on entrepreneurs with $5 million or more in net worth, expert advice is the primary expectation (60.4%), while trust and transparency (47.3%) actually ranks lower than personalized service (48.5%). So while a significant proportion of entrepreneurs reported valuing trust, the higher-net-worth individuals appear to place a slightly greater emphasis on the quality of the advice they get.

Nearly half of these entrepreneurs value personalized service (48.5%), showing a clear preference for advisors who tailor their strategies to individual needs. Proactive communication is also a key factor for 46.9% of the $5 million-plus entrepreneurs, signifying the importance they place on advisors’ initiating discussions and anticipating needs.

The similarity among both of these groups of entrepreneurs in prioritizing expert advice indicates universal respect for knowledge, whereas the difference in the value placed on trust and transparency hints at varying expectations based on an entrepreneur’s net worth—possibly due to the complexity and risk associated with managing larger wealth portfolios.

One action step to consider: Think about the traits, characteristics and features of professional advisors that you value most, and assess how the people you work with—or any you’re thinking of working with—measure up.

Finding advisors

Given the complexities of running an enterprise, it’s likely that at some point you may need to find additional advisors with expertise in specific areas.

If you’re like many of your peers, you’ll look to people you know and trust to identify those resources. Referrals were reported to be the primary method that 44% of entrepreneurs use to find advisors (see Exhibit 2). Another 30.4% say their main approach is asking their professional network connections for candidates.

In contrast, online research and finding advisors through advertising are methods that have not gained traction with the vast majority of entrepreneurs. Notably, use of online resources is low even among the more tech-savvy generations of entrepreneurs: Only around 10% of both Gen Z and Millennial business owner respondents said they find their advisors online.

The survey findings suggest that the entrepreneurial community values a strong reputation and personal endorsement in their financial advisory relationships—suggesting that in high-stakes finance, the personal touch and credibility reign supreme. According to the survey, this tendency is particularly prevalent among business owners with a net worth of $5 million or more. Such entrepreneurs actively favor advisors recommended by their peers or those vetted through their professional circles, underscoring the critical role of trust and proven expertise in their selection process.

Of course, there is no “perfect” way to find advisors. For example, online research may not be a common approach—but that doesn’t mean it’s automatically a poor route to take. Going forward, ask yourself these questions:

• How do your methods of identifying high-quality advisors line up with the methods used by the majority of other entrepreneurs?
• Do you feel your approach to finding advisors is optimal, based on the professionals you have met?
• How comfortable do you feel going to your industry peers or other close personal or business relationships and asking them for referrals to high-quality advisors?
• Does your network include an adequate number of people who you feel know and work with top professionals who may be helpful in your endeavors?

The role of advisors in entrepreneurs’ lives

It may be especially helpful to see some ways in which other successful entrepreneurs look to (even rely on) financial advisors for insights, guidance and solutions.

Overall, the extent to which business owners depend on advisors varies significantly, as you might assume. For example, most entrepreneurs surveyed labeled themselves as “self-directed.” That means they tend to make most financial decisions themselves while periodically consulting with advisors—to test and validate their decision or to see if they’re overlooking important insights. These individuals often look to advisors mainly for specialized expertise and analysis, or as a sounding board for their ideas.

In the entrepreneurial landscape, 40.8% describe themselves as self-directed—indicating a preference for autonomy in decision-making (see Exhibit 3). That’s not surprising, given their position as business owners.

Nonetheless, 29.3% reported preferring an advisor-assisted approach—leaning on professional guidance for financial strategies. Nearly a quarter (23.3%) of entrepreneurs reported being event-driven, suggesting specific life events or business milestones influence their financial decisions. Only a tiny fraction (6.6%) identify as fully advisor-dependent and rely heavily or even entirely on their advisors for financial direction.

What’s more, when it comes to working with their advisors, the majority of entrepreneurs—56.9%—indicated preferring one advisor for advice on both their personal and business needs (see Exhibit 4). In short, the survey findings suggest business owners generally seek a unified financial approach rather than a group of disparate professionals. A much smaller, but significant, percentage of entrepreneurs (30.9%) reported preferring different advisors for business and personal needs.

Respondents indicated that the single reason for using one advisor is that it helps entrepreneurs align their goals (35.5%). Efficiency and improved communication were other reasons given. Meanwhile, the most cited reason for using different advisors is that it allows the entrepreneurs to gain more specialization (34.1%). 

Consider your own situation as you review these findings.

• Do you prefer your advisors to serve as a sounding board for your own ideas, or would you rather rely heavily on advisors for strategies and implementation?
• Does it make sense to have one advisor address both your professional financial needs and your personal wealth goals?

Conclusion

The financial advice you receive can significantly impact your success and net worth. Knowing how other business owners view the role of financial advisors in their lives may help clarify your own preferences regarding your relationships with such advisors. Armed with a clear picture of what you want and don’t want, you can take steps to ensure you’re getting the help that feels right to you.