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Editorial Policy 2026: Clear Money Guide Standards

Clear Money Guide

Trust & transparency

Review the standards, policies and ways to contact Clear Money Guide.

Editorial standardsReview the publishing and sourcing standard.CorrectionsSee how factual changes are handled.ContactAsk a question or flag an issue.

Updated June 28, 2026. Clear Money Guide helps readers compare financial advisor fees, financial planning costs, retirement-planning decisions, and local advisor-fee guides in plain annual dollars.

What we cover

  • Financial advisor fee models, including AUM, flat annual fees, monthly retainers, hourly work, project fees, commissions, and blended arrangements.
  • Calculators and guides that turn percentage quotes into annual dollar costs, including the Financial Advisor Fee Calculator.
  • Local financial advisor and retirement planner guides that explain fee questions, scope questions, and planning prompts for specific cities, counties, metros, and states.

How we create and review content

  • We use public fee schedules, Form ADV disclosures, regulator materials, advisor pricing pages, market benchmarks, and internal calculator math to create educational comparisons.
  • We focus on total first-year cost, written scope, fiduciary status, conflicts, implementation help, and what a reader should ask before an intro call.
  • Major pages include visible update dates. High-traffic fee, calculator, retirement, and location pages are reviewed regularly as search data and market pricing change.

Independence and disclosures

  • Clear Money Guide does not sell rankings, directory placement, reviews, or endorsements on location pages.
  • Some links may be affiliate or referral links. Sponsored links are labeled in code with rel="nofollow sponsored" where applicable.
  • Affiliate relationships do not determine our fee math, page topics, examples, editorial conclusions, or whether we publish corrections.

Corrections and limitations

If you see an error, use the Corrections process or the Contact page. Clear Money Guide is educational only and does not provide personalized financial, tax, legal, insurance, or investment advice. See the Disclaimer and Affiliate Disclosure.