The difference between a broker, a planner, and a financial strategist

Three roles, often blurred together

People use "broker," "planner," and "advisor" almost interchangeably, but they can describe quite different jobs. The titles aren't tightly regulated, so what matters is what a person actually does and how they're compensated. Here's a plain-language way to tell them apart.

The broker

A broker is generally transaction-oriented: they help you buy a product — a policy, an annuity, an investment — and are often compensated when you do. That's not a knock; a good broker delivers a suitable product efficiently. The limitation is scope. If someone's role is to sell you one kind of thing, their view of your situation tends to end where that product does.

The planner

A financial planner usually takes a wider view, building a written plan around your goals — retirement, education, protection — and how your finances fit together. Planners may be compensated by fees, commissions, or a combination. The strength is the plan; the question to ask is whether the plan gets coordinated and executed, or whether it sits in a binder.

The financial strategist

As the term is used here, a financial strategist focuses on coordination. Your financial life doesn't happen in one place — you likely have a CPA for taxes, an attorney for estate documents, and various accounts and policies. A strategist acts as a single strategic point of contact, making sure those professionals and pieces are pulling in the same direction rather than each optimizing their own corner. The value isn't a product; it's that the whole plan is connected.

Importantly, a strategist isn't a substitute for your CPA or attorney — Tony is not a CPA or an attorney. The role is to coordinate those experts, not replace them.

How to decide what you need

Match the help to the complexity. If your situation is simple, a single product or a straightforward plan may be all you need. As the moving parts multiply — a business, an estate, equity compensation, several professionals who never talk to each other — coordination becomes the thing that's actually missing, and that's where a strategist earns their place.

Whoever you choose, ask the same grounding questions: How are you paid? What are you licensed to do? Do you coordinate with my other professionals? How do you handle conflicts? The answers reveal far more than the title.

Your next step

Take an honest inventory of how connected your financial life is right now. If your tax, legal, insurance, and planning decisions are being made in isolation, the gap you're feeling is coordination — and that's worth addressing directly.