Put Consumers in Charge of Finding Advisors with Brian Thorp | Financial Planner Search

<p>In this episode of Financial Planner Search, Brian Thorp, founder of WealthTender, discusses why most people who never work with a financial advisor still distrust the profession and how online reviews and consumer-controlled search can change that. <br /><br />After 22+ years in corporate wealth management, Brian built WealthTender as one of the first platforms where Americans can read advisor reviews the way they already do for doctors and attorneys, once SEC rules finally allowed client testimonials.<br /></p><p>Brian walks through the perception gap that still defines the industry: people who work with advisors are overwhelmingly happy, while people who don’t often rate the profession lower than auto mechanics—because for decades the loudest stories were the bad actors on the nightly news. He explains why reviews almost never talk about investment performance, why consumers should stay in control instead of filling out forms that get sold to multiple advisors, and why searching for an advisor “for me” (special needs, large-employer transitions, business owners) often beats “near me.” He also shares how WealthTender is building advisor profiles and Voice of the Client awards so the right matches show up not only on <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://wealthtender.com" target="_blank">wealthtender.com</a>, but inside ChatGPT, Gemini, and AI search answers.<br /></p><p><b>Takeaways</b></p><p>* Why advisor perception lags the lived experience of people who actually work with one</p><p>* Putting consumers in charge instead of selling their contact info to the highest bidders</p><p>* Searching “for me” before filtering down to “near me”</p><p>* What client reviews actually say (confidence, catalysts, and how an advisor makes them feel)</p><p>* Positioning advisors for AI discovery and recognizing best-in-class with Voice of the Client awards<br /></p><p><b>Chapters</b></p><p>* 00:00 Meet Brian Thorp and the origin of WealthTender</p><p>* 03:01 Why advisors get ranked below auto mechanics</p><p>* 05:04 Reviews are about experience, not performance</p><p>* 07:27 The Dallas advisor brought to tears by client reviews</p><p>* 09:11 Consumer control vs. lead-selling “find an advisor” sites</p><p>* 11:24 Find an advisor for you, not just near you</p><p>* 15:12 What shoppers care about—and how AI changes discovery</p><p>* 20:14 Building profiles that actually reflect the advisor</p><p>* 27:28 Vision: AI search and Voice of the Client awards<br /></p><p>You can find them at: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.wealthtender.com/" target="_blank">https://www.wealthtender.com/</a><br /></p><p>If you are a financial advisor looking to grow your business you can find out more about Wilnau Design at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.wilnaudesign.com/" target="_blank">https://www.wilnaudesign.com/</a><br /></p><p>#financialplanning #finance #financialplannersearch #advisorreviews #findanadvisor</p>