Fee-only financial advisors in North Carolina

275 fee-only investment advisers in North Carolina serve individuals, across 55 cities. 215 offer hourly or flat-fee arrangements and 149 are registered with the SEC; the rest are registered with the state securities regulator. Each listing comes from the firm’s own Form ADV filing, as of November 6, 2026.

Cities with three or more fee-only advisers

• Charlotte 60
• Raleigh 42
• Chapel Hill 20
• Greensboro 16
• Winston Salem 14
• Asheville 11
• Durham 11
• Wilmington 10
• Cary 9
• Apex 5
• Southern Pines 5
• Matthews 5
• Mooresville 5
• Hickory 4
• Rocky Mount 3
• Concord 3
• Sanford 3
• Greenville 3

Fee-only advisers in North Carolina serving the most individuals

• Guardian Wealth Advisors, LLC Raleigh · 2,123 individual clients
• Woodard & Co Asset Management Group Inc Bermuda Run · 1,806 individual clients
• Phoenix Wealth Advisors Inc. Chapel Hill · 1,538 individual clients
• Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Charlotte · 1,537 individual clients
• Salem Investment Counselors Inc Winston Salem · 1,294 individual clients
• Beacon Wealthcare LLC Raleigh · 908 individual clients
• Financial Symmetry Inc. Raleigh · 872 individual clients
• Whitener Capital Management, Inc Rocky Mount · 800 individual clients
• Novare Capital Management Charlotte · 757 individual clients
• Mauney-Pitt Financial Management, Inc. Shelby · 700 individual clients

Other North Carolina cities

How to choose between them

1. Decide how you want to pay. Hourly and flat-fee planners suit people who want a plan and will implement it themselves. A percentage-of-assets fee buys ongoing investment management; on $1 million at 1% that is $10,000 a year, every year.
2. Check the SEC record. Each listing links to the firm’s page on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site, where you can read the Form ADV Part 2 brochure (fees, minimums, conflicts) and any disciplinary history.
3. Ask who you will actually work with and what credentials they hold. The advisor versus consultant guide explains which titles are regulated and which are marketing.
4. Ask about minimums. Form ADV Part 1 does not record account minimums, so they are not shown here. Many asset-based firms require $500,000 or more; hourly planners usually have none.
5. Get the fee in writing before you sign, including fund expenses and any platform or custody charges on top.