Looking for a Financial Advisor for Asian Americans?

As an Asian American, you may be thinking about hiring a financial advisor who understands your heritage, family priorities, and unique financial planning needs. Fortunately, an increasing number of financial advisors specialize in serving Asian American clients.

Before hiring a financial advisor, it’s important to first consider your own financial planning priorities. In this guide, we’ll share a few quick tips to help you get started in your search and introduce you to financial advisors featured on Wealthtender you may want to add to your shortlist.

Get to Know Financial Advisors for Asian Americans

Click on a pin in the map view below for a preview of financial advisors who can help you reach your money goals with a personalized plan. Or choose the grid view to search our directory of financial advisors with additional filtering options.

Smart Tips for Finding a Financial Advisor for Asian Americans

Before hiring a financial advisor, here are a few quick tips to help you find the best advisor for you.

1. Decide Which Services You Need

Before hiring an advisor, determine what services you need from them. Whether it’s full-service investment management or a plan focused on a specific area of your finances, put together a list of what you’d like help with before contacting an advisor.

Though most people use a financial planner simply to invest for retirement, this is only a small part of what many advisors offer. Here’s a quick rundown of potential services a financial advisor may offer you:

• Budgeting and money management
• Debt management
• Insurance planning
• Retirement planning
• Other investment planning
• Inheritance planning
• Estate planning
• Tax planning

As you can see, financial advisors can help you with your entire financial picture, not just investing. As you start to plan for life’s bigger milestones, you should consider finding a financial advisor that specializes in those areas.

Finding the right advisor can help you minimize risk, maximize gains and take advantage of tax breaks while investing for your future. They can also help you protect your assets with the right kinds of insurance and help you pass on your financial legacy with a proper estate plan.

2. Consider Your Budget and Payment Preferences

Once you have a list of services you would like, review the fee structures financial advisors offer. Finding a balance between the services you need and the cost of those services will help narrow down the field of advisors you may want to work with.

If you are looking for a full-service advisor to manage all of your investments, consider searching among fee-based financial advisors. If you want to manage your money yourself, consider the flat fee and monthly subscription advisors for ongoing support.

3. Interview Multiple Financial Advisors

Once you have chosen the services and fee structure you prefer, it’s time to contact a few advisors and interview them. Here are questions to ask financial advisors:

• What services do you provide?
• What are all the ways you get paid? (fee transparency)
• What is your investment strategy?
• How do you measure investment performance?
• How do we communicate about my plan?

Interview multiple advisors to get a feel for who you want to work with. A combination of fees, services, and customer service will help you determine the best fit for your financial advice.

4. Review Financial Advisor Credentials

Once you find an advisor (or two) you feel comfortable with, it’s always a good practice to check their credentials and the firm’s details. You can do this at the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website. 

You can check both the individual and the firm to view their background and experience details, as well as any disciplinary action taken against them or their firm.

As licensed financial professionals, there is oversight into how financial advisors conduct business, so running a quick (free) check on them is recommended.

For additional information about advisor credentials, read our article to learn the most popular designations held by financial advisors, as well as specialized credentials which may be important to consider if you have unique financial planning needs.

Quick Facts About Asian Americans

The following facts come from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, using the most recent data available.

• 26.8 million: The number of Asian alone-or-in-combination residents in the United States in 2024.
• 5.8 million: The number of people of Chinese (except Taiwanese) descent in 2024, the largest Asian group, followed by Asian Indian (5.6 million), Filipino (5.0 million), Vietnamese (2.4 million), Korean (2.2 million) and Japanese (1.7 million).
• 2.4%: The percentage of the Asian alone-or-in-combination population who are military veterans in 2024.
• 57.7%: The percentage of the Asian alone-or-in-combination population age 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2024.
• 684,916: The number of Asian-owned employer firms in the United States in 2023.

The 10 States Where Asian Americans Make Up the Largest Share of the Population

1. Hawaii (36.4%)
2. California (15.3%)
3. New Jersey (10.0%)
4. Washington (9.7%)
5. New York (9.0%)
6. Nevada (8.8%)
7. Massachusetts (7.3%)
8. Virginia (6.9%)
9. Maryland (6.5%)
10. Alaska (6.4%)

Profile of Asian Americans

Overview (Demographics): This racial group includes people with origins in any of the original peoples of East Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. In 2024, an estimated 19.7 million people in the United States identified as non-Hispanic Asian alone, about 5.9% of the total population.

Language Fluency: In 2024, about 72% of Asian Americans age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home, and nearly 30% said they speak English less than very well.

Educational Attainment: In 2024, about 88% of Asian Americans age 25 and older had at least a high school diploma, and about 58% held a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Economics: In 2024, the median household income for Asian American households was $116,503, compared with $80,734 for all U.S. households. Nearly 10% of Asian American families lived in poverty, compared with about 13% of all U.S. families.

Insurance Coverage: In 2024, about 94% of Asian Americans had health insurance coverage, compared with 92% of the total U.S. population.

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