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Form ADV Part 1A Item 5G(1) · Answer type: yn · Item 5G - Advisory Services
Item 5G(1) asks whether the firm provides financial planning services as part of its advisory business.
On Form ADV, “financial planning” means advice about a person’s overall financial picture - not only which securities to buy. That can include goals and cash-flow work, retirement or education funding sketches, tax-aware planning themes, insurance needs as they relate to a plan, estate-planning topics the adviser discusses, or a written financial plan. Firms use their own labels; the checkbox is the firm’s report that this service line exists.
Yes
The adviser reports offering financial planning (goals, cash flow, retirement or estate planning sketches, and similar advice) as part of its advisory business.
No
The firm does not report that service line on this checkbox. It may still manage portfolios, run seminars, or publish newsletters under other 5G boxes.
Financial planning on this line is not a separate government license by itself, and it is not a promise that every client receives a thick written plan. Some firms mark Yes and fold light planning into an asset-management relationship. Others mark Yes and sell planning as a distinct engagement. The checkbox does not say which model you will get.
Do not confuse 5G(1) with portfolio trading. 5G(2) is portfolio management for individuals and/or small businesses. A firm can be Yes on both (common), Yes only on planning, or Yes only on portfolio management. 5G(6) pension consulting and 5G(10) educational seminars are related advice-style boxes with narrower scopes.
5G(1) - Financial planning services (Yes / No).
This is one checkbox in Item 5G, “Advisory Services.” Firms mark each service they provide. Empty or No on a box means that service is not claimed on this checklist - not that the firm is inactive overall.
If you want help with goals, cash flow, or a written plan - not only portfolio trading - look for Yes on 5G(1). Many wealth firms that manage money also mark Yes. Some managers mark No and stay investment-only by their own report.
A Yes does not tell you:
Those details live in the firm’s client agreement and disclosures you receive when you engage - not in this single checkbox. Use 5G(1) as a service-mix signal, then confirm the engagement terms with the firm.
Yes
The firm reports providing financial planning services. On Best Investors, find Item 5G on the firm’s ADV form and confirm 5G(1) is Yes. Then skim neighboring 5G rows to see whether planning sits next to portfolio management, pension work, or “Other.” Ask the firm how planning is delivered and priced before you assume a full plan is included.
No
The firm does not report financial planning on Item 5G(1). If you need planning, either look for another firm with Yes here, or confirm whether a Yes on 5G(12) Other (when present) describes a custom planning-like service in the firm’s own words.
Compare the same ADV panel’s total regulatory AUM for scale, and fee-related Item 5 answers when you care how the firm gets paid. The item code 5G(1) sits in the left column of the firm’s ADV form on Best Investors.