Advisor Selection
How to Read Form ADV and Form CRS as a Physician
By the Attend Wealth team · Updated August 2026 · 7 min read
Every registered investment adviser files these. Almost no prospective client reads them. They contain the answers advisors are sometimes reluctant to volunteer.
Quick answer
Form CRS is a two-page client relationship summary covering services, fees, conflicts, and disciplinary history. Form ADV Part 2A is the longer brochure. For compensation questions, read Item 5 (fees), Item 10 (other affiliations), Item 11 (conflicts and code of ethics), and Item 14 (compensation from third parties). Both are free at adviserinfo.sec.gov.
Where to find them
Go to adviserinfo.sec.gov and search the firm name. The results show registration status, the firm's Form ADV, any disciplinary disclosures, and the individual advisors registered with it. It is free and takes about two minutes.
You can also ask the firm directly. A firm that hesitates to send its Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS before a second meeting has answered a question you did not have to ask.
Form CRS: the two-page version
Form CRS is deliberately short and written in plain language. It covers what services the firm offers, what you will pay, what conflicts exist, how the firm's professionals are compensated, and whether the firm or its people have legal or disciplinary history.
It also contains a set of conversation starters the SEC requires firms to include, such as 'How might your conflicts of interest affect me, and how will you address them?' Those are worth asking verbatim.
The four items that matter most in Part 2A
Item 5 covers fees and compensation, including how fees are calculated, billed, and whether they are negotiable. Item 10 discloses other financial industry affiliations, which is where insurance agency affiliations appear. Item 11 covers the code of ethics, participation in client transactions, and personal trading. Item 14 covers compensation received from anyone other than the client.
For a fee-based firm, Items 10 and 14 are where the insurance commission arrangement is described. If you want to know what a firm earns beyond your advisory fee, that is where to look, and vague language there is meaningful.
- Item 5: fees and compensation, including negotiability
- Item 9: disciplinary information
- Item 10: other affiliations, including insurance agencies
- Item 11: code of ethics and conflicts
- Item 14: compensation from third parties
Reading disciplinary disclosures without overreacting
A single customer complaint from fifteen years ago on a large firm's record is different from a pattern of similar complaints or a regulatory action. Read what the disclosure actually says rather than reacting to its presence.
Patterns matter more than isolated events: repeated complaints about the same product type, multiple terminations, or any regulatory finding involving misrepresentation of compensation.
What to do with what you find
Bring it to the meeting. Asking 'your Form ADV Item 14 describes third-party compensation, can you walk me through what that means for my situation?' produces a substantially more useful conversation than asking whether the firm is fee-only.
It also signals that you read the documents, which changes how the rest of the conversation goes.
Related physician planning questions
What is Form CRS?
Form CRS is a two-page client relationship summary that registered investment advisers and broker-dealers must provide to retail investors. It covers services, fees, conflicts of interest, how professionals are compensated, and disciplinary history, written in plain language.
Where do I find an advisor's Form ADV?
Search the firm at adviserinfo.sec.gov, the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database. It is free and shows registration status, the full Form ADV, and any disciplinary disclosures.
Which parts of Form ADV Part 2A cover advisor compensation?
Item 5 covers fees, Item 10 covers other financial industry affiliations including insurance agencies, Item 11 covers conflicts and the code of ethics, and Item 14 covers compensation received from parties other than the client.
Should a disciplinary disclosure disqualify an advisor?
Not necessarily. Read what it says. An isolated customer complaint from years ago differs from a pattern of similar complaints or a regulatory finding involving misrepresentation. Patterns matter more than the presence of a single item.
Related insights
- Fee-Based vs. Fee-Only Financial Advisor for Physicians
- Is a Fee-Based Advisor a Fiduciary?
- Advisor Compensation Red Flags Every Physician Should Know
- Browse the full archive
See how this fits into a physician-focused plan.
Attend Wealth helps physicians connect planning, taxes, investing, insurance, and retirement decisions into one strategy. If you want help applying this topic to your own loans, taxes, investments, or retirement plan, schedule a complimentary conversation.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. Attend Wealth is a registered investment adviser and acts as a fiduciary to its advisory clients. Attend Wealth is fee-based: in addition to advisory fees, our advisors are licensed insurance professionals and may receive commissions on insurance policies placed through carriers including Guardian, MassMutual, Ameritas, Principal, The Standard, and Lloyd's. That compensation creates a conflict of interest. We describe it, and how we address it, in our Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS, available at adviserinfo.sec.gov or on request. Please consult a qualified professional about your specific situation.