Your Average Advisor Is Happier than Your Average American

Don’t worry, be happy.

It’s the kind of advice that lacks credibility unless you apply it to yourself first. Fortunately, advisors, who spend much of their time trying to keep clients satisfied, may get a boost from the satisfaction many report getting from their own work

On the Cantril Ladder — a survey scale used to determine happiness and life satisfaction — advisors averaged 7.3 out of a top score of 10 in 2025, up from 6.8 in 2023, according to the latest Kitces Advisor Wellbeing report. In previous years, advisors’ wellbeing levels roughly matched those of the broader US population. Now, advisors are reporting notably higher satisfaction, suggesting financial advice is becoming an increasingly appealing profession.

“Understanding what drives advisor wellbeing is important, not only because it helps to improve the day-to-day experience of individual advisors, but also because low wellbeing across a firm’s advisor base significantly increases the risk of turnover,” it said in the report. And when advisors leave, clients often go with them, reducing profitability and growth..

What Makes Advisors Happy?

There are five key drivers of wellbeing among advisors. The first is experience, with  advisors who have spent more time in the industry, or who began their careers at successful or purpose-driven firms, tending to report higher satisfaction. Those who transitioned into financial advice from another career were actually among the happiest. The second factor is the workplace environment. Firms with modern technology stacks and supportive teams tend to foster happier advisors. The report found that 25% of advisors with low tech-stack satisfaction are at high risk of turnover within five years, compared with just 1% of advisors who are satisfied with their technology.

“For me, team and company culture is where my joy and happiness derives,” said Francheska Ruiz, a CFP at Tobias Financial Advisors. She added that as a mother of two children, having flexible hours and the ability to work from home is important to her. “Having a leadership team that is transparent and constantly lifting their teammates goes a long way,” she told Advisor Upside.

Other wellbeing drivers include:

• Autonomy: Advisors value control over their schedules and their level of ownership in the business.
• Revenue per hour: Many advisors seek to move upmarket while working fewer than 40 hours a week. The “sweet spot” for wellbeing typically falls between 40 and 100 client households, with the ideal number decreasing as client wealth increases.
• Having Enough: Advisor wellbeing rises with income, but only to a point. The report finds satisfaction generally increases until about $500,000 in take-home income, after which it plateaus.

When salary and business growth come at the expense of the underlying relationship-centered goals that often motivate advisors in the first place, happiness tends to decline. “Advisors stuck on an endless treadmill of new goals may never feel satisfied,” the report said. “If ‘enough’ is always just out of reach, there’s no true finish line.”