Research
What the public record shows about how financial firms disclose, and what those disclosures line up with. Built from SEC and FINRA filings anyone can retrieve.
We publish a research note about once a month. Each one states its method in full, names its limitations, and reports the tests that did not hold up alongside the ones that did. Figures are versioned; when a number changes, the old one stays visible with an explanation.
Note 03•September 2026•Data note
The Apps Took the Customers. They Did Not Take the Money.
Forty firms deliver advice through an app to 13.4 million Americans — about one in six retail advisory relationships in the United States. Those same firms hold 0.59% of the assets. Both numbers come from the same filings, and they point in opposite directions.
Read the note →Note 04•September 2026•Data note
The Robo-Advisors That Don't Call Themselves Robo-Advisors
The SEC has a checkbox for internet advisers. Acorns, Stash, Betterment, Wealthfront, SoFi and Robinhood all leave it blank. Reading Form ADV structurally instead of taking the declaration at face value finds 40 firms managing money for 13.2 million Americans — with 454 people doing the advising.
Read the note →Note 02•August 2026•Policy note
The Award on the Wall
Advisor awards are usually free to win and expensive to display. The winner buys the right to tell you about it, which means the news travels exactly as far as the recognized party is willing to pay to carry it. This note explains what Fidelon does instead, and states in full what an advisor can and cannot buy from us.
Read the note →Note 01•August 2026•20,092 firms
Most Regulatory Records Are Paperwork. Some Are a Client Who Lost Money.
About one advisory firm in eleven has something on its public regulatory record, and most of it is administrative. Among the firms whose own conduct is on that record, the ones Fidelon scores below 60 for disclosure clarity had a matter where clients lost money 27.5% of the time — against 5.6% for firms scoring 80 or above.
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Fidelon scores what firms actually disclose, not what they should disclose. Our methodology is public. Our scores are not for sale, and no firm can pay to change one.