Best financial planning software for advisors (SEC and FINRA)
Five planning tools read the way a compliance officer reads them: does the tool keep the plan you delivered, can you file a copy, does it carry the Marketing Rule's projection disclosures, and who audits the vendor that holds your clients' finances. Each cell says what the vendor's own pages state, and where they are silent.
Reviewed October 2026
Best overall
MoneyGuide
Its own FAQ says client reports can be saved in a Report History and as PDFs, and that a firm's own disclosure text prints on client reports. It stores no Social Security or account numbers.
Read the review of MoneyGuideBest for sharing plans through a client portal
RightCapital
Snapshot summaries go out through the secure client portal or as a PDF, and its disclosure page states that its output is hypothetical and how its Monte Carlo assumptions are built.
Read the review of RightCapitalBest for tax planning beside the main plan
Holistiplan
It reads an uploaded tax return into a shareable report, keeps Social Security numbers out of its database, and documents its tax insights in Redtail.
Read the review of Holistiplan
The comparison table
| Vendor | Keeps the reports it delivers204-2(a)(7)(i); 17a-4(b)(4) | A copy the firm can file204-2(g)(2)(ii) | States projection assumptions and limits206(4)-1(e)(8)(ii)(A) | Names an independent security audit248.30(a)(5) | Names the CRMs it connects to | Names the firms it is built for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MoneyGuideGoals-based planning | Meets Reports saved in Report History | Meets Client Reports save as PDF files | Partial The firm's disclosures print on reports | Partial Data centre SOC 2 Type II | Meets Redtail, Wealthbox, Practifi | Partial Advisers; firm types not named |
RightCapitalPlanning and tax tools | Partial Snapshots shared; a history not stated | Meets Snapshot as a PDF | Meets Hypothetical; Monte Carlo assumptions | Partial Cloud hosts' SOC reports; its own not named | Meets Redtail, Wealthbox, SmartOffice | Partial RIA and LPL adviser case studies |
HolistiplanTax planning | Partial Shareable report; files can be deleted | Partial Shareable report; format not stated | Check with vendor Tax projections, not return simulations | Partial Penetration tests and code reviews | Meets Redtail, Wealthbox | Partial Financial advisers and tax pros |
Asset-MapVisual planning | Partial One-page report; history not stated | Check with vendor Reports shared; format not stated | Not stated | Meets SOC 2 Type II, independently audited | Partial Open architecture; CRMs not named | Meets Broker-dealer, RIA and hybrid RIA |
eMoney AdvisorPlanning and client portal | Partial Portal document storage; report history not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Meets SOC 2 audit; annual assessments | Meets Redtail, Wealthbox, Advyzon | Meets Banks, broker-dealers and RIAs |
Which planning records the rules reach
For an SEC-registered adviser (RIA), the record rule that reaches a financial plan is the one on written communications:
By our reading, a plan or plan summary you send a client is advice given in writing, so the copy you sent is the record. It is kept “for a period of not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year during which the last entry was made on such record, the first two years in an appropriate office of the investment adviser” (204-2(e)(1)). The full list of adviser records is in Rule 204-2, the adviser books and records rule.
The live plan is not the record
Planning software recalculates. Change one input next spring and last year's projection is gone from the screen, so the tool's live plan cannot stand in for what the client was shown. What you can produce is the report as delivered: a PDF in the client file, or a saved copy inside the tool. That is why the first column asks whether a vendor keeps the reports it delivers. Of the five, only MoneyGuide's own pages describe a saved report history; the others describe sharing, not keeping.
When the SEC asks, an adviser must provide promptly “A legible, true, and complete copy of the record in the medium and format in which it is stored” (204-2(g)(2)(ii)). A PDF you filed meets that more easily than a plan you would have to rebuild.
Broker-dealer reps (BD)
A registered rep's plan is a communication of the broker-dealer. Rule 17a-4(b)(4) reaches all communications “relating to its business as such”, kept “for a period of not less than three years, the first two years in an easily accessible place”. A plan that leads to a recommendation to a retail customer also sits under Regulation Best Interest, whose care obligation is one of its four parts (17 CFR 240.15l-1(a)(2)). Ask your broker-dealer which planning tools it has approved before you buy one.
Projections, Monte Carlo and the Marketing Rule
The Marketing Rule (RIA) counts “Targeted or projected performance returns” as hypothetical performance (206(4)-1(e)(8)). Its definition of an advertisement covers a communication “to one or more persons if the communication includes hypothetical performance” when it offers advisory services to prospective clients. So a projection shown to a prospect to win the account can be an advertisement, even when it goes to one person.
The rule carves out planning tools, on four conditions:
The duties fall on the adviser, not the vendor, but the software decides how easy they are. The third column reads Meets where a vendor's own pages carry the methodology and hypothetical wording. RightCapital's disclosure page does: any output is “hypothetical”, and its Monte Carlo defaults come from “historical return data of market indices”. MoneyGuide lets a firm print its own disclosure text on its client reports, which is where the four conditions can live. Whether a given plan for an existing client is an advertisement at all is a question for your CCO or counsel.
Our guide to the SEC Marketing Rule covers hypothetical performance in full, and the Marketing Rule ad review checklist turns it into a review step.
Tax planning software for financial advisors
Three of the five sell tax planning. Holistiplan does only that: it reads a client's tax return PDF and returns a shareable tax report with scenario analysis. RightCapital builds it into the plan (Roth conversions, tax-efficient withdrawals, a Tax Analyzer), and its home page says it can “connect tax return data to clients' financial plans”. MoneyGuide lists tax planning among its plan features.
A tax return is the most sensitive file a planning tool will hold. Regulation S-P names a Social Security number as an example of sensitive customer information, the kind whose compromise “could create a reasonably likely risk of substantial harm or inconvenience” (17 CFR 248.30(d)(9)). Holistiplan's FAQ says Social Security numbers “are NOT stored in this database” and stay on the uploaded PDF, and that you may redact them before upload. MoneyGuide says it does not collect or store them at all.
Client data, the vendor and Regulation S-P
A planning vendor holds your clients' finances, so under Regulation S-P (SEC-registered RIAs and broker-dealers) it is a service provider: any entity that “receives, maintains, processes, or otherwise is permitted access to customer information” through its services to you. Your written policies must oversee it, and must be reasonably designed to make sure it tells you of a breach “as soon as possible, but no later than 72 hours after becoming aware” of it (248.30(a)(5)). Smaller firms had to comply with the amended rule by June 3, 2026.
The fourth column reads Meets where a vendor names an independent audit of its own service. eMoney names a “SOC 2 audit” and Asset-Map says it is “SOC 2 Type II certified and independently audited”. MoneyGuide names its data centre's SOC 2 Type II, RightCapital the reports of its cloud hosts, and Holistiplan penetration tests and code reviews. Ask each for the report itself and for the breach-notice clause in the contract. The whole rule is in Regulation S-P for advisers and broker-dealers.
Getting plans into the CRM and the archive
None of the five names an archiving vendor on the pages we read. A delivered plan reaches your records in one of three ways: it goes out by email and your email archive keeps it; the planning tool files it to the CRM; or someone saves the PDF to the client file by hand. The CRM route is the one the vendors name. Wealthbox's integrations page names MoneyGuide, RightCapital and eMoney; Redtail names eMoney, and Holistiplan writes its tax insights into Redtail. Redtail also sells its own email archive.
Pick the route before you pick the tool, and write it into your procedures. The CRMs are compared on these record jobs in the best CRM for financial advisors, the archives in the best email archiving software, and the whole stack layer by layer in the best software for financial advisors.
Each vendor, read against the rule
MoneyGuide
Goals-based planning- What it is
- Envestnet's goals-based planning software, sold as Dash, MoneyGuide and Wealth Studios. Its FAQ says “Reports can be saved in ‘Report History’”, that a Client Report opens as a PDF you can save to your own computer, and that “Advisors can enter disclosure information that will print on Client Reports”. Its security page says it does not collect or store Social Security, credit card or account numbers.
- Who it fits
- A firm that wants the delivered plan, not only the live one, kept inside the tool, with its own disclosure text on its client reports. Its integration list names Redtail, Wealthbox, Practifi and Orion.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Keeps the reports it deliversMeetsReports saved in Report History
- A copy the firm can fileMeetsClient Reports save as PDF files
- States projection assumptions and limitsPartialThe firm's disclosures print on reports
- Names an independent security auditPartialData centre SOC 2 Type II
- Names the CRMs it connects toMeetsRedtail, Wealthbox, Practifi
- Names the firms it is built forPartialAdvisers; firm types not named
- Not verified by us
- How long Report History keeps a report and whether a later edit overwrites it, and a SOC 2 report for the application itself (its page names the data centre's SOC 2 Type II).
RightCapital
Planning and tax tools- What it is
- Planning software with tax tools (Roth conversions, tax-efficient withdrawals, a Tax Analyzer). Its Snapshot page says a one-page summary is shared “from the secure Client Portal or as a PDF”. Its disclosure page says “Any information generated by RightCapital is hypothetical, does not reflect actual investment results, and does not guarantee future results”, and explains how its Monte Carlo return assumptions are built.
- Who it fits
- Advisers who share plans online and want the hypothetical-results wording already written. Its own case studies name an adviser who started his own RIA and an LPL adviser. Its home page offers a 14-day free trial.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Keeps the reports it deliversPartialSnapshots shared; a history not stated
- A copy the firm can fileMeetsSnapshot as a PDF
- States projection assumptions and limitsMeetsHypothetical; Monte Carlo assumptions
- Names an independent security auditPartialCloud hosts' SOC reports; its own not named
- Names the CRMs it connects toMeetsRedtail, Wealthbox, SmartOffice
- Names the firms it is built forPartialRIA and LPL adviser case studies
- Not verified by us
- RightCapital's own SOC 2 report (its security page names the SOC reports of its cloud hosts), whether shared Snapshots stay in a dated history, and the export it gives a firm that leaves.
Holistiplan
Tax planning- What it is
- A tax planning tool that reads a client's tax return PDF and turns it into a “client-friendly, shareable report” with scenario analysis. Its FAQ says Social Security numbers “are NOT stored in this database” and stay on the PDF, and that you can “permanently delete the file and all information from the system”.
- Who it fits
- A firm that adds tax planning beside its main planning tool. Its integrations page says client data is imported “as our tax insights are documented in Redtail”, and it names Wealthbox and PreciseFP.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Keeps the reports it deliversPartialShareable report; files can be deleted
- A copy the firm can filePartialShareable report; format not stated
- States projection assumptions and limitsCheck with vendorTax projections, not return simulations
- Names an independent security auditPartialPenetration tests and code reviews
- Names the CRMs it connects toMeetsRedtail, Wealthbox
- Names the firms it is built forPartialFinancial advisers and tax pros
- Not verified by us
- The security report behind its Trust Center, whether deleting a return also deletes the reports you shared, and what the Redtail note holds.
Asset-Map
Visual planning- What it is
- Visual planning software built around a one-page Asset-Map Report, used “standalone, alongside eMoney or MoneyGuidePro”. Its home page says it is “SOC 2 Type II certified and independently audited”.
- Who it fits
- Its demo form names broker-dealer advisers, registered investment advisers and hybrid RIAs. A fit for discovery meetings beside a full planning tool, not in place of one.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Keeps the reports it deliversPartialOne-page report; history not stated
- A copy the firm can fileCheck with vendorReports shared; format not stated
- States projection assumptions and limitsNot stated
- Names an independent security auditMeetsSOC 2 Type II, independently audited
- Names the CRMs it connects toPartialOpen architecture; CRMs not named
- Names the firms it is built forMeetsBroker-dealer, RIA and hybrid RIA
- Not verified by us
- The SOC 2 Type II report, the list of CRMs it connects to, and the basis for the home page's “FINRA and SEC compliant” wording, since neither regulator approves software.
eMoney Advisor
Planning and client portal- What it is
- Planning software with a client portal “included in all planning packages” that lets clients “securely store important documents”. Its security page names a “SOC 2 audit to ensure our company and datacenters are compliant” and annual third-party assessments.
- Who it fits
- Larger and mixed firms: its home page says it serves “leading banks, broker-dealers, and RIAs”. Its integrations page names Redtail, Wealthbox, Advyzon and Orion among its partners.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Keeps the reports it deliversPartialPortal document storage; report history not stated
- A copy the firm can fileNot stated
- States projection assumptions and limitsNot stated
- Names an independent security auditMeetsSOC 2 audit; annual assessments
- Names the CRMs it connects toMeetsRedtail, Wealthbox, Advyzon
- Names the firms it is built forMeetsBanks, broker-dealers and RIAs
- Not verified by us
- Whether plan reports keep a dated history, the file format for a client's plan on request, and the disclosure text its reports print about projections.
How we read these vendors
Questions firms ask
Is a financial plan a record an adviser must keep?
By our reading, yes, once it goes to the client. Rule 204-2(a)(7)(i) reaches copies of written communications sent “relating to … any advice given or proposed to be given”, and they are kept for five years from the end of the fiscal year of the last entry, the first two in an appropriate office of the adviser. A plan from 2026 at a firm with a December year end is kept until at least December 31, 2031. Keep the report as delivered, not the live plan.
17 CFR 275.204-2(a)(7)(i), (e)(1)
Is Monte Carlo output hypothetical performance under the Marketing Rule?
Projected returns are hypothetical performance under the rule's definition. A planning tool that a client or prospect uses to run simulations is carved out, but only if the adviser describes the tool's methodology, limitations and key assumptions, explains that results may vary with each use and over time, describes the universe of investments where that applies, and discloses that the outcomes are hypothetical. A static projection in a pitch deck gets no such carve-out.
17 CFR 275.206(4)-1(e)(8)(i)(C), (e)(8)(ii)(A)
Is there free financial planning software for advisors?
Free trials, yes. RightCapital's home page offers a 14-day free trial; MoneyGuide, eMoney and Holistiplan each link a free trial from their own sites. A trial is a good time to test the record questions on this page: save a report, find it again a week later, and export it. Whatever you send a client during a trial is still a record, so file it outside the tool before the trial ends.
Can planning software be SEC compliant or FINRA approved?
No regulator approves software. Neither the SEC nor FINRA approves vendors, and the record, marketing and privacy duties on this page fall on the firm. A vendor's “compliant” wording is its own claim; ask for the document behind it, such as a SOC 2 report.
How long does a broker-dealer keep a rep's financial plans?
Communications relating to a broker-dealer's business are kept “for a period of not less than three years, the first two years in an easily accessible place”. The rule states the length but not the event the period runs from, so agree the start date with your compliance team. A dual registrant may also hold the same plan under the adviser rule's five years.
17 CFR 240.17a-4(b), (b)(4)