Stan prawny na
Let me tell you something the industry doesn’t like to say out loud. In Poland the title “financial advisor” is a bit like a sticker, not a diploma — unlike “doctor” or “lawyer,” no one will check whether you have the right to wear it. I myself started out in this industry as a “financial advisor” early in my career, and you can probably guess what competencies I had back then. Today, after years in credit intermediation, I see it differently — and I want you, after reading this text, to be able to tell apart someone who advises you from someone who sells to you.
What a financial advisor actually is
The term “financial advisor” can be understood broadly or narrowly, and that difference is the source of most misunderstandings. In the broad sense, we’d call a financial advisor anyone who, for a fee, advises on money matters — from a lawyer planning succession, through an insurance agent and a credit intermediary, to a bank advisor. It’s not a single profession but a whole family of professions joined by a common denominator: they help you make financial decisions.
In the narrow sense, a financial advisor is someone who, in a completely independent way, selects products and services for you from everything available on the market, and is paid solely by the client. The international standard calls such a person a financial planner (financial planner). Personally I’d prefer to use this narrower definition, because to me an advisor is someone who advises, not sells. Unfortunately, because of the conceptual mess in Poland, I have to stick to the broad understanding — otherwise half the market would take offence at being excluded from the ranks of “advisors.”
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How to tell who advises you and who sells to you
Instead of trusting a business card, it’s worth looking at four specific criteria. These are the questions I’d ask anyone who wants to help me with my finances. The answers will tell you more than the prettiest title on a stamp.
| Criterion | What divides advisors | What to look out for |
|---|---|---|
| How they’re paid | The client pays (a fee) or a financial institution does (a sales commission) | If the institution pays, ask whether they compare the whole market or a single offer |
| Competence and credentials | A licensed or certified advisor, or one with no confirmation at all | A “financial advisor” without a certificate doesn’t have to prove anything |
| Specialisation | Planning, loans, insurance, investments, taxes | The most important criterion — it tells you where they can actually help |
| Ties to institutions | Independent, operationally dependent (a contract) or by capital (an owner) | Every dependence can breed a conflict of interest |
Of these four criteria, the most important to me is specialisation, because only it tells you what a given person really does. An advisor who can brilliantly arrange your retirement portfolio doesn’t necessarily know mortgages — and vice versa. Second in line are the ties to institutions, because they determine whose interests the advisor represents when they sit down at the table with you.
Who pays the advisor — you or the institution?
There are two basic remuneration models. In the first, the client pays (in English, fees only) — for an hour of work, for a finished document such as a financial plan, or for a result in the form of portfolio performance. In the second, the advisor is paid by a financial institution, which pays them a commission on the product sold. That’s precisely why the client of a credit intermediary or an insurance agent often hears that the service is “free” — because nothing actually comes out of their pocket; the cost is covered by the bank or the insurer.
I work in this second model and I’ll say it plainly: commission is nothing bad, as long as the advisor honestly manages the conflict of interest. Mortgage intermediary firms usually receive from 0.5% to 2.5% of the loan amount, and the rate varies between banks. And here’s the crux: if an advisor picks a worse offer for you just because one bank pays them more, you can lose several thousand PLN over the life of the loan. So ask directly how many banks the advisor compares and whether their pay depends on which one you choose. A good advisor will answer without batting an eye.
Do you need a licence in Poland to give advice?
Here’s the most interesting change of recent years. Practising “financial advisory” itself in Poland is still not regulated — it’s an activity open to anyone with suitable knowledge and experience, with no obligation to hold certificates. The KNF once worked on regulating this profession, but after two years it abandoned the idea. In practice this means the title “financial advisor” still guarantees nothing.
But note — some specialisations are already tightly regulated today. Since the 2017 Mortgage Credit Act, a mortgage credit intermediary must pass a state exam (50 questions; 35 correct answers are needed to pass) or demonstrate appropriate education, and then obtain an entry in the register kept by the KNF. Becoming an investment advisor is even harder — only about a thousand people in Poland hold the KNF licence, and the pass rate for the first stage of the exam is barely a dozen-odd percent (more at the source: KNF). This shows the scale of the difference: you can become a “financial advisor” this afternoon, an investment advisor — after years of study.
That leaves voluntary certificates. The most respected worldwide is the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) — at the end of 2025, 236,300 people worldwide held it, but in Europe and the Middle East only a few percent of them, and in Poland it is still not awarded natively (data: FPSB). On the Polish market the most popular is the EFPA EFA certificate, which in June 2025 was held by 776 actively certified advisors (source: the EFPA Poland register; the register is dynamic, so the number changes). That’s a handful for an entire market — and that’s why a certificate, when someone does have one, really does mean something.
How to check a person who calls themselves an advisor
You now know what the market looks like — now the most important part: how, in practice, to verify a specific person before you entrust them with your money. Treat the list below as a cheat sheet for the first conversation.
Or maybe you know someone thinking about a mortgage?
Refer me to them and give them my contact details. If they reach out and it ends with a mortgage, I’ll share my commission with you.
What types of financial advisor are there?
In the narrower understanding, advisors split into financial planners (who build and help carry out a financial plan) and financial consultants (who help less wealthy clients get out of debt and grasp the basics). In the broader understanding there are far more financial advisors, and most of us will meet the latter sooner. It’s worth knowing one distinction along the way: simplifying, a broker acts on behalf of or for the client, while an agent/multi-agent acts on behalf of and on the instructions of financial institutions. The remuneration model has to be checked separately here — the payment mechanism alone doesn’t always determine the nature of the relationship (a broker is sometimes paid a commission included in the premium).
- Credit intermediary — helps select and obtain a loan; for mortgages, supervised by the KNF.
- Insurance intermediary and agent — selects policies; an insurance broker holds a KNF licence.
- Investment advisor — licensed by the KNF; in practice serves institutions and very wealthy clients.
- Tax advisor and accountant — helps with taxes and filings, where they deal with personal finance.
- Bank advisor — a bank employee; advises within the offer of a single institution.
Financial advisor — questions and answers
No. A “financial advisor” is a broad, unregulated term, while a credit intermediary is a specific, regulated specialisation. A mortgage credit intermediary must meet statutory requirements and appear in the KNF register, whereas a self-styled “financial advisor” doesn’t have to do anything. I’ve described this profession from the occupational side in a text on how to become a credit advisor.Are a financial advisor and a credit intermediary the same thing?
It depends on the model. With loans and insurance you most often pay nothing directly — the advisor is paid by the institution through a commission on the product sold. Independent financial planners paid solely by the client are rare in Poland, and their service (for example a finished financial plan) is sometimes priced per hour of work or as a flat fee for the document.How much does a financial advisor cost in Poland?
Out of your pocket — yes, but someone pays for the service, so it’s worth knowing who. Since the advisor is paid by the institution, the question of their independence arises, and of whether they’ll recommend the best offer for you or the best-paying one. The point isn’t to avoid the commission model, but to choose an advisor who openly manages the conflict of interest.Is a 'free' advisor really free?
By transparency. A good advisor will tell you how and by whom they’re paid, how many offers they compare and what risks come with the proposed solution. They don’t push for a quick decision “because the promotion is ending” and don’t take offence when you ask for time to think. They explain, instead of selling.How do you recognise a good advisor?
Summary In the broad sense, a financial advisor is anyone who, for a fee, advises on personal finance matters — from a planner and a consultant, through credit and insurance intermediaries, to bank and tax advisors. In Poland the title “financial advisor” itself is neither protected nor regulated, so almost anyone can use it. Regulation covers only selected specialisations: the mortgage credit intermediary (since 2017) and the investment advisor are supervised by the KNF and must meet strict requirements. The most important thing is to be able to judge an advisor by four criteria — how they’re paid, their competence, their specialisation and their ties to institutions — and to tell apart someone who advises you from someone who sells to you.
Key concepts – Financial advisor (broad/narrow sense) — respectively: anyone who advises for a fee, or solely an independent planner paid by the client. – Fees only / commission only — payment by the client or by a financial institution. – Advisory service (statutory) — for a mortgage, a service with specific obligations: a recommendation of suitable agreements delivered on a durable medium. – Conflict of interest — a situation in which the advisor’s interest may diverge from the client’s. – Broker vs. multi-agent — a broker acts on behalf of or for the client, an agent/multi-agent on behalf of institutions; check the remuneration model separately. – CFP / EFPA EFA — voluntary certificates confirming an advisor’s competence.
Read more – How to become a credit advisor – Personal financial planning – What personal finance is
Author: Tomek Musiałowski — economist and personal finance specialist and an agent of a mortgage credit intermediary (KNF entry: RHA0018910) specialising in mortgages. I write from the perspective of a practitioner who works day to day in the commission remuneration model and knows what managing a conflict of interest looks like from the inside. This article is educational in nature and is not an individual recommendation or legal advice. Last updated: May 2026. Checked against: the Mortgage Credit Act, the KNF register and materials, FPSB and EFPA data.
