What Dental Professionals Ask Us

A financial advisor for dentists provides comprehensive wealth planning built around the specific financial challenges dental professionals face at each career stage. At Virtus Financial Partners, this includes student loan strategy, disability insurance, investment management, 401(k) plan design for practice owners, tax-optimized retirement planning, and coordination with dental-specific CPAs, attorneys, and practice lenders.

The goal is a single planning relationship that evolves from dental school through practice ownership and into retirement.

Virtus Financial Partners is an SEC-registered investment advisor built specifically around the dental profession. Three key differentiators set the firm apart:

Dental-career-stage expertise. The firm's average client age is 37, and planning is structured around the associate-to-owner trajectory that defines most dental careers.

Self-directed brokerage account (SDBA) integration. Virtus builds Schwab PCRA access into its 401(k) plans — an uncommon feature that gives participants investment flexibility beyond the standard fund menu.

Deep referral partnerships. The firm coordinates with dental-specific CPAs, practice lenders, attorneys, and malpractice insurers so that financial decisions are not made in isolation.

The firm manages over $150 million in assets and has built 100+ retirement plans across 42+ states since 2009.

Yes. Virtus Financial Partners is an SEC-registered investment advisor, which means the firm is held to a fiduciary standard — a legal obligation to act in the client’s best interest. This applies to all investment advice and financial planning services the firm provides.

On retirement plans, Virtus also serves as a 3(38) fiduciary, accepting the highest level of investment management responsibility available under ERISA. The fiduciary standard requires ongoing duty of care, loyalty, and full disclosure of any conflicts of interest.

Virtus Financial Partners uses a transparent fee structure that includes advisory fees for investment management and planning fees for financial planning services. An important distinction: clients pay either a monthly planning fee or an assets-under-management (AUM) fee once they reach the investment minimum — never both at the same time.

Full fee details are disclosed in the firm’s Form ADV, which is available upon request and filed with the SEC. The firm does not charge commissions on investment products and operates as an independent, open-architecture registered investment advisor.

Yes. Virtus Financial Partners is headquartered in Winter Park, Florida, but serves clients nationwide on a virtual basis. The firm manages retirement plans across 42+ states and works with dental professionals regardless of location.

Meetings, plan reviews, and ongoing communication are conducted virtually, making geographic proximity unnecessary for a full-service advisory relationship.

Financial planning during dental school or residency can have a significant long-term impact, particularly around student loan repayment strategy and disability insurance. Selecting the right income-driven repayment (IDR) plan early can affect total loan cost by tens of thousands of dollars. Disability insurance is also typically less expensive and easier to qualify for while you are young and healthy.

Many dental professionals begin working with Virtus Financial Partners at this stage, starting with one or two focused needs and expanding into comprehensive planning as their careers develop.

Student loan repayment strategy for dentists depends on loan balance, expected income trajectory, employment type, and whether federal forgiveness programs apply. Key decisions include choosing the right income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, evaluating refinancing timing, and understanding how repayment interacts with other financial goals like practice acquisition or retirement savings.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer — the optimal strategy for a dentist earning $150,000 as an associate may be completely different from the strategy for a practice owner earning $400,000. Virtus Financial Partners incorporates student loan analysis into its financial planning process to help dental professionals make repayment decisions in the context of their full financial picture.

Disability insurance protects a dentist’s ability to earn income if an injury or illness prevents them from practicing. Because dentistry requires fine motor skills and physical endurance, the profession carries a higher disability risk than many other careers.

An own-occupation disability policy — which pays benefits if you cannot perform your specific occupation, even if you could work in another field — is considered essential for dental professionals. Premiums are typically lower and underwriting more favorable when purchased early in a career.

Virtus Financial Partners has placed over 1,600 disability insurance policies for graduating dentists.

When evaluating a financial advisor, dental professionals should consider five factors:

Fiduciary status — is the advisor legally required to act in your best interest?

Specialization — does the advisor understand dental-specific financial challenges like practice acquisition, student loans, and disability insurance?

Fee transparency — how is the advisor compensated and are there conflicts of interest?

Scope of services — does the advisor offer comprehensive planning or just investment management?

Professional network — does the advisor have relationships with dental-specific CPAs, attorneys, lenders, and insurers?

An advisor who understands the dental profession can coordinate these moving pieces rather than addressing them in isolation.

A 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan that allows both the practice owner and employees to contribute pre-tax or Roth dollars toward retirement. For dental practice owners, a well-designed 401(k) can be one of the most powerful tax reduction tools available — combining employee deferrals, employer matching, and profit-sharing contributions to maximize tax-advantaged savings.

Virtus Financial Partners designs, implements, and manages 401(k) plans for dental practices with features like 3(38) fiduciary investment management, self-directed brokerage accounts (SDBA) via Schwab PCRA, and flat-fee recordkeeping — giving practice owners institutional-quality retirement benefits without the complexity.

A 3(38) fiduciary is an investment manager who accepts full legal responsibility for selecting, monitoring, and replacing the investment options inside a retirement plan. This is the highest level of fiduciary service available under ERISA.

For dental practice owners, hiring a 3(38) fiduciary means the liability for investment decisions shifts from the practice owner to the fiduciary — reducing personal legal exposure while ensuring the plan’s investment lineup is professionally managed and regularly reviewed.

Virtus Financial Partners serves as a 3(38) fiduciary on the retirement plans it manages.

A self-directed brokerage account (SDBA) is an option within a 401(k) plan that allows participants to invest beyond the plan’s standard fund menu. Through an SDBA — such as the Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA) — participants can access individual stocks, bonds, ETFs, and a broader range of mutual funds using their 401(k) dollars.

Most 401(k) plans limit participants to a short list of funds. SDBA integration is uncommon but can be a significant advantage for asset location and portfolio optimization. Virtus Financial Partners builds SDBA access into the retirement plans it manages.