Selecting A Financial Advisor

Selecting a financial advisor is an extremely personal, important, and challenging task. One of the key challenges is deciding how to select your advisor. Unfortunately, it can be a very frustrating experience to understand the differences between various financial professionals.

How do you tell who is a good advisor? Unlike a physician or CPA, the educational background required of financial advisors is not standardized. All physicians have been to medical school. There are no required educational requirements for financial advisors. We believe investors should ask their prospective advisors the following questions:

• Experience -- how long and in what capacity have they been providing financial advice.
• Professional credentials. How have they made the effort to improve their professional skills.
• Do they have any type of continuing education requirements. If not, how do they stay current.
• What conflicts of interest (either real of potential) do they have.
• What professional organizations do they belong to.
• Ask them how they differentiate themselves from other professionals.
• How do they make investment decisions/recommendations.
• Describe their research process.
• Does the compensation they receive change based on which investment products are selected.
• Get references from other clients.
• Talk to more than one to differentiate.
  

Of course, you must feel comfortable with their approach, personality, and whether they answered your questions clearly. It does require effort on your part -- but few things are more important than your financial well being.

The following are articles that describe some of the key attributes investors may want to consider before selecting an advisor.

Financial Advice - Background	Selecting A Financial Advisor
Do I Need A Financial Advisor?	Choosing A Financial Advisor
What You Need To Know About Financial Advice	Tips For Selecting A Financial Advisor
Working With Your Financial Advisor	Top Ten Questions For A Financial Advisor
Working With Fee-Only Advisor	Comprehensive Financial Planning Checklist
Smart Money Decisions	Why Select A Chartered Financial Analyst
	Fiduciary Questionnaire
	Difference Between Stockbroker & Registered Investment Advisor
	Tips For Avoiding Bad Financial Advice
	Advisor Rating System
	Advisor Questionaire

 

 

 

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