Tips for Finding a Financial Planner
As a potential consumer of financial planning, you should invest time in finding the right professional. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is an organization of professional planners who provide financial suggestions but take no commission or payment for financial products. They simply collect a fee for their service. This type of fee-only financial planner may be what you seek because you want to receive information on a wide array of investment options. A good financial planner looks far and wide for financial products that fit your budget and your retirement dreams.
Choosing a financial planner is a big decision because your planner will guide you through a series of choices for investing your wages, including pre-tax dollars. The amount you can earn off your investments affects your standard of living in retirement. NAPFA and other organizations offer checklists to screen for the right financial advisor. This article touches on some elements of the NAPFA Checklist (available at NAPFA.org).
When you go to a realtor, you probably ask a lot of questions before agreeing to list your home with that agent. The National Association of Realtors encourages you to ask about market knowledge, professional certification, and sales record, among other qualifications. In the same way, you should interview a personal financial advisor before signing a financial investment agreement. Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions and expect honest answers. If you meet a financial advisor who acts perturbed that you want to waste time asking your questions before she or she can get to the hard-sell, you are wasting your time. You should find a different advisor.
What types of services are offered?
Your financial advisor should be knowledgeable enough to discuss a variety of investment options, including funding retirement, financing a child’s college education, planning an estate, managing cash in your money market or mutual funds, purchasing life insurance, and planning your taxes. You might not find one planner who provides all of these services, but he or she might work with a group of financial planners who offer comprehensive services.