A financial advisor is someone who makes an assessment of the financial needs of someone and can help them with important decisions such as insurance, tax laws and potential investments. Clients such as yourself will work with them in order to plan for goals in both the short and the long-term.
While it is great to work with a financial advisor, it is also important to make sure that you ask important questions to ensure that the discussions you have are as productive as possible. Here are some questions to ask at your next meeting.
What credentials do you have?
In order to ensure that you are working with someone who actually knows what they are doing, one of the first things you will want to inquire about is their credentials. If you are going to work with a financial advisor, they have to be someone who has financial planning related credentials. Two of the more popular credentials for financial advisors include the Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Financial Planner designations.
Nearly all of these credential programs have a work experience component. This will be especially reassuring, because it shows they have experience and that you are not their first client, where they are liable to make mistakes. You can get more information on strategic financial services by visiting Rex Burgdorfer LinkedIn.
What is your educational background?
You will find that a lot of financial advisors will lack an appropriate educational background. This is because their jobs that they may have at insurance companies, brokerage firms or even banks are simply sales positions.
Who you should want to be working with is an investment advisor, and not someone who is trying to make a quick buck off of you. When you sit down with your advisor, evaluate their background and see if they have a degree in economics, finance or investments.
How do you get paid?
Normally, you may not think to ask about how someone you are working with gets paid. However, advisors use a variety of fee structures, and it is important to understand how they will be charging for their services. You should focus on fee-only advisors, as they do not get commissioned for selling a product.
What they may do is charge a certain percentage of assets they manage for you, an hourly fee, or a flat fee. Make sure that you understand what they are expecting before you agree to do business with them.
What is your investment philosophy?
If there is one thing that you will want to have with your financial advisor, it is similar beliefs. The reason why it is important to have the same investment philosophy as your advisor is because you have to believe what they are going to do to ensure they stay with their strategy.
An advisor’s true colors may come when a job market is down but will convince you to stick with them. You can also ask them what a typical client looks like for them. Rex Burgdorfer LinkedIn has further valuable financial resources that you can use