How to Find a Financial Advisor
It is always important to have your financial affairs in order to best provide for your future and the well-being of your family. To do this you may consider hiring a financial advisor who can assist you in planning your finances. Care should be taken when choosing an advisor to ensure the safety of your money.
- Determine how you prefer to pay your financial advisor. There are three common ways that most financial advisors may operate. The fee-only financial advisor is one that does not receive a commission regardless of what they sell. A commission-based advisor is one that does receive a commission for the investments that they sell by the company that they sell them for. Fee-based planners are a combination of the two - while they will primarily receive a fee from you, they can also receive a commission for the investments that they sell.
- Check with people that you trust in order to obtain a referral for a financial advisor. When picking who to ask, choose people who are in a similar financial situation as you.
- Visit the website for the National Association of Personal Financial advisors (NAPFA) to search for fee-only advisors in your city and state. Another option is to search the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Board of Standards website and conduct a search for an advisor. The CFP Board lists advisors regardless of the type of pay accepted.
- Check that the planners you are interested in have the right credentials. Go to the CFP Board of Standards to ensure that he or she is certified as a financial planner. Additionally, anyone that you are considering should also be registered as an investment advisor by the Securities and Exchange Commission and in the state that he is working in.
- Meet with the candidates before making a decision. This will give you a one-on-one impression that may be useful in helping you to decide which advisor to choose.