How To Choose A Financial Advisor In Connecticut

By Author: Daren
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Here is a checklist of questions to ask when searching for a financial advisor. These questions do not cover everything, but they should get you off to a solid start. Use these 10 questions when interviewing potential financial advisors.

10 Questions to Ask When Interviewing a Financial Planner

1. Q: What experience do you have?

A. You should know how long the person has been in advising business and with what companies he or she has been involved. The easiest way to get your answers is to simply ask them. Then ask for verification of their answers. If they have a problem with any of that, time to move on.

2. Q: Ask for their qualifications and certifications?

A. The term "financial planner" is the one used by most of these professionals. Ask your prospective advisor if they have the Certified Financial Planner professional or CFP® practitioner credential, the Certified Public Accountant-Personal Financial Specialist (CPA-PFS) certification, or a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) certification. Any or all of them should be a minimum standard.

3. Q: What are the exact planning services ...
... they will get involved with?

A. Professional credentials in this industry prove a certain level of knowledge and expertise. Generally, financial advisors can't offer insurance or securities without having the proper licenses. Giving investment advice is also restricted unless they are formally registered with the appropriate regulating agencies.

4. Q: Find out about their general approach to the financial planning process.

A. Do they have a certain client profile that they tend to work with (i.e. net worth, retirement planning, investment planning, etc.) Some customize plans exactly to your individual requirements, while others start with a standard plan and make modifications as needed.

5. Q: Will you be dealing with the same person throughout the process or different individuals?

A. An advisor may work with you directly themselves. But if your dealing with a larger firm, you may not always deal with the same person. If you'll be dealing with different people, you should meet them first.

6. Q: How is payment made for their services?

A. You need to understand exactly how their fees will be charged. Many planners and advisors have a variety of fee structures. It can get complicated. So be sure you understand what you are getting into and make sure you get everything in writing.

7. Q: Get a rough estimate of what your charges will be

A. The final amount that you end up paying the advisor may depend on how complex your situation is. But he or she should be able to give you a rough estimate of their fees once they know your goals and how much work they will have to do working on your account.

8. Q: Are any third parties going to benefiting from the planning work being done for you?

A. Business partnerships can affect a financial advisors judgement while working with you. A third party benefiting is not necessarily a bad thing. You just want to be sure that whatever planning decisions are being made, are being made in your interest and not to benefit someone else.

9. Q: Have you ever been involved in legal actions with clients or regulatory agencies?

A. Yes, this an awkward question to ask, but do it anyway. Any legal actions are a matter of public record, so they should be 100% forthcoming on this issue. You can verify their answer to this questions quite easily, so any misleading statements made by your prospective planner will be found out. And you will move on to the next candidate.

10. Q: Get it in writing?

A. After you have selected what you feel is the best fit for your financial planning needs, everything from that point forward should be in writing. These protects all parties involved and is standard procedure.

Asking these 10 questions will eliminate nearly all potential problems people might have with their financial advisor. It is your money. You realistically cannot anyone to care about it more than you.

When researching the best financial advisor for you, there are several things to consider. The Financial Planners website is specifically designed for people who are looking for financial advisors in Connecticut. Because of the importance of this decisionk, it is vital for you to go about your fiancial planner selection process systematically.