Before you start your phone book, decide whether you need a financial advisor. If you are unemployed or do not have any assets you might want to first concentrate on the fundamentals of personal money management like paying bills and budgeting. If you think you could benefit from hiring a financial services professional, there are numerous things you want to think about.
First of all, it is important to know the differences between financial Services professionals: insurance brokers, fee only planners, financial advisors and agents. Insurance agents will have the ability to offer you insurance, annuities and possibly some proprietary mutual funds. Brokers are just a connection between you and the marketplace: they can buy and sell certain instruments for you and earn commission, but they could care less about your financial image as a whole.
There are two or three kinds of fee only planners too: those who charge a fee based on the assets under management and people who charge a commission for creating comprehensive financial plans for their clients. A word of warning: several insurance agents, brokers and debt relief experts call themselves financial advisors. Only people holding a series 66 permit are true financial advisors.
Second, you need to verify adviser’s credentials before allowing him or her to perform any work for you. Begin by asking your potential Eduardo Gonzalez financial professional how long he or she has been in operation, what permits he or she holds in your condition, whether he or she has some advanced certifications like CFP, Chic or others. Your adviser should have series 7 and 66 licenses together with a Life or Accident or Health license. College education is not necessarily indicative of the level of experience a financial adviser owns although a college degree is preferable.
Another important aspect of choosing a financial adviser is analyzing their industry affiliations. Essentially, who does he or she work for? Even independent financial professionals need to be connected with a particular broker-dealer to have the ability to exchange securities and with one or more insurance companies to have the ability to sell insurance products. Make certain to take a fast look at these firms’ financial condition and standing.
Feel free to ask questions: you are there to interview the fiscal professional. Ask if he or she has a mission and vision statement, what their ideal client is how often you are supposed to find each other in a given year. This process can allow you to figure out whether you are a fantastic fit. Last but not least, await the follow-up. Professional financial Advisers will send you home with a tiny bit of stuff about them, their company, the services they offer and some type of pricing information. They will often send you a thank you note and call you within a week or so to see whether you are ready to begin working with them.