What are the Important Aspects

to be Considered While Selecting a Financial Adviser?

If you are looking for a financial adviser who will be able to properly manage your investments as well as help you earn expected returns on investments then it will be necessary to find a professional competent enough to take up the task. Our aim here will be to look at some of the steps you need to take so as to find the right professional who will be able to efficiently manage your investment portfolio.

Steps in Selecting a Financial Advisor

Step 1: Implement a Proper Diligence Process

financial adviserBefore selecting any particular financial adviser you should utilize proper diligence process to ensure that the advisor has needed competency to manage your finances. You need to look at advisor's experience, ethics, performance and capabilities to ascertain whether the person will be able to offer appropriate investment advice. The selection of advisor will also depend upon your requirements and expectations. Some of the points you will have to consider would include:

  • Do you want detailed financial planning which would cover each and every aspect of managing your investments or are you just looking for additional insights into management of your finances?
  • Are you looking for assistance to manage any particular pool of assets or someone with specific field of expertise (as for example, alternative investments)?
  • Do you need assistance with asset allocation for total amount of savings you have?
  • What are your expectations with regards to performance reporting, investment procedures and ongoing services?
  • What should be the time interval at which financial adviser should contact you?

Step 2: Make Use of Right Procedure to Search for Advisor

The search for the right adviser should consist of the following steps:

  • During your search for a suitable advisor you need to contact advisors working as RIAs, full service dealers/brokers, and if possible look for professionals working in a trust company or private bank.
  • You should also ask for referrals from your estate and trust company, CPA as well as similar other professionals whom you trust.
  • Similarly, you can ask for referrals from your work associates, friends as well as family members.
  • As you start interviewing financial advisers, benchmark the advisers as per expectations as well as needs you have. Rank them on individual attributes which you consider to be important and create a final rating. You need to keep notes for all the ranking factors so that it becomes easier to remember the factors which were used for such ranking.

By taking all the above diligence steps you will increase your chances of finding a financial adviser who will be able to properly manage your investments and help you achieve your financial goals.

Step 3: Set Expectations at the Onset

The last step of the selection process should consist of clearly discussing expectations you have with the financial adviser. Some of the points you should discuss would include:

  • What would be the fees you will have to pay the adviser?
  • Who will be your main point of contact for discussing issues related to investments you plan to make?
  • How often a meeting will take place to analyze performance of your investment portfolio?

Precis

Thus, to conclude we can say that selecting the right financial adviser could be the difference between success of failure of your financial plans. As such you should make use of due diligence steps to be sure that you have selected the most suitable person to plan as well as manage your investments.