You may be considering help from a financial planner for a number of reasons, whether it is deciding to buy a new home, planning for retirement or your children’s education, or simply not having the time or expertise to get your finances in order.

Whatever your needs, working with a financial planner can be a helpful step, in securing your financial future.

You should interview and evaluate several financial planners to find the one that is right for you. You will want to select a competent, qualified professional with whom you feel comfortable, one whose business style suits your financial planning needs. Here are 10 questions to ask when choosing a financial planner:

1. What Experience Do They Have?

Find out how long the planner has been in practice and the number of types of companies with which they have been associated. Ask the planner to briefly describe their work experience and how it relates to their current practice. Choose a financial planner who has experience counseling individuals on their financial needs.

2. What Are His Qualifications?

The term “financial planner” is used by many financial professionals. Ask the planner what qualifies them to offer financial planning advice and whether they are recognized as a Certified Financial Planner professional or CFP practitioner, a Certified Public Accountant-Personal Financial Specialist (CPA-PFS), or a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC).

Look for a planner who has proven experience in financial planning topics such as insurance, tax planning, investments, estate planning or retirement planning. Determine what steps the planner takes to stay current with changes and developments in the financial planning filed. If the planner holds a financial planning designation or certification, check on their background with CFP Board or other relevant professional organizations.

3. What Services Do They Offer?

The services a financial planner offers depend on a number of factors including credentials, licenses and areas of expertise. Generally, financial planners cannot sell insurance or securities products such as mutual funds or stocks without the proper licenses, or give investment advice unless registered with state or Federal authorities. Some planners offer financial planning advice on a range of topics but do not sell financial products. Others may provide advice only in specific areas such as estate planning or on tax matters.

4. What Is Their Approach To Financial Planning?

Ask the financial planner about the type of clients and financial situations they typically like to work with. Some planners prefer to develop one plan by bringing together all of your financial goals. Others provide advice on specific areas, as needed.

Make sure the planner’s viewpoint on investing is not too cautious or overly aggressive for you. Some planners require you to have a certain net worth before offering services. Find out if the planner will carry out the financial recommendations developed for you or refer you to others who will do so.

5. Will They Be The Only Person Working With You?

The financial planner may work with you himself or have others in the office assisting them. You may want to meet everyone who will be working with you. When the planner works with other professionals outside their own practice (such as attorneys, insurance agents or tax specialists) to develop or carry out financial planning recommendations then get a list of their names to check on their backgrounds.

6. How Will I Pay For Your Services?

As part of your financial planning agreement, the financial planner should clearly tell you in writing how they will be paid for their services to be provided. Planners can be paid in several ways:

A salary paid by the company for which the planner works. The planner’s employer receives payment from you or others, either in fees or commissions, in order to pay the planner’s salary.

Fees based on an hourly rate, a flat rate, or on a percentage of your assets and/or income.

Commissions paid by a third party from the products sold to you to carry out the financial planning recommendations. Commissions are usually a percentage of the amount you invest in a product.

A combination of fees and commissions whereby fees are charged for the amount of work done to develop financial planning recommendations and commissions are received from any products sold. In addition, some planners may offset some portion of the fees you pay if they receive commissions for carrying out their recommendations.

7. How Much Do They Typically Charge?

While the amount you pay the planner will depend on your particular needs, the financial planner should be able to provide you with an estimate of possible costs based on the work to be performed. Such costs should include the planner’s hourly rates or flat fees or the percentage they would receive as commission on products you may purchase as part of the financial planning recommendations.

8. Could Anyone Besides You Benefit From Their Recommendations?

Some business relationships or partnerships that a planner has could affect their professional judgment while working with you, inhibiting the planner from acting in your best interest. Ask the planner to provide you with a description of their conflicts of interest in writing. For example, financial planners who sell insurance policies, securities or mutual funds have a business relationship with the companies that provide these financial products. The planner may also have relationships or partnerships that should be disclosed to you, such as business they receive for referring you to an insurance agent, accountant or attorney for implementation of planning suggestions.

9. Have They Ever Been Publicly Disciplined For Any Unlawful Or Unethical Actions In Their Professional Career?

Several government and professional regulatory organizations, such as FINRA (formerly NASD), your state insurance and securities departments, and CFP Board keep records on the disciplinary history of financial planners and advisors. Ask what organizations the planner is regulated by and contact these groups to conduct a background check. All financial planners who have registered as investment advisers with the Securities and Exchange Commission or state securities agencies, or who are associated with a company that is registered as an investment adviser, must be able to provide you with a disclosure form called Form DV Part II or the state equivalent of that form.

10. Can You Have It In Writing?

Ask the planner to provide you with a written agreement that details the services that will be provided. Keep this document in your files for future reference.

Conclusion

You have worked very hard to accumulate the assets you have, so you must be very careful in selecting a Financial Planner to suit your needs and requirements.

Over the years, we have assisted our clients in selecting a financial planner to suit their particular needs.