7 Things You Should Know Before Hiring a Financial Advisor.

You should feel comfortable with a financial professional before you work with him/her. Make sure to ask the questons below to make sure that you get all of the information you need to make an informed decision.

1. What are your fees

Some advisors are licensed investment advisor representatives and some are stock brokers and some are simply insurance salespeople. Make sure that the individual that you are about to work with has the proper credentials to get what you need.

2. Are you a securities broker or an investment advisor representative or both?

For the reasons mentioned above you should know the individuals motivations before working with that person. Is there a conflict of interest in working with that broker, or does he/she have your best interest at heart.

3. Are your plans composed of commission based securities or are
they based on a percentage of assets that you manage?

The investment advisor representative works for a fee (usually a percentage of assets that they manage for you). The insurance salespeople work on a commission and the stock broker also works on a commission.

4. What are your current licenses?

5. Have you ever been reported to FINRA for a violation?

This is something you can follow up on at finra.org which has all of the information about any licensed advisor.

6. What is your engagement process?

You want to see any documents to be signed and possibly have them reviewed by your attorney.

7. How often do you communicate with your clients?

You should know how often your advisor reviews your portfolio and who is responsible for making any changes. Some advisors have annual reviews some semi-annual and some quarterly.

Feel free to contact me at 610-695-8748 for more information or go to my website at http://www.yourwealthadvocate.com.