Are you trying to figure out how to hire a financial consultant? If yes, you should check out our helpful guide by clicking here.

Did you know that 99% of Americans do not use a financial advisor? If you are currently part of this figure but want to figure out how to hire a financial consultant, we are here to help.

Keep reading to learn more about hiring a financial advisor to avoid making any costly mistakes in the future. 

What Is a Financial Advisor?

Before we dive in, let’s clear up what a financial advisor is. A financial consultant or advisor is someone that is qualified to help you understand your college savings, retirement, and other investment goals.

An experienced and good professional will speak to you in terms that you will understand. They will teach you enough to empower you to make important financial decisions that will affect you in the future. 

Questions

When you are looking for the best financial advisor have questions ready to ask them. You want to make sure that you are well informed before committing to someone. Some questions you can ask are:

• How long have you been in the finance world?
• How do I contact you with any questions?
• How often do you communicate with your clients?
• How will you be paid?

Make sure you always get a financial second opinion to not regret your decision. You might get bad advice from the first advisor you speak to and have no idea, especially if this is a new world for you. 

Investing Philosophy

Every financial consultant will have their own unique investment philosophy and you want to make sure that the potential advisor you are speaking with can explain their own philosophy to you. You want to move forward with someone that has a long-term investing strategy that fits your needs and situation and lets you share your opinion and take it into account. 

If they are recommending a particular fund you can ask them if they personally invest in the fund they are recommending. This will help you know more about their philosophy and if they are willing to invest their own money in something they are recommending.

How Do They Get Paid?

A major question you want to clear up in the very beginning is how they get paid? Do they have a fee-only payment or a commission-based payment? 

A fee-only might be a bit more upfront than a commission-based consultant because this is the only way they make money. They do not make any money off your investments. 

A commission-based consultant is typically more affordable because they take a commission from your investments. In the last couple of years, thanks to a few laws put in place a commission-based broker has to legally work in your best interest and not sell you a product that is not the best for your financial situation.

Ready to Hire a Financial Consultant?

Now that you know more about hiring a financial consultant we hope you are feeling more confident to start shaping up your financial future. There is no reason to get to retirement worried about what you are going to do because you did not take the time to plan when you were younger.

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