5 Questions to Ask a Potential Financial Advisor, Ep #9 

<p>What should you ask a potential financial advisor? How do you make sure you hire the right person? How do you find a financial advisor that <em>actually cares</em>? In this episode of Retirement Made Easy, I answer a listener question by sharing the five top questions (+ a bonus question or two) you NEED to ask a potential financial advisor. Don’t miss it!</p> <h2>You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...</h2> <ul> <li>[0:31] What do you ask a potential financial advisor?</li> <li>[2:21] Question #1: How long have you been doing this?</li> <li>[4:46] Question #2: Do you have a specialty?</li> <li>[6:57] Question #3: Are you a fiduciary?</li> <li>[8:08] Question #4: How are you compensated?</li> <li>[13:14] Question #5: What does working together look like?</li> <li>[15:31] Bonus question: How many clients do you have?</li> </ul> <h2>How long have you been doing this?</h2> <p>This is the first question you should ask your potential financial advisor. If you’re about to retire, you want to hire someone to help you navigate through retirement. So I would caution you: don’t hire someone who is in their 60s or 70s. <em>They’re going to want to retire at some point too</em>. You don’t want to be searching for another replacement right away.</p> <p>You should look for at least 10+ years of experience in a financial advisor plus the right credentials. A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) is the gold standard. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Financial Consultant (CFC), and Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) are also popular choices. </p> <h2>What do you specialize in? </h2> <p>Hopefully, their answer is <em>retirement planning</em>. But some of these professionals specialize in insurance planning (life insurance, auto insurance, etc.). That’s probably not someone best-suited to help you with retirement planning. Just like doctors and lawyers have their own specialties—so do financial planners. Some work with retired government workers (highly specialized) or specialize in 401k or 4