There are some very good reasons why you will want to hire a financial adviser to help you deal with your personal finances. For one, many of us just do not have the time to take care of our personal finances and the majority of us actually do not put our money to good use, which is something the financial adviser will do. Furthermore, most of us know very little about investing, tax refunds and other ways in which we could save and make additional money. This is where financial advisers come in.
But how to find the right one, the financial adviser who will do everything we need them to do? That is a whole different story.
Ask Around
The best way to begin your search for your new financial adviser is to ask your friends, family and acquaintances. The chances are that someone you know already has a financial adviser and they might be happy to recommend them to you. If you are not that lucky, there are plenty of websites and online boards where you can find people talking about different financial advisers in your area and this is the best place to start.
Decide what You Need
Not all of us have the same needs when personal finances are in question. Maybe you will need someone to take a look at your tax returns and your monthly income. Perhaps you will need someone who will invest your money in different markets. Since not all financial advisers are the same, they will be more or less effective at the things you need. Because of this, before you start interviewing the people for the job, you need to determine exactly what you need. This will save you a lot of time and ensure that you are interviewing only the best people.
Check their Credentials
There are different types of financial advisers out there and they will be more or less skilled and experienced. Before you can even begin to consider someone for the job, you will want to check their education. Did they go to college and have they passed all the needed exams (FNRA in United States and RG146 in Australia). You will also want to check their experience and see for how long they have practiced personal finance advising. If they are really good, they will also have attended seminars and workshops, enhancing their knowledge and expanding their expertise.
Find out about their Past Work
Another thing you will want to check into is how successfully they have been in the past. In order to do this, you will want to talk to people who have been their clients in the past. Good financial advisers will be happy to share the testimonials with you and they will gladly provide you with references. You should follow up on these – get in touch with some of their past clients and see what they have to tell about the work they had done for them. You cannot leave anything to chance.
Sense the “Fit”
There are people with whom you can easily work and those with whom you cannot. When looking for a financial adviser, you will want to hire someone who will be a good “fit”, so to say. Maybe you prefer people who are more concentrated on the numbers and who do not need a lot of involvement from you. Perhaps you prefer professionals who keep you in the loop and who will gladly spend more time with you. It all depends on what you need and like.
Once you have done your research and once you are almost 100% sure you have find the right financial adviser for your needs; only then should you commit and hire them to do work for you.
