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subject: Is Your Financial Planner Asking You The Right Financial Advisor Interview Questions? [print this page]


Any financial advisor that you work with should ask you the right financial advisor interview questions when you're working together to develop your financial plan. However, not all so-called financial planners will bother to ask you the right questions because they are too interested in selling you their company's financial products or are simply shackled by the goal of building a particular amount as your retirement nest egg. This approach can tragically leave you and your family with insufficient assets since it can be difficult to define a particular number that represents the amount you need for a decent life. If the financial adviser simply asks you how much you need when you retire and what your risk tolerance is, you should consider working with somebody else who will take a more comprehensive approach to financial planning.

Inevitably, comprehensive financial advisor interview questions will deal with personal issues such as your attitude towards money, simply because you are not only developing a simple financial plan, but your financial life. Of course, before you deal with these issues you will have to discuss your expectations with your financial planner, what your definitions of successful financial planning are and how involved you want to be in the process. Once you have settled these matters, you can begin discussing your financial goals and what you want to achieve with financial planning. Among the issues you will have to deal with when working out a financial plan:

What is your life history? What was your financial situation in the past and what are your financial goals for the future? How do you define assets? What is your attitude towards money? How would you define financial independence or freedom? At what age would you like to achieve financial freedom?

What provisions will you make for your children apart from paying for their higher education? Do you plan to leave them a legacy after you're gone, or do you want to leave them a bequest while you're still alive? Do you plan to set up other financial arrangements, such as trusts, for them?

What are your financial plans for your retirement? Do you plan to travel? What other plans do you have, such as setting up a business or continuing to work part-time? What about provisions for elder care, should you need it?

Of course, apart from these, there will also be discussions about your assets and the debt you are presently carrying. The financial planner will take all these factors into consideration when making financial planning recommendations. And they should always put your interests first and take legal responsibility for the recommendations they make.

A final thing to remember about a financial plan is that once you have developed it, it will not remain fixed throughout time. A good financial plan will be dynamic and flexible enough to adjust to unexpected developments in external conditions and changes in your financial goals.

And your financial planner should be there with you to periodically discuss the plan and make sure that it reflects what you want to achieve at any particular time in your life.

Securities and Investment Advisory Services may be offered through NFP Securities, Inc. (NFPSI), Member FINRA/SIPC. NFPSI is not affiliated with Universal Partners.

by: Chris Nichols




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