How to Choose a Retirement Financial Planner

December 9, 2009 at 12:10 pm · Filed under Home & Family

Regrettably, some people don’t begin planning their retirements soon enough, nor do they fully grasp the principles of growing retirement income. This is due in part to the fact that most people don’t have access to reputable asset allocation advice. There’s actually plenty of good free investment advice out there, but you usually have to pay if you want the information customized to your needs. As a result, some people try to fend for themselves, only to find out later that they’re not where they want to be financially. This is why experts recommend using  financial pros to develop retirement plans. And because it’s your hard-earned money, you owe it to yourself to do your homework first so you can ask intelligent questions questions of the financial advisor and understand the answers. Learning the financial ropes a bit in advance can also lower the financial consultant’s bill.

Here are some of the subjects you should investigate before you hire a professional financial advisor:

How insurance impacts your financial future
Not everyone needs life insurance basics because they don’t have dependents that make life insurance necessary. But those who do should make sure they understand what they’re buying. Knowing the difference between whole life, term life and variable universal life (VUL) will help you choose the right option for your circumstances. And I’ll clue you into one fact right from the start: cash value policies can usually be counted on to produce a bad return on investment and will probably cause your family to have inadequate coverage. So you should keep that in mind when you speak to a financial consultant.

The difference between load and no-load mutual funds
Some financial consultants get commissions on sales instead of an hourly rate, so they only make money if they steer you toward “loaded” funds (funds with service fees). This is why it’s sometimes better to pay by the hour for financial consulting, so you can get objective advice. If you study the difference between load and no-load funds, you’ll see why this distinction is important.

Have an idea when you want to retire and how much you’ll need to save
Before you meet with a financial planner, it would be prudent to know approximately when you want to retire and how much money you think it will take to maintain your lifestyle. That will help him or her to work with you to create a plan to get you where you need to go.

Once you’ve done the homework above, there’s just one more thing to do: make some inquiries of your friends and family if they have any recommendations before you pick a financial consultant to work with. Once you have that information, see if the candidates have built wealth in their own lives. If they haven’t been able to do it for themselves, they won’t be able to do it for you!

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Wealth-Building: Tips for Picking a Financial Consultant

December 3, 2009 at 5:14 am · Filed under Money and Finance

Unfortunately, some people don’t begin planning their retirements soon enough, nor do they fully grasp the principles of growing retirement income. I attribute this to the fact that most people don’t have access to dependable mutual funds investing advice. It’s not that there isn’t good financial advice out there, but payment to a consultant is usually involved if you want custom information. So, many people opt to go it alone, only to discover too late that they won’t have what they need to retire. This is why experts recommend using financial pros to develop retirement plans. And since it is your hard-earned money, you owe it to yourself to do some research first so you can ask informed questions of the financial advisor. Getting the lay of the land, financially speaking, will also save you money if your advisor charges an hourly rate.

Here are some of topics you should know before you pay someone for financial advice:

How life insurance affects your financial bottom line
Some people don’t need information on term life insurance and other forms of insurance protection because they don’t have dependents that make life insurance necessary. But those who do need it should choose wisely. Understanding the difference between cash value, term life and variable universal life (VUL) will allow you to pick the option best for you. And I’ll clue you into one fact right from the start: cash value policies, such as whole life and universal life can usually be counted on to produce a bad return on investment and will often leave your loved ones with inadequate coverage. So you should keep that in mind when you talk to a consultant.

The differences between no-load and load mutual funds
Some financial consultants get commissions on sales instead of an hourly rate, so they only make money if they steer you toward “loaded” funds (funds with service fees). This is why it’s sometimes better to pay by the hour for financial consulting, so you can get objective advice. If you study the difference between load and no-load funds, you’ll see why this distinction is important.

Have an idea when you will retire and how much money you’ll need
It’s a good idea to know about when you’ll retire and how much money it will take to maintain your lifestyle before you meet with a financial planner. That will help her form a plan.

Once you’ve done your homework, you’ll want to to do just a little bit more: ask your friends or family if they can recommend someone before you pick a financial consultant to work with. Once you have that information, see how well that person has done with his own finances. If you don’t see evidence of that they did it for themselves, they won’t be able to do it for you!

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