6 Things Not to Do When Selecting a Financial Advisor
6 Things Not to Do When Selecting a Financial Advisor
Helping people make smart financial decisions
Hiring a financial advisor is one of those pivotal life decisions - a fork in the road that can dictate the path of your financial future for decades to come.
A study from Northwestern Mutual of the attitudes and behaviors of American adults toward money found that 71% of them felt their financial planning needed improvement, while only 29% work with a financial advisor.1
Research suggests people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.2
The value of working with a financial advisor varies by person and advisors are legally prohibited from promising returns, but research suggests people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.2
While hiring a financial advisor can help you maximize your retirement nest-egg, there are some potential pitfalls you should be aware of before you choose who to hire.
Chart
Assuming 5% annualized growth of $500k portfolio vs 8% annualized growth of advisor managed portfolio over 25 years.
The hypothetical study discussed above assumes a 5% net return and a 3% net annual value add for professional financial advice to performance based on the Vanguard Whitepaper “Putting a Value on your Value, Quantifying Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha”.
Please carefully review the methodologies employed in the Vanguard Whitepaper. To receive a copy of the whitepaper, please contact compliance@smartasset.com. The value of professional investment advice is only an illustrative estimate and varies with each unique client’s individual circumstances and portfolio composition. Carefully consider your investment objectives, risk factors, and perform your own due diligence before choosing an investment adviser.
1. Don’t Hire a Non-Fiduciary Financial Advisor
A fiduciary financial advisor is held to a strict fiduciary standard. That commitment is a powerful one -- one that means that they must always act in the best interest of their clients, avoid conflicts of interest and dislcose any potential conflicts of interest and to provide all relevant facts to their clients.
If you’re currently heeding the advice of a non-fiduciary advisor, use our free tool to find a fiduciary who operates with your future in mind.
2. Don’t Simply Hire the First Financial Advisor You Find
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