This page will answer “how to find a good financial planner near me?” and discuss financial planner vs financial advisor.
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The cost of hiring a financial planner depends on your situation and the level of service you receive. The more complicated the situation, the higher the financial planner fees will be.
For example, if you are planning on moving into retirement or have complex investments, it’s likely that they will charge more than those who do not need such services or don’t have as many assets under management.
Financial planner vs financial advisor
To serve as a better guide on how to find a good financial planner near me, it’s practical to determine the key differences between a planner and advisor.
Financial Advisor
A financial advisor is someone who provides advice to clients about their investments and other financial matters. The questions they usually deal with are along the lines of, “Are these funds or stocks going to be profitable in this time period?” or “what do I need to do to diversify my portfolio?”
A financial advisor must offer direction and counsel. This is the difference between a financial advisor and an execution stockbroker, who merely executes deals on behalf of clients, or a tax accountant, who merely files tax returns without offering guidance on how to optimize tax benefits.
A good financial advisor should be a well-educated, credentialed, experienced financial expert who works on behalf of their clients.
It should also be noted that financial advisors can be classified into two distinct categories: those who are bound to a fiduciary duty, and those who are bound to a reasonableness standard.
Financial Planner
Financial planners customize their methods and suggestions based on their holistic assessment of your financial goals and well-being. A financial planner could also be used to describe a financial advisor who uses this method in their plan.
When you work with a financial planner organization, you may be assigned to a team of financial planning specialists, with specialized financial planners focusing on analysis and others on areas like customer communication.
In order to create comprehensive strategies to help the client maximize their potential for achieving their financial goals, financial planners may also work with allied professionals who are members of a client’s team outside of the organization, such as tax experts, lawyers, and risk management specialists.
How to find a good financial planner near me?
There are a few things to take note for how to find a good financial planner near me.
First, ask the planner if they’re registered as a fiduciary. If they say no, ask them how they deal with clients with your specific needs. Do they have vested interests in selling you particular products, or can they be trusted to give you good faith financial advice?
Second, find out if the person has experience working with clients like yourself. This can be done by asking for references.
If someone has been in business for more than three years but hasn’t seen one client at all yet—or hasn’t seen any clients with similar needs as yours—it may be worth considering another option.
And finally: make sure that you do your research about their credentials, where they have received training or if they have any certifications (Certified Financial Planner – CFP)
You can find active financial planners that work for a wide range of companies, including accountancy firms, insurance providers, independent financial planning firms, and investment firms, in addition to financial services companies like banks and broker-dealers.
If this is your first time seeking financial counsel or handling your finances, you may even consider robo-advisors, or digital platforms that offer automated, algorithm-driven financial planning and investment services with little to no human oversight.
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Adam is an internationally recognised author on financial matters, with over 760.2 million answer views on Quora.com, a widely sold book on Amazon, and a contributor on Forbes.
