5 Questions to ask your financial advisor
A financial advisor or planner can be a great resource in helping you achieve your financial goals. As qualified professionals, they provide guidance on personal finance and wealth management and facilitate your financial planning so that you can make smart money decisions that help your money work harder.
It’s important that you can trust your advisor and that their values align with yours. Here’s what to ask them to help decide whether they’re the right fit for your needs.
Which services do you offer?
Financial advising and planning covers many areas, from investments to retirement, insurance to wealth management and tax, and more. Therefore, depending on your needs, life stage and goals, it’s an important question to ask so you can be confident that this person can effectively help you.
What experience do you have?
Is this person qualified and do they have the right experience to handle your money and help with your needs? It’s important to determine whether they have helped other people in similar circumstances to yours. You can also verify that the brokerage and the advisor are accredited with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) by visiting their website and searching for the brokerage or adviser in their database.
What are the costs involved?
From upfront and monthly fees to commission, knowing what they charge for and how much they charge is crucial because it can impact your money’s growth and you want to ensure that you are being fairly, and not unnecessarily, charged. You also don’t want to lose out on the full potential of interest earned on your investment if most of it is going towards fees.
What’s your investment philosophy?
Understanding how your financial advisor approaches investing / money management will help you align your expectations so you’re on the same page. This also speaks to how they evaluate your needs and create a plan for your goals. For your financial planner to effectively manage your money, you need to believe in what they’re doing and allow them to do it.
How will this relationship work?
Ask how much access you’ll have to this person and how often you can expect communication. Depending on the agreement and how big your portfolio is, there might be limitations to the frequency or times they can be contacted. What is your preference, and how will they keep you updated?
You need to be comfortable with the parameters of the relationship and choose someone who works and communicates in a way that suits you.
Align your financial goals to your life goals: speak to one of our financial planners today.