More and more people need the help of a financial advisor to manage their financial health and well-being. This may be because they have accumulated a lot of wealth and have to have this managed properly, or they may need help with an upcoming retirement, or they may want to save for a child’s college fund, and so on. According to professional financial advisors like Keith Springer, it is vital that people compare the different advisors that are out there in order to find the one that will best serve their needs. To achieve this, there are a couple of things that people should investigate before deciding which advisor to sign up to.

What Are Their Professional Designations?

Financial advisors can have a range of different credentials. All of those indicate that they are highly educated and committed to furthering their profession. However, you have to make sure that you choose the designation that is most suitable for your needs. The most common designations include:

  1. The CFP (Certified Financial Planner), who plans for the future and looks at a situation as a whole.
  2. The CFA (Certified Financial Analyst), who helps you to choose stocks and other investments. Most of your communication with a CFA will be done over the telephone and email, rather than face to face.
  3. The CLU (Certified Life Underwriter), who specializes in insurance solutions. They focus, often, on estate planning and will-writing. They will usually have meetings with you once a year and will have little responsibilities in terms of your actual investment planning.

Have They Completed Additional Training?

Good financial advisors are committed to furthering their personal knowledge and experience. They should, therefore, take part in regular training and courses. You should ask them about this, and ask them why they have chosen those particular courses above others. In fact, the why is very interesting, because this is what will tell you a lot about their personal passions.

Who Will You Have Meetings with?

Your first meeting will usually be with the financial advisor themselves. However, subsequent meetings may be handled by assistants. Whether you agree with that or not is a personal decision, which is why you need to ask about it. Often, a financial advisor will be happy to have meetings with you, but the cost will be higher as well. If you are happy to meet with an assistant, you should look into who they are and what their credentials are.

Are You Your Advisor’s Ideal Client?

Last but not least, you have to understand that financial advisors have preferences themselves as well. There will be areas of finance that they are more interested in than others, and they are therefore keener to work with clients who have questions on those specific areas. It is likely that they will also be better trained in those fields. The more you fit the personal preference of the financial advisor, the better they are likely to be able to work for you.