What's the best way to find a reliable, trustworthy financial planner?

Question

My family is looking for someone who can help guide us with our financial planning. Any ideas for good resources? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

First thing to know is that anyone can call themselves a financial planner. The title does not mean anything.

Ask about educational background, professional memberships held, and years of experience.

Most would say, and I would agree, that you want a fee-based advisor ie. one that charges a rate per hour, and who will give you an estimate in advance of how many hours it will take to develop a plan.

You definitely DO NOT want one who earns a commission on products they sell to you (they are really just salespeople ... and of course whatever product they earn a commission selling is just right for you ... you can't trust them to be objective).

There isn't a great reason to deal with one who wants to earn a % fee on your assets eg. 1% annually of your invested assets. In other words, if you're worth $100,000, they charge you a fee of $1,000 per year. They can do little or no work, and still earn the $1,000 ... that doesn't make much sense. Why commit yourself to such an arrangement?

Be very wary of signing anything that commits you to staying with the planner for an extended period of time. If you are worth a modest amount of money, you probably do not need to have a continuous ongoing relationship with a financial planner. As their name suggests, they should be able to give you a plan - one that you can for the most part execute yourself.

Answer 2

first find a reputable company....second....stay away from "financial planners" because most are glorified insurance salesmen. third, look for someone who is a professional asset manager. fourth, stay away from anyone who is pitching a product...look for someone who represents more than one company. fifth, if they dont tell you what they make from your transaction, FIRE THEM. if you want to hire someone good, take a top wirehouse....if you want to do it yourself....go to morningstar.com or troweprice.com or fidelity.com and get a good low cost mutual fund provider....stay away from lifestyle funds....not hard to do....in general take 75% to stocks and 25% to bonds and allocate a little to many asset classes....may websites will explain in detail. best advice, hire a pro.

Answer 3

Ask friends or family who they use. This is my roomates dads company and he's been successful, I don't know if he would be local enough for you though. Good luck
www.hammonfinancialgroup.com

Answer 4

go to www.daveramsey.com and check out is ELP (endorsed local provider) for financial counseling. also read his book "Total Money Makeover".