Do you have a career or a business? Have you thought of the kind of life you would like to live when you no longer have the strength to work?
If you have not really given any serious consideration to any of these questions asked above, then you might be missing something. It pays greatly to know that it is an imperative thing to have a proper retirement preparation that would give you peace of mind and enjoyment when retirement time does truly come. As a matter of fact, you don’t need to wait till when you are almost going to retire before you start looking for a financial adviser. The best time to start preparing for retirement is today.
There are loads of financial advisors in town, and you need to know that you can’t just go out there to commit your retirement plans to just anybody. Take out time to search for all the Financial Advisor for retirement that you can find, and screen them one after the other based on your preference before making your choice. These 7 surefire tips are here to guide you towards choosing a good financial advisor that will fit into your retirement plans.
How to Choosing the Best Financial Advisor for Retirement
1. Choose a Certified Financial Planner (CFP® Professional)
The first thing to look out for when shopping for a financial advisor for your retirement is the qualification of the person. A professional and competent Financial Adviser should make it a duty to obtain the required certification for practicing in his/her industry. Ensure that you choose a financial planner that is certified. Whilst some financial advisors operate without this certification, the most ideal thing is to get someone that has taken the pain to go through the 2 years process of becoming a certified Financial Advisor. In addition to that, you can also consider those that are Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC).
2. Choose an Experienced Financial Advisor
If you would not want to entrust the repairs and maintenance of your automobile to an inexperienced mechanic, why would you want to do same with your financial retirement plan? You should ensure that you choose a Financial Adviser that has good years of experience in his or her field. Choose a financial advisor that has over time proved his or her worth in the industry. You could go about this by asking folks who have walked this path to be sure you get the very best.
3. Check for Good Investment Records
Since your retirement financial contribution will be invested on your behalf, it is of high necessity that you consider a financial adviser that has good record with investments. When you approach any Financial Advisor, request to see their investment records, if you can’t interpret it, look for someone who can. When you confirm your potential financial advisors’ investment records, it will ensure that you keep your retirement savings in a tested, trusted and reliable hands that would leave you with peace of mind and a dream of retiring.
4. Check Their Compensation Structure
Much more than ensuring that you choose a financial advisor that you can afford, be sure that the payment plan is good. You should also make it a point of duty to choose the one that has a compensations structure that suits you. Before you sign any contract with a Financial Advisor, make sure you request to see their compensation structure. Do not make a choice until you are satisfied with how you will get your returns on investment when you are retired.
5. Choose a Financial Adviser with Good Customer Service Ethics
When shopping for a financial advisor for your retirement, choose the one that has good customer service ethics. The truth is that whoever you choose as your financial advisor would have access to some of your health, family and personal issues. You don’t want to choose an advisor that can freely give out information on your health, family or personal challenges to the public. It takes a core and disciplined professional to know how to keep people’s challenges that they have privy to only to themselves without allowing a third party know about it.
6. Choose a Financial Advisor You Can Trust
You just have to choose a financial advisor that you can trust because much more than entrusting your finance in their care, you will also be entrusting the quality of life you are expected to live after retirement in their care as well. The truth is that anybody can pose to be a financial advisor as long as they have the money to obtain the required license to practice. Even a criminal that has never been indicted of any financial crime can as well claim to be a financial adviser. Make sure you screen their past records so that you won’t fall victim to any fraudster out there looking for people to dupe.
7. Choose the One You Can Afford
No doubt there are various financial planners out there with different service fees and different fees and contribution schemes. Since you are not competing against anybody but yourself, you should feel comfortable to choose a Financial Advisor you can afford. There is no point over stretching your financial budget to be able to meet up with your retirement plans. Which is why it is advisable to start planning as early as when you get your first job.
The easiest way to make a great choice when you have loads of options is to know exactly what you are looking for before going out there to start shopping for it. If you don’t have a pre-informed knowledge of the kind of Financial Advisor you want for your retirement plans, you might likely fall into the wrong hands. However, if you take your time to follow the 7 tips discussed above, coupled with other information you could garner via your personal research, you will sure get a Financial Advisor that would fit perfectly into your retirement plans.