Services

Your advisor should be prepared to provide a description of these services in writing if you so request:

  • What services does the advisor specifically render?
  • Are they licensed to sell financial products, insurance or investments - stocks, bonds or mutual funds?
  • On what range of financial issues do they offer planning advice?
  • Will you be working directly and primarily with this person or will an associate or subordinate be assigned to your account?

You will want to personally meet and interview the person you will be primarily working with if it is not the advisor.

Compensation: How and How Much?

Financial advisors are compensated in basically 3 ways:

a) fee-based arrangement
b) commission
c) combination of fees and commissions

In any case your advisor should be able to give you a good estimate of the costs both of the creation of your financial plan and of its on-going management.