ADVERTORIAL

Helping people make smart financial decisions

Whether you already have a financial advisor or are considering your options, it’s important to do your due diligence.

Here are seven valuable questions to ask:

Click Your State to Get Matched With Financial Advisors Who Serve Your Area

After you choose your state and answer a few questions, you can compare up to three advisors who serve your area and decide which to work with.

map
AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY DC

1.

Are you a fiduciary?

This means that the advisor is legally bound to act in your best interests. While registered investment advisors (“RIAs”) adhere to this standard, others such as stockbrokers have lower accountability thresholds.


2.

What fees will I be paying?

It can be difficult to assess all the fees involved in certain investments. Different investments have different types of fees, and in cases such as annuities, for example, they can be substantial.


3.

How will you be compensated?

Many financial advisors charge a percentage of assets under management or a fixed fee. However, some receive commissions on the sale of certain investments, which creates a conflict of interest.


4.

Do you have any disclosures?

Disclosures can refer to any past regulatory, criminal or disciplinary actions on an advisor’s record. These can be big red flags when deciding who to work with. You can search for these on the SEC website.

Get Smart with Your Assets

Terms of Use  |  Privacy Policy  |  About Us

© 2022 SmartAsset

Assuming 5% annualized growth of $500k portfolio vs 8% annualized growth of advisor managed portfolio over 25 years. Source: Vanguard Research

IN THE PRESS:

SmartAsset Awards & Accolades

Best Wealth

Management Solution

FINOVATE AWARDS

2020 FINALIST

Best Financial Planning

Technology Company - NY

WEALTH & FINANCE INTERNATIONAL

FINTECH AWARDS - 2021

Innovation Award

for Personal Finance

FINTECH BREAKTHROUGH

2019

5.

What certifications do you have?

Certifications can be a good indicator of an advisor’s level of expertise. Two of the most notable designations are the certified financial planner (CFP) and chartered financial consultant (ChFC). Both require an advisor to have a certain level of experience, complete coursework, submit to a background check and abide by a set of ethical standards.


6.

What’s your investment philosophy?

Advisors have a range of investing strategies available to them, and some may be more aligned with your risk preferences. If your primary goal is preservation of wealth, for example, that may require a different approach than pursuing aggressive growth.


7.

What types of clients do you specialize in?

Some financial advisors work exclusively with wealthy individuals and their families. Others may work specifically with business owners or people in a certain professional fields, such as doctors or university employees. Choosing an advisor who works with clients whose situations are similar to yours means he or she will be better equipped to offer the type of guidance and advice you need.

now matching

over 50,000  people a month

Put Your Money to Work

Get matched with up to 3 advisors

Take Retirement Quiz

SmartAsset

Empowering people to make smart financial decisions.

This is not an offer to buy or sell any security or interest. All investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Working with an adviser may come with potential downsides such as payment of fees (which will reduce returns). There are no guarantees that working with an adviser will yield positive returns. The existence of a fiduciary duty does not prevent the rise of potential conflicts of interest. 

SmartAsset Advisors, LLC (“SmartAsset”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Insight Technology, is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser. SmartAsset’s services are limited to referring users to third party registered investment advisers and/or investment adviser representatives (“RIA/IARs”) that have elected to participate in our matching platform based on information gathered from users through our online questionnaire. SmartAsset does not review the ongoing performance of any RIA/IAR, participate in the management of any user’s account by an RIA/IAR or provide advice regarding specific investments.

We do not manage client funds or hold custody of assets, we help users connect with relevant financial advisors.

Other than application and licensing fees, SmartAsset did not provide compensation for the aforementioned awards. 


Take Retirement Quiz

7 Questions People Forget to Ask Their Financial Advisors