Picking a Financial Advisor, by Scott Stolz, CFP, RICP (week 45)
There’s plenty of advice online on how to find a financial advisor that fits your needs. And quite frankly, all of it is rather good. You should most certainly understand what services any financial advisor does and does not provide, how he or she is compensated, and what credentials he or she has. Understanding the advisor’s process and investment philosophy is also important. The Financial Planning Association will most certainly tell you that you should select only Certified Financial Planners (CFP®). Registered Investment Advisory Firms will tell you that you should only choose an advisor that always serves as a Fiduciary (someone that must put your interests first). One such firm constantly runs commercials that claim “we do better when you do better” and “we never sell commissionable products.” While I fully agree that any advisor should always put your interest first, just because an advisor does not receive a c...