Planning your financial future is even more important than planning your wedding day. (Special to The Packet)
Selecting the right financial consultant is key to healthy financial future
By GRACE SPENCER
Special to The Packet
Most people are willing to give you their two cents on what to do with your money. Advice is easy to find but good advice may be hearder to come by. As an investor, it's easy to focus on the performance of your investments.
But to achieve your investment goals, it's important to find a financial consultant who understands your lifestyle, goals, financial needs, risk level and personality. Here are a few points to keep in mind:
Does your financial consultant really listen? It's important that he or she really listens to you and asks a lot of questions, asking you to describe your investment goals and then helping you develop different investment strategies according to those goals. For example, if you are starting a retirement fund or saving for a wedding, there are different investment options that may work better in each situation.
Does your financial consultant keep you updated on your accounts? You should receive regular statements showing you the activity in your accounts and information about new investments that might be appropriate to your unique financial situation.
In addition, your financial consultant should sit down with you regularly and review your financial situation.
Is your financial consultant looking out for new opportunities? You need a financial conultant who will be flexible and have fresh ideas on how to adapt your portfolio to your changing needs. You want to be able to rely on your financial consultant to call you with a new idea that could have the potential of improving your rate of return from your investments while matching your tolerance for risk and the time period in which you have to invest.
Do you get along with your financial consultant? Do you and your financial consultant feel comfortable around each other? Do your personalities blend well or do they clash?
These are important questions to answer. It's great to have a consultant with whom you can chat -- someone who feels like a trusted friend while still able to be objective when it comes to serving your financial needs.
You also want to make sure that your financial consultant understands your personality and the types of risks you are willing, and not willing, to take with your investments. A relationship based on open communication is vital to the sucess of your investment portfolio.
Can you trust your financial consultant? Trust is hard to define. But one of the best ways to help ensure that your financial consultant has your best interests at heart is to make sure he or she listens to you, asks and answers questions and communicates effectively and often.
Remember, you can always switch consultants if you don't feel you have the perfect match.
Grace Spencer is a financial consultant in the Hilton Head Island office of A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., member SIPC.
