Eight Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor

You may like your financial advisor, but is he really looking out for you? All advisors are not created equal, and you have a right to know what makes them different! You also have a right to ask yours if he compares!

(1) Do you use a holistic approach to financial planning by determining my values and goals?

(2) Do you work on a fee-only basis, a commission basis, or both, and why?

(3) Do you have company-established insurance requirements, or do you recommend insurance only when it is needed by your clients?

(4) Do you attempt to 'beat' the market through timing and selection, or do you believe that attempts to do so are not worth the additional level of fees and risk? Are you aware that a vast majority of my returns will be based on asset allocation, rather than timing and selection?

(5) Are you a Registered Investment Advisor, and therefore a fiduciary? In other words, must you legally and ethically put my interests above your own?

(6) Do you meet with your clients at least three times a year to refine their portfolio and find out how events in their lives may have changed their financial goals?

(7) Do you return phone calls the same day you receive them, and are you available to answer questions as they arise?

(8) When you wake up each morning, do you ask yourself how you can best be of help to your clients that day?

Adjust these questions as you see fit, and depending upon what your own objectives and needs are from an advisor. The best advice is to never be afraid to ask!

? 2004 Matthew S. Clement, All rights reserved

Matthew S. Clement is a financial planner and investment advisor representative with Financial Network Investment Corporation, member SIPC. He provides holistic wealth management and retirement planning to individuals and businesses. He can be reached in New York at (845) 942-8578, or by email: ClementM@FinancialNetwork.com.

Angel Investors: Who They Are & When Are They Appropriate

Angel investors are individuals who invest in emerging business ventures.... Read More

How to Terror-Proof Your Money

"To drift is to be in hell, to be in... Read More

Sitcom Investing

A fickle stock market encourages good-humored mockery.Recently, as I watched... Read More

The Real Cost of a Bad Habit

What is the value of a good habit? Think of... Read More

Overbought/Oversold

Has your broker ever told you that a stock is... Read More

Fundamentals of Option Pricing

When one begins to consider an option, it is very... Read More

Finding a Broker

"Hey Joe! I need help finding a broker. I notice... Read More

An Investment Real Estate Strategy Unknown To Most Is A Negative Amortization Loan

If you want to make the most of your personal... Read More

Online Trading Options Strategies - Rolling

Rolling is defined in options online trading as moving a... Read More

Investing: The Art Of Making Your Money Work For You

There is a lot to know about investing. It all... Read More

The Dreaded Direct Question

(Please have a glass of water within reach before reading... Read More

Advice for International Investors on How to Safeguard Their Profits

What are the risks?Today, investors are increasingly turning to global... Read More

Keeping It Interesting

Some lines from a movie never leave your mind; I... Read More

An Introduction to Offshore Investing

Once upon a time, offshore investment strategies were spoken of... Read More

Investing for Retirement - Not an All or Nothing Play

In 1519, Hernando Cortes, beached on the shores of unexplored... Read More

Rolling your 401k: Contributory IRA vs. Rollover IRA

In an ideal world you would start your working career... Read More

Profitability And Stock Turn Rate

The inventory of the typical store represents the largest single... Read More

Effective Advice For A New Generation of Investors

CATCHING A FALLING KNIFEOne of the most common mistakes made... Read More

How to Analyze the Veracity of Investment Newsletters

When trying to analyze whether a promotional ad for an... Read More

Choosing A Financial Advisor

With so many financial advisors trying to woo you with... Read More

Ask The SEC

Who is the SEC and why should I ask them... Read More

An Economical Retirement Investment Plan

The practice of economy, directed toward a retirement investment plan... Read More

Investing Psychology Today Requires All Traders to Awaken Their Speculator Minds

Stock trading strategies are as rampant today, as they were... Read More

Tyranosaurus Rex

Everyone knows T Rex was the most fearsome of all... Read More

Retirement Is A Scary Proposition If Youre Without A Plan, And Running Out Of Time

Of the 75 million baby boomers nearing retirement today, many... Read More