A financial advisor is someone who offers professional advice on how best to save, invest, and grow your money.
The best financial advisors aren’t stockbrokers or accountants, but they are specialists who can help you build a financial safety net, if you find the right one.
Do you Need a Financial Advisor?
It is possible to manage your money on your own, people have been doing it for millennia. But hiring one of the best financial advisors can be a smart idea based on your position in life.
Say you’re in your 40’s or 50’s. You have a steady job and a 401K or a Pension. Maybe some savings, investments, and a piece of real estate as well. Your finances are more complicated than they once were, and a financial planner can help you make the most of your options.
Or say you’re in your 50’s. You have a corporate job, very little savings for retirement and no real assets. You want to stop working eventually, but don’t see how given your current situation. Disruptive Financial Strategies are your only option. The traditional 10 year retirement fix will not work for you and unfortunately, this is what most financial planners offer. This being said, there are options for you and MY RETIREMENT REHAB was created with you in mind.
According to a recent study by Transamerica, American workers age 50 and older have a median $135,000 in total household retirement savings. How many years of retirement could that nest egg really get you though? Not many.
Hop on our list here to learn about the options for your unique situation.
Common Questions to Ask An Advisor
When you do start looking for the best financial advisors, there are some common questions you can ask:
- What experience do you have?
- What licenses and credentials do you have?
- How much do you charge for services?
- What services do you offer?
- What kind of clients do you normally work with?
- Can you provide any references?
- What is your investment approach?
- How often will we interact?
- Do you have any financial interests I should know about?
Most of these are basic questions, just to make sure s/he’s the real deal before you move forward. I recommend having a thorough interview with your potential financial advisor, but these basic questions aren’t the only thing you should focus on.
Once you’ve laid the groundwork, here’s the most important thing you should look for in a financial planner:
What Really Matters for the Best Financial Advisors
The truth is, there are a lot of qualified financial advisors out there that can help you improve your savings and make smarter investments.
What really matters more than their skillset or billing policies is whether or not they understand and appreciate all of your concerns.
As a late career corporate worker, you don’t need or want the same old financial advice that applies to you 30 years ago. According to the Center for Retirement Research, waiting until age 45 to save for retirement means you have to put away three times as much as someone who starts saving at 25.
You need something disruptive — a strategy really catered to your unique situation.
And if thoughts like “job loss,” or “financial crisis” regularly linger in your brain, then you need a financial advisor who understands that as well.
You’re the kind of person who knows and worries about the fact that the US national debt is now 23 times larger than it was when Jimmy Carter was in office. Sadly, many finance workers, like regular employees, still have their heads in the sand about how vulnerable workers really are in this economy.
So when you do sit down with a financial advisor, be frank, and make sure they understand and have possible solutions for all your concerns. Those are the best financial advisors.