What do you look for when selecting a financial planner?

Experience?

Education?

Reputation his/hers/the company

Excellent question. I'm in dire need of one.

I have one.

I was introduced to him by some of my friends who utilized his services. It was mainly by word of mouth.

I asked them about their experiences with their planner, as well as how their portfolio is doing, how often they got calls, etc., and I've been pleased, thus far.

I looked at his experience, as well as the company and their portfolio.

He doesn't call me every month, we talk twice a year, and we're fine. I only talk to him twice a year because that's what I told him I preferred. I didn't want to worry about my investments every month like I was playing the stock market, I only wanted to get a solid, long term plan, and see how it was doing every 6 months or so.

Whoever you end up getting, make sure they know what it is that you are wanting to do with your money (save for house, retirement, new boat, etc.), as well as outlining your expectations in terms of how often you want/need to be contacted.

I am currently with Northwestern Mutual.

quote:

Originally posted by 90Aggie:
Excellent question. I'm in dire need of one.

I had one. He ran away got married and is now moving.

He is very good. He recommended some folks--but I wasn't too thrilled with them.

I am still looking, though!

FG, I honestly think you should sit down with someone from Primerica Financial Services. Have them complete an FNA (Financial Needs Analysis), then follow exactly what is in that FNA. However, do not use them. The FNA is a financial roadmap, and it is absolutely free. Some companies charge you up to $500 to do the same exact thing for free. I like Primerica, however, I do not like their investments. They have a 5% front end sales load. I would recommend you roll with T. Rowe Price or Vanguard. These companies have no-load mutual funds. So if you put in $100, you get back $100 (+/- market fluctuation). With Primerica/Smith Barney, you put in $100, get back $95. So your money has to work much harder to even get the $5 back that you just put in. So no load funds to me are a no brainer. With Vanguard, you need to have at least $3K I believe to invest. TRP allows people to invest with as little as $50 a month.

If I can give some advice, it would be simple. Max out your Roth IRA, which allows yearly contributions of $4000. That will be up to $5000 in 2008, if I'm not mistaken. IMHO, this is the best investment tool. After-tax investing, so this leads to tax-free withdrawals in retirement, depending on whether or not the account was opened for 5 years or not.

Of course, life insurance is a must!!! Don't get any of that whole like CRAP, just term. Whole life, in many situations, is a complete ripoff. For someone young like you, try and get a 35 year term policy. Primerica does these for a pretty good price.

Hope this helped. Good luck

Shine has some good advice, but I do not particularly care for Primerica. Many of the people they have know little about finance. They are just side hustling and will recommend products based on the amount of income they make off the product, not on the suitability to your financial needs and goals. For example, recommending whole life insurance regardless of circumstance.

As Suze Orman recommends, you should go with a flat fee financial planner. It may cost more upfront, but they tend to give better information because their income is not based on the product you pick.

If not, look at the investment companies that hire finance professionals and give them plenty of training such as Edward Jones or AXA. I graduated with Angela Bledseo. She is really smart. Check her our. www.angelabledsoe.com/index.cfm

Thanks Shine and FAMU CLIFF.

Good advice from both!

I research and choose investments on my own. I would suggest trying this if you have the time and patience.

I think it is a people decision, and it really depends on the level of diligence you feel comfortable with to make a decision. I think you can find highly competent people at many organizations, but you have to do the work to weed through the many lip service advisors. To put it in everyday terms (and forgive me for a rather naive example), it's probably similar to choosing a beautician in a new city. They probably don't have to work in the fancy salon to be a good ft. You probably want to see examples of their work, what all they are capable of doing (for both today and tomorrow), be sure that they know how to work with "hair like yours", get a feel for how many clients they have (capacity and client satisfaction), and also maybe hear a few references. With that, the questions I would probably be asking today are:


How long have you been in the business?
What certifications do you have?
How many clients do you have, and are you actively looking for new clients (if so, what's your target/capacity to take on new clients and still give me adequate attention)?
What's your total AUM (assets under management)?
What's your typical clients financial situation? How many "look like me from a financial perspective? i.e. if you are a small business owner, how many other small business owners does he/she advise?
Give me an idea of your decision making by describing a few of your clients' situations, what your recommendations were to them, and why you recommended what you did.
How have your recommendations performed against benchmarks, if applicable?
Do you manage your own wealth?
How much of your net worth is tied up in vehicles you recommend to clients? "Are they drinking their own Kool-aid"
How are you compensated?
Do you have any references that I can talk to?


At the end of the day, it is still a people decision, so you have to feel comfortable with them and their integrity. I actually value when a person says they don't know something, but will get back to me (so long as it doesn't happen frequently enough that I feel they know next to nothing).

Good post, lil rattler.

That makes sense to me since I'm clueless about the whole FP thing. Gives me a good starting point.

Can anyone recommed any books/articles to read?

quote:

Originally posted by 90Aggie:
Good post, lil rattler.

That makes sense to me since I'm clueless about the whole FP thing. Gives me a good starting point.

Can anyone recommed any books/articles to read?

Ag, I receive the Money and Black Enterprise magazines every month. Both are good, but I think Money is better for financial planning. BE is better for entreneurship.

I have one....he is in Birmingham, AL and he is really really good.

quote:

Originally posted by shine3000:

quote:

Originally posted by 90Aggie:
Good post, lil rattler.

That makes sense to me since I'm clueless about the whole FP thing. Gives me a good starting point.

Can anyone recommed any books/articles to read?

Ag, I receive the Money and Black Enterprise magazines every month. Both are good, but I think Money is better for financial planning. BE is better for entreneurship.

Thanks!

I prefer Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine. I've been reading it for almost ten years.

FAMUGAL

Call Zaniela Harris 410-884-6600. She comes highly recommended from my personal network.

quote:

Originally posted by The Dark Knight:
I have one.

I was introduced to him by some of my friends who utilized his services. It was mainly by word of mouth.

I asked them about their experiences with their planner, as well as how their portfolio is doing, how often they got calls, etc., and I've been pleased, thus far.

I looked at his experience, as well as the company and their portfolio.

He doesn't call me every month, we talk twice a year, and we're fine. I only talk to him twice a year because that's what I told him I preferred. I didn't want to worry about my investments every month like I was playing the stock market, I only wanted to get a solid, long term plan, and see how it was doing every 6 months or so.

Whoever you end up getting, make sure they know what it is that you are wanting to do with your money (save for house, retirement, new boat, etc.), as well as outlining your expectations in terms of how often you want/need to be contacted.

I am currently with Northwestern Mutual.

Aren't you the same guy who didn't know anything ahout his funds a couple of years ago????

Anyway, lil_rattler is by far the most useful rattler on this board. Y'all should hire him to fix your budget down there in tally.