8 Checklist Points for Hiring the Best Financial Planner

There are certain things in life that are better left for the experts to accomplish only. One cannot manage every aspect of life by themselves. If you don`t know how to drive a car, you would simply need to hire a professional driver. Same way, being a Canadian, if your finances are tough to manage, you would have to hire the services of certified financial planners in your area.

The process of hiring a finance maestro is just like recruiting a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for your company. You should take enough time before hiring someone if you want to continue working with them in the future. Although it could take a lot of time to find the perfect match, it would prove highly productive in the long run.

Following is the 8 Steps Checklist for hiring the best Financial Planner:

1. Understanding different kinds of Financial Advisors

Just like a doctor specializes in a specific field like Cardiology, Neurosurgeon, etc. business gurus also have their own specialties. Some of them deal in financial planning while others have expertise in the investment sector. Some are offering their services in the retirement plans, meanwhile, others specialize in wealth accumulation.

Therefore, it’s very important to know what different kinds of money consultants are available in your local or surrounding areas.

2. Narrowing down Experts

There are hundreds and thousands of Commercial virtuosos present in Canada. But, it doesn’t mean that all of them can provide you with the same level of adeptness for every monetary problem of yours.

The key here is to narrow down commerce geniuses to a specific financial function among the following certifications:

• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
• Chartered Financial Consultant (CHFC)
• Canadian Investment Manager (CIM)
• Chartered Life UnderWriter (CLU)
• Certified Management Professional (CMP)
• Registered Financial Planner (RFP)
• Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP)

Make sure not to mix up one with another while calling and working with a reliable financial planner for money related counseling or proper financial management.

3. Checking Required Qualifications

After knowing who is who, the next step you should take is to look for a financial analyst with the required qualifications. It is worth noting that there are many fraudulent budgetary contractors out there who buy credentials for some fee.

You can easily Google who actually governs or administers a certain qualification. You may contact the concerned body and verify whether the degree or diploma of a certain expert is a valid one or not.

4. Probing into Past Cases

You can check with the concerned authorities about the history and past cases of a prospective economic counselor. In Canada, the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) specializes in prudential regulations. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) works for consumer protection.

Keep tracking the history of complaints against an independent monetary confidant for a prolonged period of time. Finding a grievance against one doesn`t mean that you should quit hiring them. It may be the case that they have been around in this business for quite some time. So, it`s natural to have one or two objections against them. However, if there are numerous complaints, then you should look for another specialist.

5. Knowing their Compensated Methods

There are many ways in which a banking specialist may charge for its compensation. One of the least biased methods is Fee-Only. Other styles of charging for recompense are an hourly fee, asset-based fee, or commissions to name a few.

It`s no big deal which method an Accounting counselor utilizes for its services. You can always make necessary arrangements depending upon your needs.

For example, if you are going to purchase a property without the intention of actually selling it, you may not need ongoing advice for it in the future. In that case, you could pay a commission to your adviser and it would prove to be highly cost-effective.

6. Using Search Engines

Almost every one of us makes a Google search to find specific information on a daily basis. The same can be applied to finding a suitable financial master. You can look for the right people with the right credentials for your case. You may also know about the relevant billing criteria for certain experts through different search engines.

As far as location is concerned, you can check for specialists available in your own locality and those who are present remotely as well. It depends on your own preference whether you can work it out from a distant place or you want direct interaction with the professionals.

7. Asking Key Questions

Following are some of the key questions that you may ask your potential financial guide in order to know their suitability:

• Who`s Your Ideal Client?
• How Long have you been Practicing?
• What`s your preferred Compensation method?
• Ask them about a certain Accounting Concept that you are already familiar with.
• Ask them about possible retirement planning projections.

After these basic queries, you would be in a better state to make a decision whether to hire someone of that caliber or not.

8. Having Personal Interaction

Personal interaction is very crucial before deciding to go with a certain investment consultee. This is necessary because your financial consultant would like to know about your earnings, goals, and interests. So, it would be easy for you to provide such individual information if you are comfortable talking to them first.