How to find a financial advisor?

I am looking for some advice from the masses here for a subject I'm not too familiar with - how does one find a financial advisor? 

I was prompted to think about this when casually browsing homes for sale, thinking whether or not it is feasible to make a move.  The house is a separate topic and I know the housing market is still weird with high rates on loans right now so I'm in no rush.  What I would like to do is meet with someone to discuss my finances and review what I am doing with regards to paying down debts, savings, and retirement funds.  That is what a financial advisor should be for, correct?  I think I have been managing things well, but it would be nice to have some feedback from a professional that I am on the right track.

Questions & Thoughts

1. What should I expect them to cover?
2. How much does it cost?
3. Has this type of business become mostly on-line meetings or can I still do it in person? 
4. Does it matter if the advisor is local to me?  
5. The advisor should be a fiduciary as well, correct?

I have a friend that is a financial advisor. Do you want me to see if he knows anyone in your area?

Find one that charges a fixed rate and does not work off commission from the funds he sells.

Invest in cars, guns, and booze. 
 

You can send me the check next quarter...

https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/financial-planning

Big Dave has some guys to look at.

SWMBO is a financial advisor.  Some things need to be done in person for security reasons.  

We got recommendations from money-savvy friends and interviewed 4 or 5 people.

The one we ended up with was not an independent fiduciary (we interviewed several of each type).  However, they were happy to advise on our 401ks even though they didn't rep either of those  companies.

We've been very pleased with the results.

Good luck.  I found it a total pain and in the end luck gave me the best one.  Interviewed a bunch, they all seemed greedy.  "I normally don't take customers with only 100K to invest but will make an exception".  Ended up with Fidelity because they were local and there was a real person to visit.  Employee turnover has now given me the third person and we seem to be doing well.  Some of it was my own education but this kid has been a help and I like working with him.  

Nitroracer (Forum Supporter) said:

I am looking for some advice from the masses here for a subject I'm not too familiar with - how does one find a financial advisor? 

I was prompted to think about this when casually browsing homes for sale, thinking whether or not it is feasible to make a move.  The house is a separate topic and I know the housing market is still weird with high rates on loans right now so I'm in no rush.  What I would like to do is meet with someone to discuss my finances and review what I am doing with regards to paying down debts, savings, and retirement funds.  That is what a financial advisor should be for, correct?  I think I have been managing things well, but it would be nice to have some feedback from a professional that I am on the right track.

 

Questions & Thoughts

1. What should I expect them to cover?
2. How much does it cost?
3. Has this type of business become mostly on-line meetings or can I still do it in person? 
4. Does it matter if the advisor is local to me?  
5. The advisor should be a fiduciary as well, correct, 

1.  It depends upon what you want assistance with but the basics should include wealth management, asset protection, retirement strategy modeling, planning for things like RMAs, etc.
2. Different pricing options depending upon what you are asking for, and who you call.  Some flat fee, some "free" commission based (you don't want those) but you will find most take a percentage of the managed assets.  1% is pretty common.
3.  State laws differ, but we have been using the same advisor through multiple moves all over the country. Now that we are semi-local, a couple of hours a way, he drives down if we ask him too. Mostly, we meet over MS Teams in the evenings. There are things he can't complete just via email, but a quick follow-up call after he sends an email with what he wants to do is all the confirmation he needs.
4. Long term no, but I would say short term yes, to build the relationship. Long term Teams / Webex etc should work for periodic meetings.
5.  Yes

If they are licensed you can find some interesting stuff about them, via the licensing board. Mine apparently had "enjoyed" his college experience :-)

A financial advisor is like a real estate agent. You don't need to be best friends, but you do need to be friendly, so you can have open / honest discussions. It's a business transaction, no more no less. I would be leery of all the brothers sisters second cousin referrals you'll start to get if you ask around. Interview multiple, find someone your comfortable with, find out if their average client matches your situation. The group that manages 8 figure clients, isn't probably going to chase 6 figure clients, and you won't get much of their attention even if you sign them up.

Good luck!
 

According to Forbes:
Commission-only advisors are not fiduciaries. They work as salespeople for investment and insurance brokerages, and are only held to suitability standards.

This is bad. You want fiduciaries. Though that still doens't weed out a bad fiduciary from a good one.

Point to keep in mind, any advisor that is not a fiduciary on your behalf is working for someone else that has priority over your financial interest.

The financial industry spent a bazzilion dollars lobbying against a law that would have made them fiduciary to the retail investor. I wonder why?

Not saying that they don't have a role, but their paycheck does not depend on you doing well.

You might want to check with your bank too. My bank has a small team of fiduciaries on staff that act as a "personal banker" for qualified individuals. They handle wealth management, mortgages, estate planning, etc. They are essentially salesmen/women for the bank so I'm not sure I'd use them alone for all of my financial planning, but it's convenient and free in my case which is fine for just getting some basic feedback. As long as you understand that they're going to pitch their in-house products and services first, it's not bad for an otherwise free service.

Following with interest.  My wife and I are trying to find an advisor now and I don't have the slightest clue where to start.  She's already retired from her chosen career and we're hoping I can do the same in the next 1-3 years.  Though "retire" for me means leaving the industry I've been in for over a quarter century and doing something else...several part time jobs that are fun for me.  I think we're in position to do it, but I want to be sure.  

I am a financial advisor, and I am semi-local to you as well. I'd be happy to meet in person, I'll send you a message on the forum. 

This has been relevant information and helped me weed out some "suggested" advisors by our bank. I think I really need like a once-yearly consult, but has to start by talking to someone :)

You want a teacher and an advisor, not a salesman. 90% of the people in the business are salesmen so it may take awhile. If you feel like you have been on a used car lot during the meeting, run. Interview several and take your time before making a decision. 

 Bankers and insurance salespeople are typically not qualified to sell securities. There are exceptions but caveat emptor. Any insurance or annuity related products are crap. They are getting double or triple commission fees in either scenario. If either come up in the conversation, run. 

When it comes to cost, it can vary depending on the advisor and the services you're looking for. Some advisors may charge a flat fee, while others may charge a percentage of your assets under management. It's important to discuss fees upfront to avoid any surprises later on. As for meeting with an advisor, it's becoming increasingly common for meetings to be held online, but many advisors still offer in-person meetings as well.  If you're looking for a reliable financial planning and investment firm, you might want to check out thefinitygroup.com. They can help you find a financial advisor that's right for you and offer expert advice on managing your finances. Good luck on your search!

tester (Forum Supporter) said:

Any insurance or annuity related products are crap. They are getting double or triple commission fees in either scenario. If either come up in the conversation, run. 

Yep, I received a cold call from a non fiduciary a few months ago representing a company where I have one of my 401K's.  I agreed to having a free initial consultation so I completed an on-line survey (age, when I want to retire, how much I have saved, where it's invested, debts, desired retirement income, etc.) and scheduled a one-hour meeting with her.  About 15 minutes into the meeting she asked me how I felt about annuities and I said for people that have far more money than they need they're an additional, though inefficient, means of diversification.  She literally replied with well, we're going to have to change your opinion on that.

What the berk???  If I'd said something like there's no situation where they should ever even be a small part of a portfolio, she could have made some rational defense on their behalf.  I mean, if you've got twice as much money as you need to reliably live whatever lifestyle you want and don't care about leaving a legacy, sure, throw a little at an annuity.  But, the vast majority of people can't afford an annuity's horrible inefficiency and either she knows far less than I do or she just doesn't care;  probably the latter.

In reply to RX Reven' :

"...well, we're going to have to change your opinion on that. Because that's what I'm here to sell you, because annuities give me the best commissions."