I am hiring a financial planner and need to know what to ask the references provided to me?
March 31st, 2010
I am in the process of hiring a financial planner. The financial planner provided me with several references. What are the best questions to ask these references to help me make the most educated decision about selecting a financial planner.
The usual questions are How long have you known the FP; what is their feelings regarding the FP and their company. But the most important question you MUST ask is “Will you continue to do business with this FP?” Many times references will recommend someone to avoid discussing anything unpleasant. By asking “will you continue to do business with the FP?” you make a yes or no asnwer very easy and that will tell you everything you need to know.
I completely agree with Ted’s questions above. A question you may want to ask yourself now and again in the future as your relationship with the financial planner grows is “Do I feel comfortable with this person as a steward of my money?”
I would ask the financial planner if he has an account at http://www.Top10Traders.com – this way you can see how well his stocks picks have done compared to other investors at the site.
http://www.top10traders.com is a free site that lets you create a portfolio of stocks with $100,000 in “play” money. Each day the site ranks the best performing portfolios, so you can see how your picks perform compared to other investors. You can also read posts on investing from the best traders, as well as share your own investing ideas.
Here are this month’s best traders:
http://www.top10traders.com/Top10Standings.aspx
Good luck!
check their criminal record – believe it or not they may have one