Best Practices – Choosing the Right Adviser for You
Before discussing tax brackets, household incomes, or any other numbers, empowering and educating new prospective clients is the first step for meaningful dialogue.
Below you will find a list of questions YOU should feel comfortable asking an adviser you are considering to hire. At Hilpan Moxie, we believe the onus is on us and we welcome the opportunity to answer these questions and the like in our continued efforts to help those seeking financial advice.
Questions Every Adviser Should be Able to Answer
- What is the mission statement of your firm?
- What is your investing philosophy?
- How many clients do you have, and how often do you communicate with them?
- What has been your proudest achievement for a client?
- What characteristics do your favorite clients share?
- What’s the worst experience you’ve had with a client, and how did you resolve it?
- What determines whether a client speaks to you or to your support staff?
- How long do clients typically stay with you?
- Can I see a sample account statement?
- Do you consider yourself financially successful? Why?
- How do you define financial success?
- How high an average annual return do you think is feasible on my investments?
- Do you use stocks or mutual funds? Do you use technical analysis? Do you use market timing?
- Do you focus solely on asset management, or do you also advise on taxes, estate and retirement planning, budgeting and debt management, and insurance? How do your education, experience, and credentials qualify you to give those kinds of financial advice?
- What needs do your clients typically have in common?
- How can you help your clients achieve their goals? How will you track and report my progress? Do you provide a checklist that clients can use to monitor the implementation of any financial plan we develop?
- How do you choose investments?
- What investing approach do you believe is most successful, and what kind of evidence can you show a prospective client that you have achieved that kind of success for your clients?
- Do you, when recommending investments, accept any form of compensation from any third-party? Why or Why not? Under which circumstances?
- How much, in actual dollars, do you estimate I would pay for your services the first year?
- What would make that number go up or down over time?
- What do you do when an investment performs poorly for an entire year? (Any adviser who answers ‘sell’ is not worth hiring)