If you are looking for a Financial Planner, please select the button below to view Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Financial Planner.
- 1. What is your educational background?
- College degree
- Area of study
- Graduate degree
- Area of study
- 2. Do you have any professional certifications?
- Yes / No
- If yes, please list
- 3. Do you hold any securities registrations?
- Yes / No
- If not, please explain
- 4. Do you have your insurance license?
- Yes / No
- If not, please explain
- 5. Are you a Financial Advisor or an Insurance Agent?
- 6. If you are a Financial Advisor, how long have you been a Financial Advisor?
- Less than 2 years
- 2 – 5 years
- 5 – 10 years
- More than 10 years
- 7. Have you ever been cited or disciplined by a professional or regulatory body?
- Yes / No
- If yes, please explain
- 8. When providing financial planning advice, are you required to act as a fiduciary?
- Yes / No
- If not, please explain
- 9. Do you have a succession plan?
- Yes / No
- If not, please explain
- 10. How are you compensated?
- Fee-only?
- How is your fee calculated?
- Will I be charged other fees for the investments or products?
- Commission only?
- What is the commission rate?
- Who pays the commission?
- Is the commission payment based on my investment?
- Combination of fees and commissions?
- If so, what percentage of your revenue is derived from each?
- 11. Do you provide comprehensive planning services?
- Yes / No
- If yes, are these services outsourced to other professionals?
- 12. Do you give or receive referral fees?
- Yes / No
- If yes, please explain
- 13. Do you provide a written analysis of my situation and your recommendations?
- Yes / No
- If yes, will your recommendations include specific investments and/or products?
- 14. Who actually manages my money?
- 15. How often would we meet to discuss my financial plan?
- 16. How many clients do you have?
- 17. How much time do you spend marketing versus managing money?
- 18. Do you work for a publicly traded company?
- Yes / No
- Do you think this creates a conflict of interest for you?
- Yes / No
- If not, please explain
- If yes, can you put my interests ahead of the company and its shareholders?
- Yes / No
- Please explain
