6 Things Not to Do When Selecting a Financial Advisor
Hiring a financial advisor is one of those pivotal life decisions - a fork in the road that can dictate the path of your financial future for decades to come.
A study from Northwestern Mutual of the attitudes and behaviors of American adults toward money found that 71% of them felt their financial planning needed improvement, while only 29% work with a financial advisor.¹
The value of working with a financial advisor varies by person and advisors are legally prohibited from promising returns, but research suggests people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.²
While hiring a financial advisor can help you maximize your retirement nest-egg, there are some potential pitfalls you should be aware of before you choose who to hire. Learn about the mistakes people make here.
SmartAsset's no-cost tool can help you avoid some of the common mistakes in looking for an advisor. Try the short questionnaire to get matched with up to 3 vetted financial advisors serving your area, each legally bound to work in your best interest. You can compare you matches and choose the one you feel is best for you. It's never too late to plan to work toward a comfortable retirement.
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Sources:
1. “Planning and Progress”, Northwestern Mutual (2022)
2. "Journal of Retirement Study Winter" (2020). The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the link to see the methodologies employed in the Journal of Retirement study.
This article contains links to SmartAsset's financial advisor matching tool, which may or may not match you with the firms mentioned in this profile. The matching tool does not include all available advisors and firms and matches based on specific criteria (investable assets, geography, and willingness to work with a remote advisor).
This is not an offer to buy or sell any security or interest. All investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Working with an adviser may come with potential downsides such as payment of fees (which will reduce returns). There are no guarantees that working with an adviser will yield positive returns. The existence of a fiduciary duty does not prevent the rise of potential conflicts of interest.
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