Search Financial Planners - Find Investment Advisors

Looking for a financial planner, investment advisor, insurance representative, or investment advice? You're not alone.

Most Americans have either put off meeting with an advisor or have tried to do their own financial planning and manage their money on their own- with less than stellar results.

Top Reasons for Finding Financial and Insurance help: Marriage, Birth of a Child, Saving for College, Saving for Retirement, Providing Income in Retirement.

Certain events, such a a marriage or having a child can trigger people to put their financial lives in shape. Often, finding a financial planner results from people trying to meet financial goals such as saving for college and saving for retirement. Finally, people may be interested in providing income in retirement, distributing assets to heirs in the most tax-efficient manner, and donating money to charities to leave a legacy.

After ignoring, postponing, or guessing on their own, most people want to meet with an expert. The world is simply too complicated for an individual to know everything they should about their risk tolerance, asset allocation, taxes, insurance, estate planning, and figuring out the exact amount of dollars they will have in retirement. This is the Value of Working with a Financial Planner or Investment Advisor.

Once the need is there, how do you find a financial advisor? You wouldn't look someone up in the phonebook without knowing more about them. You might ask some friends or family, but the right advisor for them might not be the right match for you. There are important considerations which are discussed in this article: How to search for a Financial Planner, Investment Advisor, and Insurance Representative.

Now that you've found a financial advisor, the fun begins! You can work with the planner to determine your goals and see if you are on track or not. In order to keep your relationship with the advisor on track, and avoid problems, see How to Work with a Financial Advisor.

Or looking for Legal Services or Credit Reporting and Repair?

Recent Posts:

April 28, 2009: Phoenix Survey of High-Net Worth Investors

The Phoenix Cos. performed an online survey of high net worth investors in January and February 2009. The results showed that more millionaires are using a professional financial advisor, currently at 73%, and up from 67% a year earlier. This is likely a result of the volatile markets. When stocks and many markets are going up, investors feel like they can wing it with do-it-yourself financial planning, but when things are tough, they look for professional financial advice. The survey also showed that although high net worth investors feel the economy may remain slow for the next few years, there will probably be good opportunities to buy stocks during the next three years.

February 18, 2009: How should you pay your financial advisor?

Many people talk about how an advisor should be paid and recommend that only one way is best or right. In reality, there is no right or wrong way to pay your financial advisor, it depends on your situation and preferences.

Commission: A commission is a charge for each transaction (buy or sell) within a portfolio. A potential negative is that your costs may be high if you trade a lot and that an advisor may have incentive to trade your portfolio a lot also. The positive is that this may be cheapest if you have a simple buy and hold portfolio with not many other planning needs for your advisor.

Fee Based or Asset Based Fee: This is a charge based on the amount of assets managed by your advisor, such as a 1% annual fee on the money managed. The potential negative here is that it can be expensive for a buy and hold portfolio and that the advisor has incentive only to move your money over to their custody instead of leaving an appropriate portfolio alone. The positive is that the advisor's incentives for that portion of your money are in line with yours- they make more if the account goes up and less if it goes down.

Planning Fee: With a planning fee, the advisor charges for the actual planning. They might charge you hourly, or a certain amount for a retirement plan, or a yearly retainer for complete financial planning. The advisor might charge to implement your plan and make the investments, or you might be able to take their recommendations and implement them on your own.

November 6, 2008: A Financial Advisor can help you prepare for coming tax changes

With the election of Barack Obama to President, many Americans are unprepared for Obama's promised tax increases on earnings, capital gains, dividends and estates. Meeting with your financial advisor, investment planner or accountant quickly may be important. Many people don't realize that the new President and Congress are likely to pass laws next year that make the tax increases retro-active to the beginning of 2009. That means you may be better off shifting some of next year's income or bonuses to this year, as well as looking at buying tax-free municipal bonds and other investments to minimize the government's take of your earnings and savings.

October 13, 2008: The Value of Financial Advice

With the current market crisis in full swing, many people are once again questioning their financial future. For many people who don't have a financial advisor, they are now actively looking for someone. Unfortunately, many should have been working with a financial advisor or planner all along, but it's better late than never. Other people already have a financial advisor, but are now questioning that advice and may be searching for a new advisor. Here's how to tell whether you should find a new financial advisor.

Is your advisor communicating with you? Do you have an appropriate financial plan for your financial goals? Do you still trust your financial advisor? If the answer to those questions is yes, then you may want to stay with the advisor even though your account may be down. Remember, no one can predict the future. Unfortunately, diversifying your investments hasn't helped lately when stocks, bonds, commodities and nearly everything has been down. Doing the right thing doesn't guarantee your portfolio, but it's still the right thing.

September 2, 2008: Do you need to find and meet your Financial Advisor face to face?

Many people meet with their financial advisor or planner once a year at most, unless they happen to be working on part of their financial plan at the moment. Some people want to see their investment advisor every quarter, while others have never met their advisor face to face. What's right for you?

Sometimes there is a trust issue that a face to face meeting helps resolve. And many parts of your financial plan are easier to explain in person than over the phone, especially if there are graphs or charts. For those who want this kind of interaction and live in a large city, you can choose to search for and find an advisor near you.

However, some people may not have the luxury of meeting their financial advisor face to face. For instance, if you live in a rural area, or if you are looking for a very specific advisor, you may have to work with someone across the country. In many rural areas, individuals will work with an advisor from the largest city nearby. Individuals also looking for a specific financial advisor, such as a socially responsible investment advisor or one who works specifically with union federal employees, will have to search across the country to find one to fit their unique financial goals.

July 30, 2008: Private Banking and Wealth Management: What does that mean?

The terms private banker and wealth manager are used more and more often in the financial services industry. However, what exactly do they mean? First, understand that there is no qualification or license that someone has to have to call themselves a private banker or wealth manager. Therefore, some providers in the financial industry are using the titles without extensive wealth planning or private banking experience.

What should you look for? Wealth management and private banking generally imply a holistic approach that incorporates your investment management, estate planning, retirement planning and insurance needs. A wealth manager or private banker should also be able to team up with your legal and accounting team, or have their own, to implement your tax planning, as well as estate, trust, will and other legal documents. However, you may not use your private banker or wealth manager for all of these financial services. There are many clients of traditional banking and wealth management firms who use these firms only for the portfolio management or dedicated relationship manager which they provide. Often, the wealth manager or private banker is seen as the "quarterback" of the client's financial team and helps coordinate the investment, insurance, tax and legal services required.

Often, the best way to find the best private banker or wealth manager is to look for someone who has experience serving the financial needs of other clients similar to you. Whether you are a Brazilian politician or businessman from Portugal, you should search and find a wealth manager or private banker with expertise in your financial area.