Finding the Best Account Representative for Financial Planning
- 1). The Internet can be a useful tool for narrowing down a long list of financial planners. Use reliable search engines such as Google or Yahoo! to find recommendations for financial planners, postings of actual stories involving the financial planners, and negative comments or experiences involving the financial planners. Begin by searching for financial planners in your area, and then narrow the results by searching for each financial planner's name followed by text such as "reccomend" or "bad experience."
- 2). Using well known financial planning companies is often a safe and reliable method for finding a good financial planner, but does not necessarily guarantee good service. If you have chosen a financial company that you would like to use, remember to shop the competition to find out if their services are provided at a competitive rate. Ask the company for customer references, and ask around to see if anyone you know has had bad experiences with the company.
- 3). Some financial planners can be located through directories that have been endorsed by well trusted financial experts. One such directory is available at http://daveramsey.com under "endorsed local providers" or ELPs. Dave Ramsey is a financial expert who endorses financial planners that have a reputation for being friendly and helpful and will teach their clients why certain decisions should be made rather than simply recommending courses of action for clients to blindly agree to.
- 4). Many financial planners will have a diverse array of experience and services to offer, but there are also some financial planners that specialize in particular fields for better results. Some examples of these are investment managers or advisers, estate planning specialists, budget analysts and tax specialists. Each of these areas of financial planning are vital to the overall success of a financial portfolio, and specialists in each area can sometimes provide services or information that a general financial planner might not be able to provide. Dave Ramsey's website at http://daveramsey.com also provides an extensive list of endorsed local providers in these areas.
- 5). Perhaps the most important tool for finding good financial planners is to ask people who have had beneficial experiences in the financial planning field. The best references regarding any financial planner will be ones that come from people who are not obligated in any way to promote the financial planner or will not receive a referral fee if you choose their recommendations. Even the lists of endorsed financial planners can contain people who shouldn't have made the final cut.
Source...