This is a question that I’m often asked, and it’s an important one! When it comes to your finances, I’m absolutely a fan of talking with a professional. There are a lot of different financial professionals out there that do different things like mortgage professionals and commercial banking professionals, just to name a couple. 

In our conversation here, we’re going to focus on a financial professional who would help you with financial planning items such as a comprehensive financial plan, investment or insurance advice and planning for your financial independence. 

When it comes to looking for a financial professional, I liken the process to choosing a health professional in a lot of ways. 

There are a lot of parallels between choosing a general practitioner and choosing a financial professional. When you’re looking for a health professional, like a doctor, you rightfully have certain expectations but when it comes to a financial professional those same expectations don’t necessarily get met. So let’s discuss some ideas of expectations to consider.

Path

Consider what path did they take to get there and what educational background do they have? When it comes to choosing a doctor, it’s assumed that they have a science background. For me, when it comes to financial professionals, it’s important that they had an educational background in business studies.

Certification

When you are looking for a doctor, you want to make sure that they have that accreditation on the wall, and I feel the same way about a financial professional. I’m specifically referring to a Certified Financial Planning (CFP) designation. 

A CFP professional is like the general practitioner of your financial health and well-being. And like your GP they help with guidance on general and some specific matters while referring you to a specialist when it’s appropriate.

Up-To-Date

When you look for the certification, it’s important to make sure that it’s also current and in good standing. An easy way to tell? The annual stickers found right on the displayed accreditation! 

Focus

It’s good to understand what the focus of that individual is and if that focus is also your need. It makes no sense to work with someone that doesn’t understand your needs or can’t help you with what you want. You need to always have the right person for the right job.

Relationship

This might be the most important piece. You need to work with someone that you can have a good relationship with. If there is animosity, acrimony, lack of clarity, disrespect or any other of a plethora of negative emotions, then this is not the right fit. You want someone that works with you — specialist, not an expert (more on this topic in the future!).