Having a trusted financial advisor can be extremely beneficial to your future plans. But the truth about financial advisors is that they each have different specialties and values, so it may take some research to choose the right financial advisor for you.

Sometimes you may think that your financial advisor is knowledgeable, but just doesn’t fully grasp your wants and needs. Here are some ways to ask yourself if your current financial advisor is right for you, and what to do if you realize they aren’t.

 

Questions To Ask Yourself

If you feel as if you are not as fulfilled as you could be with your advisor, there are some questions that you should ask yourself.

Is my advisor focused on my goals and values?

Generally, a financial advisor proves to be the most useful when they factor in your financial goals and values. They often help their clients with their future plans, rather than focusing solely on your current situation. That’s why it’s crucial that your goals are completely understood.

Are they a Financial Advisor or a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™?

There is a wide range of financial professionals. Financial professionals are a type of financial advisor, but not all financial advisors are considered financial planners due to the certification process. A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP) is held to a high ethical and fiduciary standard focusing on strategies to meet long-term financial goals. Conversely, a financial advisor falls into a broader category and can be a broker, insurance agent, banker and so on.  CFPs must meet a series of guidelines and requirements to obtain their qualifications. It’s important to know this information and experience level about the person you hire to help you with your finances.

Are they interested in knowing me as a person?

This goes hand-in-hand with understanding your vision, values and goals. Part of truly understanding what a person wants is understanding them as an individual. If you feel like your advisor isn’t interested in you personally, then it might be difficult for them to understand what your goals are.

Do they take into account planning for the unexpected?

The reality of life is that anything can happen completely unexpectedly, which can be unfortunate to your finances. Anything from an accident, loss of your job, divorce, and sudden death can happen out of the blue and seriously impact your financial situation. Your financial advisor should keep all of this in mind and discuss how you can have a plan in the scenario where the worst happens.

 

Recognizing Red Flags

In some scenarios, reflecting on your interactions with your financial advisor can cause you to realize that your advisor has been flashing some red flags that you never recognized. Some red flags include:

• Evading/ignoring questions,
• Rushing you into certain investments you might not be ready for,
• Making investment strategy changes without your knowledge.

Overall, you want your financial advisor to be as transparent as possible. If you feel that you and your advisor don’t have a completely open and honest relationship, then it may be time to consider looking for another advisor that cares and that you feel comfortable building a long-term relationship.

 

Planning Strategies To Look For

At Astyr Wealth, we pride ourselves that our processes and strategies are both holistic and comprehensive. We understand that your goals and values greatly impact what kind of strategies and planning work best for you, which is where our value-based planning comes in.

For example, if you have communicated with your advising team that you value building a family legacy, then focusing on your estate and wills is a smart move.

 

Final Thoughts

You deserve to work with a financial team that understands you, your family, and your vision for the future.  If you feel that your current advisor isn’t the right one for you, or you just want a second opinion, we encourage you to learn more about us to see if we could bring value to your planning needs.

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