MANY people feel unsure and apprehensive in choosing the right financial professional who will handle important matters of their finances. Given the implications of this important decision which could affect the course of our financial future, it is important to look deeper at all facets of our advisors. In selecting financial advisors, we should bear in mind that they should not only be competent but also work on our best interests, providing us objective advice. As with all things pertaining to our money, we must be meticulous in this process. This article seeks to provide some tips on what to look for and what to avoid.

1.       Avoid hiring people with past cases of misconduct

The financial industry is basically an industry built on “trust.” Hence, we do not want someone else with a bad track record (i.e., fraud) manage our hard-earned savings. Because most likely, even if we have a good job giving us high returns today, we may not have peace of mind and confidence that our financial advisor won’t cheat us of our very own money. Ask friends or colleagues who might know this person; look for referrals. These may reveal important details about the advisor that may help us decide if they are right for us.

2.       Study his credentials

Everybody must make sure that the advisor we hire is knowledgeable and competent and has passed a certain industry-accepted standard. One way to establish confidence knowledge and competency of our advisor is by getting to know his credentials. In some cases, an advisor must at least have some sort of formal finance training or certification (i.e. RFP).

Certifications or recognition from a financial body or from qualified referrers will provide us with some sort of sound basis on the level of competency of our advisors. In some cases where we are planning to tap investments in markets that we don’t have experience in, a certification will actually benchmark our advisors with their colleagues in the financial industry. So, I’m sure it well be worth our time to learn more about our prospective advisors credentials in order to have an idea of what services they can provide us.

3.       Pick the an advisor with a specific investment specialty

Everyone has different financial needs. A large part of the work that our advisor will be doing will be based on our specific need or on our specific financial need. Hence, it is only proper that we hire an advisor that specializes in solving problems similar to ours.  For example, the lack of a budget or savings plan may not be solved by a portfolio or investment manager. Problems like these would require advise from a personal financial planner, which would give us a budget plan recommending our optimal income and spending to arrive at a specific amount of savings.

4.       Lack of time

Make sure that our financial advisor finds time to at least meet with us on a periodic basis. Periodic visits or reviews is very important not only to track the progress of our portfolio or investment plan but also to see it our current investment plan is still suitable to our needs. Additionally, the lack of time is actually a sign of our financial advisors’ commitment to us. If our advisor can’t seem to find the time to discuss or give us an update on our investments or current financial situation then they might working in our best interest.

5. Over promising of returns

Financial advisors always have the tendency to preach guaranteed returns to clients. Best practice requires advisors to benchmark portfolio performance versus a particular index or market based portfolio. Make sure that our advisor does not make unnecessary risks with our money by investing it in securities or stocks that are not suitable to our needs.

Picking the right financial advisor is like picking the right investment. They give us an objective advice about our current financial situation and in most cases help us achieve our financial dreams. Therefore, like in any investment, doing a personal and work evaluation on our advisor is always as important as picking the right investment.

John Robert Maniego is currently working as an investor and markets analyst for a utility company. He is also a Registered Financial Planner and a financial markets enthusiast with several years of finance experience. To know more about the RFP program, please visit www.rfp.ph or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it