When vetting a financial professional, it’s vital to understand the nonnegotiables to ensure that you align with the right person. For women specifically, there is a bit of due diligence that needs to be done to ensure that a financial professional fits her needs. First and foremost, building an understanding of what you should be looking for in a financial professional will be key to asking the right questions to find the perfect fit. Once you’ve built a more formalized list of what you’re looking for, you can then gather the information you’re looking for when asking the specific questions listed below.
1. What are your credentials?
Before getting into the details of a financial professional’s career or their goals for their clients, they must be asked about their industry credentials and qualifications. You’ll want to ensure that you work with someone with proper education and background to not only know your money is being spent wisely, but that this is someone you can trust to support your financial future.
2. What has been your experience with female clients?
Asking an professional what their background with other female clients has looked like will help you understand how qualified they are to work with you. Experience with similar clients will allow you to know they are best prepared to work closely alongside you while understanding the nuances of working with females in similar shoes.
3. What would communication look like?
It’s beneficial to gain an understanding of meeting cadence with potential financial planners to evaluate if their typical meeting schedule works with yours. This should cover how often conversations will be held so that you’ll get a general idea of how much you will communicate and when your strategies will be evaluated. For women looking to onboard a financial advisor, it’s key that they feel like there is room for discussion and questions at their leisure. A financial professional must always provide room for your voice to be heard.
4. What specific areas can you help me in outside of just financial management?
Asking what other areas a financial professional can assist in will give a better idea of the overall scope of work for a particular partnership. If keeping things like insurance and investments consolidated with one specific advisor is important, this question will indicate whether or not they provide all of the services you are looking for. When an advisor meets your specific needs, it presents the opportunity for a long-term partnership to grow together.
5. What is your investment strategy?
Having a financial professional share their overall mindset and strategy when it comes to investing can allow you to gain an understanding of if they align with your goals. If you’re personally uncomfortable with a high-risk investment portfolio, someone who focuses on that area may not be the right fit for you. Asking how they approach investing should indicate whether or not they approach the process similarly to you.
The right financial professional can help women to level up their financial awareness and strategies. Asking the right questions will help set the financial planners that fit apart from those that may not, so that you may find someone in service of your personal financial goals.
Securities and investment advisory services offered through qualified registered representatives of MML Investors Services, LLC. Member SIPC (www.SIPC.org). Gambin Financial Group is not a subsidiary or affiliate of MML Investors Services, LLC or its affiliated companies. Supervisory Office 5001 Louise Drive, Suite 300 Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, 717-791-3300.
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