To get a handle on your personal finances and ensure you’re meeting your goals, know what questions to ask your advisor.
Whether you want basic personal finance advice or tips for becoming an entrepreneur, seeking out a financial advisor can be a great help.
You’ll get insight from a licensed and certified professional who can advise you on how to handle your money in the best way possible.
However, to fully reap the benefits of your advisor, you need to know what questions to ask them.
Guiding your financial meetings with certain questions can help you better track your progress and reach your goals. Here are the financial advisor questions you should start asking:
1. Is my investment strategy on track?
Making sure your investment strategy is on track is an essential part of retirement planning. Be sure to view investment reports and figure out solutions if things aren’t going as planned.
2. How can I be ready for financial emergencies?
As we’ve seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s essential to be prepared for financial emergencies. To make sure you’re ready, ask your advisor about creating a plan for unexpected circumstances.
3. How can I reduce my annual taxes?
When asked, your advisor can give you tips for minimizing your taxes, such as donating to charity and claiming exemptions and tax credits. In addition to your general financial advisor, a tax expert can offer even more specific advice.
4. Should I change my retirement plan?
Since retirement planning often takes place far in advance, your original timeline and strategies are likely to change. Make sure to get status reports from your financial advisor and adjust your savings methods accordingly.
5. What should I prioritize in my financial plan?
The most critical areas of your financial plan might also shift over time. To make sure you know where to concentrate your efforts, ask your advisor which aspects of your finances need work in order to reach your latest goals.
6. Can you explain this idea to me?
Your financial advisor has probably been in the business for years, so they might not realize when they’re failing to explain complicated financial concepts. Asking what certain terms and topics mean can help you better understand any advice you receive.
7. What does a realistic budget look like?
To reach your financial goals, you might need to adjust your budget. Your advisor can help you determine how much to save, invest, and spend each month. That way, you’ll be better equipped to reach long and short-term objectives.
8. Based on my recent life changes, how should my financial goals change?
Major life changes like marriage, children, and retirement can definitely change your financial goals. You’ll want to talk with your advisor about how to alter your financial planning given your new situation.
9. Could recent market or legislative changes affect my finances?
Your financial advisor can help you keep up with any market trends, laws, and regulations that could affect your financial planning. For example, you’ll be able to anticipate any impact on investment returns and stock prices.
10. Should I be doing anything more to maximize and protect my money?
In financial planning, there’s always room for improvement. Be sure to ask your advisor a general question about areas you can better manage your money, such as improving your investment strategy and protecting against fraud.
By knowing what questions to ask your financial advisor, you can make better use of their expertise during each meeting. From there, you’ll be able to own your financial planning process and reach your goals.
To view a recap of all the most important questions to ask your advisor, look through the infographic from Annuity.org below.
