What Is a Financial Advisor?

What is a Financial Advisor?

A financial advisor, also known as a financial planner or a wealth manager, provides holistic planning and advice to help you meet your financial goals. They typically work with you to understand your personal situation, including your short and long-term goals, existing investments, risk tolerance and income tax status. They then recommend a strategy to reach your objectives, while taking into account market conditions and time frames.

Ultimately, Exponent Investment Management is up to you to determine whether the value provided by your financial advisor is worth the fee you pay them. However, the amount of money you earn from your portfolio will depend on how well your investment returns beat historical averages and how much you can save by having a financial advisor rather than handling matters yourself.

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When interviewing potential financial advisors, ask about their credentials and what type of fiduciary standard they adhere to. A fiduciary holds the highest ethical standards and always puts your interests first. Those that are licensed and a fiduciary can provide you with specific disclosures of fees, services, conflicts of interest, etc.

Also ask about the services that are included in your overall fees and whether they offer a flat fee structure or commission-based products. Many experts advise consumers to seek a fee-only advisor, as it is considered the lowest cost way to manage your assets. Finally, be sure to consider how your financial advisor interacts with you and other clients. While you want to choose an adviser who is kind and courteous, settling for niceness alone won’t earn you a high return on your investment.