Financial advice is about more than just placing your money into the best funds – it’s a personal look at the assets and income you have, what you would like to have and what you will need to achieve your long-term life ambitions. Whether you love it or hate it, the reality is that you will need a certain level of finance to get through life.
As lifestyle financial planners we delve even deeper into what makes our clients tick. We’re less interested in simply investing and more concerned with investing in the right way, to get you to where you want to be in life, in the optimal timeframes. For this reason, we take a much more personal approach in our communications and it’s absolutely vital that we are able to work closely as trusted partners. This is so important in fact, that we consider it the first of our 5 top tips when it comes to selecting your financial adviser:
1. MAKE SURE YOU LIKE YOUR ADVISER
It might sound obvious, but the reality is that not everyone likes their financial adviser. A close working relationship always has a personal element to it though and it’s far easier to communicate with someone you like. We see no reason why you shouldn’t like us of course, but regardless of who you speak to while searching for the best financial adviser to work with, we would always recommend that before you even start looking at qualifications, experience and knowledge, you actually like us.
2. ENSURE THAT THEY LIKE YOU TOO
It’s a two-way street. You don’t have to like someone you work with but it certainly helps. Fortunately, it’s unlikely that we won’t like you, but if for any reason we don’t feel that we are the best fit, we would probably recommend a different financial adviser who we feel you would be better suited to.
3. FEEL COMFORTABLE TO TRUST AND BE OPEN WITH YOUR ADVISER
This is exceptionally important. Money and finances are a personal and sometimes touchy subject, but if you are not comfortable sharing with us the true value of your assets, and the ambitions you have to help us determine how aggressively we need to invest them, we won’t be able to do you as much justice as we would like to.
4. CHOOSE AN INDEPENDENT ADVISER WHO IS WORKING WITH YOUR BEST INTERESTS IN MIND
We would always recommend working with a financial adviser that is fully independent. Transparency is key here, as what you don’t want is to be given advice by someone who might be swayed by provider incentives. Global Financial Ltd are fully independent financial advisers and are not tied to any provider, meaning that we will always invest your assets where we believe they will perform the best for you, and not where they will be used to benefit us.
5. ASK YOUR ADVISER IF THEY HAVE ANY SPECIALISMS
There are so many areas of financial advice and some may be more relevant to you than others. Some advisers specialise in high income earners while others work closely with clients looking to maximise their profit during retirement. Be ready with a list of questions to ask any potential financial adviser you work with. They shouldn’t mind answering them!
A FINAL THOUGHT WHEN RECOMMENDING A FINANCIAL ADVISER
When it comes to recommending a financial adviser it always comes back to finding someone that you feel able to be open with. At Global Financial we are always happy to speak to potential new clients without any commitment, to help put them at ease that we truly will be working with their best interests at heart. Money is, and always will be, a difficult subject for some people, but when handled honestly and with empathy and compassion, it can be the key to helping you secure the future you truly desire.
Want to learn more? Contact us for a no-obligation consultation.
This article does not constitute financial advice and should not be construed as such.