How to prepare to interview a prospective investment advisor

Financial experts agree that before you choose an investment advisor, you should extensively interview several to clearly determine who will best fit in helping you to achieve your investment goals. However, it is important to prepare for this interview since there is very specific information that you will want to obtain, before making a final selection as to who will be your investment advisor.

It is important to keep in mind that when you are choosing an investment advisor, there is no black and white determination that will be made. You will need to evaluate his or her services, methods and even personality and then determine who can most likely help you the most successful with your investing. It is advised that you should take to several candidates. This way you can carefully check backgrounds, references, credentials, while maintaining both your objectivity and a healthy amount of critical observance.

It is also important to understand that during this process you are the hiring manager. You should keep this in mind, even though the investment advisor will have greater financial knowledge and will be taking a leadership role, in helping determining your investment strategy. Remember that you will be paying this person, for their help and you should remain in a supervisory role, in this business relationship.

It may seem like this process is to overwhelming and time consuming. Many prospective advisors make the mistake of not preparing and interviewing potential investment advisors, only to be sorry later on down the road. It is important to understand that while this task may seem like it takes a lot of effort; it can pay off successfully, when you have hired the services of an investment advisor, who is ethical, objective, professional and competent.

The bottom line is that whoever you choose to be your investment advisor, will have either a very positive or negative effect, on your long term financial situation. You will want to know for certain, that you have chosen the right person to advise you on some very important financial matters.

It is also important to know that most investment advisors will meet with you the first time, at no charge. This meeting will typically run between 30-60 minutes. You should be very skeptical of any investment advisor who insists on payment up front. The main purpose of this meeting is to form an introduction and assessment, on the part of both parties. You should take advantage of this meeting, to ask all of the questions that you have prepared. Keep in mind that one meeting may not provide enough information to give a specific recommendation, on either your part, or the investment advisors. Most investment advisors will have to do extensive research of your situation, before they feel qualified to make any particular recommendations.

It is important to that before you meet with an investment advisor, that you do plenty of research. If the investment advisor has a website, that can be a good place to start. Make sure that you read all of the information that is provided on the site. In addition, when you make your first appointment, you can ask the advisor's office to send you any pertinent information that you can go over before your meeting. This information should include the following:

• Any information about the firm


• Information about the types of financial planning and investment approaches that are used by the advisor.


• The investment advisors resume


• A schedule of fees and other compensation methods


• Form ADV

It is important to note that much of this information can be found online.