For most, finding the right financial planner prior to and after retirement can easily become a very confusing process.
It seems that the minute you mention looking for a financial planner everyone around you has an opinion, whether this is good, bad, well informed or not.
Hi, I am Rob Bruhl a 20 plus year veteran of financial planning. I have literally seen 1000’s of planners come and go and I can assure you that there is a simple formula to selecting the right planner suited to you.
- How long have you been a planner? -The first part is easy. If the planner you are looking to engage has less than 7 years practicing experience then you probably have not got the right person to look after your life savings. Also please ensure they are attached to a sizable and reputable firm, as when the time comes and the planner moves on, in my experience, smaller firms and some major institutions really don’t care whom they allocate you to for future ongoing advice.
- What products are you able to sell? -Ensure that the planner you are considering is not restrained by the selection of products solutions they have available to provide you. Some major institutions and even private firms only provide a very limited offering, this can and will overtime lead to short comings in your future prosperity. As you may have recently seen, some also pay their planners higher rewards to sell certain products over others. There is no way that this is in your best interests!!
- What are your education and qualifications? – Education is also important, no more than actual real life experience, but you do need to know, that the individuals you are about to trust your life savings too, does and have made an effort to continue to educate themselves re market and product related matters.
- Do you specialise in any particular area of advice? – It is also very important that the firm that you are considering also deal with other clients that have similar goals and interests as you do. What this achieves is peace of mind, that they understand what is important to you.
- Do you like the Planner? – Once you have decided to meet with a planning firm then make sure that when you are dealing with the actual planner for the first time that you feel comfortable with them as an individual. If at any time you feel that they are rushing you to sign on, walk away. It is important to remember at this point that you are engaging them to look after you for a long time to come, so you have every right to be cautious.
- How much does their advice cost and what do I get for it? – Just prior to the initial engagement of a planner, you need to fully understand the total cost of the services will be provided. Enquire re administration support, and most importantly, ask the question, what would happen to your investments if that particular planner was to leave the industry unexpectedly? This does happen and can be very stressful if not handled correctly.
- Sleep Test? – At the time of presentation of a financial plan you must also feel comfortable with the solutions presented. I like to call it the sleep test. If you can’t sleep at night, you are in the wrong product solution. At retirement your ability to earn more money generally ceases, so security of your investment and regular income is paramount. Just remember if the returns they are promising look to go to be true then they probably are.
Altitude Wealth Solutions specialises in delivering peace of mind. We place our customers’ needs first and pride ourselves on delivering quality advice and professional friendly ongoing administrative services.
We also love and enjoy working with Grey Nomads and Golfers and have developed an over 55’s lifestyle Investment packages specially tailored for these individuals.
So if you are searching for peace of mind and a long term professional relationship with a financial planning firm, then please give us a call and we will be more than happy to introduce you to one of our experienced planners across the country.