003 // Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Advisor

Aug 8, 2023

A practical checklist for deciding when to hire financial help. Short exercises to gauge your time, desire, and life complexity. Key questions to ask about fiduciary duty, how advisors get paid, fees, and services. Tips on checking certifications, how relationships and team coordination work, and spotting whether someone will be candid and listen.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Check Time Commitment First

Evaluate time before hiring an advisor by listing baseline tasks and additional planning work you lack time for.
Sam Martinez says rebalancing, tax and estate planning are examples of above-baseline tasks that indicate you may need help.

ADVICE

Decide If You Actually Want To Do It

Ask yourself whether you enjoy doing financial work before outsourcing it.
Sam Martinez frames this as 'desire' — if you lack interest you can outsource even if you have time.

ADVICE

Hire When Financial Life Is Complex

Assess complexity by mapping services you need: investment, tax, estate, and financial planning.
Sam Martinez advises hiring an advisor when multiple services or growing assets make your situation complex.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Are you thinking about hiring a financial advisor? How do you know when it's time? What questions should you ask that advisor? Sam dives into these questions and more. He kicks the show off with an exercise to help determine if you have the time and desire to work on your financial planning and if your situation is complex enough to need help.

Then Sam shares questions to ask when interviewing potential advisors. He talks about making sure that your advisor puts your needs ahead of their own. You want to know whether they are a fiduciary or not. You want to know how they get paid. Fee only firms charge for giving advice not selling products. You also want to know the fees, services offered, and what their credentials are.

Episode Highlights:

[02:46] 1. Time. Your first consideration is time. We all need time to pay our bills and create and manage a spending plan. Other things include rebalancing your portfolio and tax and estate planning.

[03:31] 2. Desire. Do you have the desire to spend your time on financial planning and strategizing?

[04:11] 3. Complexity. Think of all of the services Wealthquest offers like investment management, financial planning, estate planning, tax planning, and more. Is my situation complex enough to need help?

[05:39] Questions to ask your potential advisor when you interview them.

[05:49] Are you a fiduciary? Are you required by law to put your clients' needs above your own?

[06:56] How do you get paid? Fee only or commision? Commision roles have an interest in selling you specific products.

[08:25] How much is this going to cost? What services are offered and is it worth it?

[09:19] What certifications does this person have? Are they a CFP or CPA?

[09:53] How would our relationship work? What experience do you have?

[11:16] If the firm doesn't handle all areas of finance, how are they going to work seamlessly together?

[11:44] Sam talks about how you know if they're a good fit or not and whether they're willing to tell the truth.

Resources & Links Related to this Episode