Step-By-Step Guide To Hire A Financial Advisor

Having financial issues at your organization? 

No idea on how to hire a financial advisor that is perfect for your company? 

Looking for answers to these questions. 

Go no further!

This article will answer all your questions regarding financial advisors. 

What is a Financial Advisor?

Honestly speaking, everybody (be it an individual or a firm) needs to hire a financial advisor at some point in their lifetime. A person who can manage your wealth, answer all your financial queries, plan for your retirement, your child’s education, and so on and so forth is a financial advisor. 

It can either be an individual or you can hire a firm to manage your finances. You may think that you do not need a financial advisor since there is already so much information available on the internet, or you can take advice from your financially aware acquaintance, but trust me, a financial advisor can manage and save your wealth seamlessly. 

Financial Advisor Roles And Responsibilities

A financial advisor can help you in the following aspects:

- They will help you in finding your financial objective, tax planning, expense management and build an overall financial plan.

- A financial advisor skills are such that they can create strategies for your expenditure without burning a hole in your pocket.

You can ask any small or big questions related to your firm’s finances from the advisor.

- They also keep a constant eye on your account and investments to make sure that there are no changes required in your financial plan due to the changing market.

- They also prepare financial statements and reports to project yearly financial status.

How To Find A Financial Advisor?

To find the best financial advisor, you should create a detailed job description with the candidate's day-to-day activities, roles, responsibilities, and requirements. You can go all in length about your organization and how it is the best place to work for them and post it online. 

You might want to highlight your requirements so that only candidates with specific skills apply for the position and you can sift through them easily. 

Another way of looking for financial advisors is to go on Financial Advisor search engines such as:

- NAPFA (The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors)

- Garrett Planning Network

- XY Planning Network

- ACP (Alliance of Comprehensive Planners)

QuoteThe value of a business is a function of how well the financial capital and intellectual capital are managed by human capital. You'd better get the human capital part right.

- Dave Bookbinder

How To Hire A Financial Advisor?

Hiring a financial advisor is not a big task, it is just like hiring any other candidate, where you focus on their skills and certifications. Nevertheless, we have narrowed down the perfect search for a financial advisor into three easy steps:

1. Find a financial Advisor: As discussed in the previous section you can find financial advisors either by job postings or finding them on financial advisor search engines. 

2. Check their Certification: You definitely want to check their certification, whether they are fully equipped to fill the position in your company. Apart from a degree in finance, certifications such as CFP®, CFA, or CIMA; and licenses such as FINRA Series 7 and 63 Securities are a must have. 

3. Candidate Interview: There are many financial advisor interview questions that are important to get answers to. Some major ones are:

- What steps will you employ to prepare the financial strategy for your client?

- How do you stay aware of the current trends in the market?

- If you had to buy a stock for your portfolio today, which one would you buy?

- Describe a situation where you faced a hurdle in your financial career and how did you overcome it?

- How do you plan on handling the tax strategies of our firm?

- What makes you best suited for our organization?

- Why did you choose the finance industry?

- What are your salary expectations?

These three easy steps must have cleared your dilemma of the question “How to hire a financial advisor?”

How Much Does It Cost To Hire A Financial Advisor?

Talking in terms of the compensation package, there are different categories in how financial advisors are paid:

- Fee only: In this category, the financial advisors charge you a flat fee or on hourly basis. This is better than advisors who work on commissions from third parties because you pay them only for the services you have availed. They are fiduciaries who put your interest above their own. 

- Commissions: The financial advisors who work on commission basis often advertise themselves as free, but earn commissions from third parties on the basis of target completion. You must take caution before hiring such a type because they are wired to complete only their targets irrespective of the client's needs.

- Percentage of Assets: This is another category where the financial advisors charge you on a percentage basis of your total assets. The percentage can range from 0.25 to 1%. 

As sourced from Indeed (April 2021), the common salary for a financial advisor in the US is $70,603 yearly on average. Their salary range starts from 14,000$ to 191,000$ per year depending on their experience. 

Bottomline : We are sure that you are now through and through with all the queries you had in mind for financial advisors. Go ahead and put the guide in use to hire a valuable financial advisor for your organization!

How are you planning to hire a financial advisor for your organization?