Choosing a Financial Planner…Part III: Questionnaires
This week for the first time a prospect actually asked ME to complete a questionnaire to find out more about me and my practice! I was very excited to do so since this shows me that the person has done their homework.
There are a lot of questionnaires out there and it’s important to use one that is asking the questions that matter to you. I’ve linked a few below from a couple financial planning organizations who support a fee-only fiduciary business model: National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and Garrett Planning Network.
Before using a questionnaire, look it over yourself and think about the answers that you’d like to hear (the long questionnaire from NAPFA has an answer guide). Do you want to work with someone who is not a fiduciary (see previous post on why you should care)? What about if they accept commissions? Is that ok to you if you want to receive all financial planning services and implementation from one person? Or is hourly financial planning or a fixed retainer what you wanted? Do you want a written plan? Do you feel they should be a Certified Financial Planner™ professional if they’re providing a comprehensive plan to you (see alphabet soup post)?
Maybe you’ll want to take questions from all three (and other questionnaires out there) in order to address all your concerns. It’s your money and your goals, make sure you get the answers you need to feel comfortable with who is providing you advice!
National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (fee-only planner network) – Short Questionnaire
National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (fee-only planner network) – Long Questionnaire
