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How do you select a financial advisor? Considering technically anyone can call themselves a financial planner, you may interview three different people who do three completely different things.

Hi, I’m Hunter Brockway, founder of Boca Retirement Strategies, here to guide you to a successful, stress-free retirement while spending more and avoiding being killed in taxes.

It wasn’t all that long ago that it seemed this industry only contained snake oil salesmen who were solely out to get people. Rules have changed, regulatory authorities have gotten better, and the consumer is wiser. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean everybody out there today got into the business to help people and is a decent person.

Let’s brush up on some terms. The names financial planners and financial advisors may be used interchangeably, but not by the same people. An insurance agent, for example, may call themselves a financial advisor, but all they do is sell insurance. A broker is someone who simply sells stocks.

Comprehensive financial planning, which is the current buzzword in the industry, in my opinion, should be someone who helps with investments, retirement income, tax strategies, estate planning strategies, risk management, small business retirement plans and strategies, and to be your 411 and 911 for all things financial.

What is a fiduciary? A fiduciary is someone who must always put the benefit of the client above all else. Now, there’s also something known as best interest, which is a regulatory term that is slightly watered down from being a fiduciary. Someone who should be acting in your best interest. Usually, brokers are held to the regulation of best interest as opposed to being fiduciaries.

The first step in finding your advisor is to look for someone who specializes in what you are looking for. A retirement income and tax planning specialist may not be a fit for someone who has budgeting needs. Someone who runs a cash-hungry business like a construction company has different planning needs than someone who is a W2 employee.

Ask them about their fees and how they get paid. The financial industry is all over the map. You can find someone who charges a fee only, typically stated as a percentage based on your assets. But don’t forget to look at the fine print. Some will charge that same percentage-based fee plus a financial planning fee on top of that. Some will charge you the percentage-based fee on your net worth.

Some will charge a percent plus trading fees or account management fees. Some will have minimum fees. Another way of charging is monthly or annually. Some charge commissions for products sold or trades placed. Some charge a combination of all. Ask for every single fee that you will pay and how it will be paid. Most importantly, learn what value will be delivered for that fee.

If you have multiple planning strategies to go through, the lowest-fee advisor may charge less but also may deliver less value to you in your situation than an advisor geared toward helping people like you.

If you are looking for investments and no human advice whatsoever, you could go to a low-cost robo-advisor. Match the fee to the value.

Of course, you want to ask if they have any regulatory disclosures. Ask what their onboarding process looks like. From a prospective client’s perspective, how will you get to ask the questions on your mind, and how will you understand their value before trusting them with a penny of your nest egg or paying them a dime in fees?

Ask what other professionals you may need if you work with them. For example, we help our clients with tax planning strategies and estate planning strategies, but we are not CPAs or attorneys. We work side by side with our clients’ professionals.

Your money should only be held at a legitimate custodian, not by your advisor or their firm.

I hope that helps you in your journey of selecting a financial advisor. Don’t let selecting an advisor give you analysis paralysis. I can attest that more often, people would benefit from hiring an advisor sooner rather than later and not missing out on particular strategies. It’s better to interview and then sleep on it.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at contact@bocaretirement.com.

I’m Hunter Brockway, founder of Boca Retirement Strategies. Thank you for watching and enjoy your successful retirement.