As a fiduciary financial advisor to women, I am fascinated by the different motivations women have around financial planning and advice—why they seek financial advisors, and why they often find it a challenge. Reasons vary, but a theme emerges—in most cases it comes down to fit and feel.
Experience and expertise are table stakes. Qualifying a financial advisor who emphasizes planning in these dimensions is easy with basic research. Beyond that, picking a is a lot like picking a therapist. I’ve had occasion to meet with practitioners who, despite having great credentials, rubbed me the wrong way. So, I shopped until I found the right fit, and the person felt right.
You are hiring someone to be all up in your personal money business, so do your homework.
Here’s the process:
Step 1: Self-Appraisal
To choose an advisor well, you need to have a solid understanding of what makes you tick around money. So, answer these questions:
Why are you seeking help now? Has there been a big life change? Do you have a pressing financial concern that you need to address? Are you feeling like you don’t have financial security? Timing... is everything. Make sure you are really ready to do this.
What negative feelings come up when you start thinking about your financial picture? Fear, shame, confusion, anxiety, and avoidance—these are the most common. When working with an advisor, a lot of these feelings may come up. You must work with someone who will not be judgy and puts you at ease.
What kind of help do you want? Are you looking for somebody to help you frame out a roadmap? Map out a financial plan? Analyze what you're doing, and course correct? What else? This will give an advisor their mandate.
If you’ve worked with an advisor before, why aren't you working with them now? Did they turn you off? Do you never hear from them? Do you ignore them? These are all signs of a lack of connection and trust, things you need to have a successful advisory relationship.
Step 2: Build Your Dream Financial Advisor Profile
Now that you have a deeper understanding of yourself around money, you can build your Dream Financial Advisor Profile. The profile should be a direct response to your self-appraisal. It’s a list of qualities that the advisor should be screened for. These could include traits such as:
- Gender
- Technological Capability
- Response time
- Interpersonal Style
- Specializations
Step 3: Put Together Your Short List
Think of who you know. They can be friends, co-workers, acquaintances, other service providers, or people who are in a similar situation as you. The key is that the people you ask should be able to understand the kinds of things you are looking for in your Dream Advisor.
For example, if you are a Creative Director, ask other Creative Directors or people who work with you for someone they know. The reason is that–if a financial advisor resonates with them, meaning, they can speak the language of creative people–they will be more likely to understand how you operate and the typical challenges you face.
Think of it this way: as someone who works with a lot of creatives and women in particular, I find that advising them may require the same knowledge but a very different style of communication than I use with my male engineers.
Also consider those who have already approached you, or a practitioner you like on a personal level. Again, it’s all personal preference. There are people who will never work with me because I am their friend, and people who will only work with me because I am their friend. Everyone is different, and there are no wrong answers.
Step 4: Vet the Candidates
You need to know if there are customer complaints or disputes in an advisor’s past. These are called disclosures. You can find this information on the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website (IAPD). Disclosures are not always terrible; in a career of many decades a few can happen. But what you are looking for are big financial settlements, negligence around risk, willful regulatory violations, and/or multiple disclosures. If the advisor cannot be found there, or their background looks messy, you should immediately drop them from your list.
Look up each person’s website and their social media. Look for evidence of expertise—their Linkedin profile, videos, blogs, etcetera. They should be experienced with financial planning, retirement planning, investment management, and, ideally, working with women and their specific financial challenges.
Online reconnaissance will do wonders to give you a sense of who an advisor is. If they have a scant or out-of-date online footprint, they are not keeping up with the modern world and you should immediately drop them from your list.
Step 5: Time to Chat
Set up a call, meeting, or Zoom with your final candidates. See how they handle you as a prospect. If they don’t seem to have their act together in the courtship phase, that bodes ill, and you should immediately drop them from your list.
When you get to the meeting refer to your Dream Financial Advisor Profile and ask relevant questions based on that profile. Don’t forget to ask if they are a fiduciary (the answer should always be yes). And then take a pause. See what feelings come up. Did they answer your questions in a straightforward way? Do they inspire a sense of trust? Do you feel like you are being pressured? Is the person likable? Ponder the answers and take a gut check.
Don’t ask for financial plans on spec. That tells them you will be a terrible client because you don't respect their time; any decent plan takes real effort and time to put together. Instead, ask for sample documents if that is important to you.
Following these five steps will give you the best chance of finding the right fit. Then you can get to the business of working with them to make your own dreams come true. If you’d like to see if I am your Dream Financial Advisor, schedule an introductory call
Jennifer Kirby is a fiduciary financial planner who specializes in working with self-reliant women. She helps them balance today's wants and tomorrow’s needs—without depending on anyone else.