I did a search of the sub and it is evident that this is generally not recommended, but I need a financial advisor/wealth management (and estate planning). I have multiple streams of income and I don’t know what I am doing.
A friend of mine recommended her financial advisor, but I don’t know how to “vet” a financial advisor. They are also located out of state. I don’t know how to find reviews or other first hand experiences to ensure I am going to the right place. It doesn’t feel like a single persons positive experience is enough to make a decision.
I’m also a solo parent, probably need to establish an LLC? Or would an s-corp be better? Are they even different? I don’t understand what it all means.
Please be kind.
How to find or vet a financial advisor
byu/sofluffy22 inpersonalfinance
Posted by sofluffy22
2 Comments
While it is generally recommended to avoid using a financial advisor, some people do need one. But I am seeing things in your post that can be done without a financial advisor but using other professionals. For estate planning I would look for a reputable trust and estates lawyer in your area they can prepare estate planning for you. As for business formation (i assume this is part of tax planning too) you could find a reputable CPA to guide you through the business formation stuff/tax planning both of these professionals will charge a simple hourly rate for there services. Best to meet for some sort of free consultation with a few different lawyers and CPAs and try to find others with experience with them and then picking one to use. As for a financial advisor, how much in assets do you need managed? What types of assets are they? Also if a person is just managing investment, out of state is fine, but for tax prep and estate planning you will want someone based out of your state.
1. Make sure the financial advisor is independent and not tied to (“representative”) of one company.
Use one that charges by the hour or flat fee, DO NOT use a commission based one (ask them!). The less investing actions are better for the long term gain, the more you move money around (at your advisors advice), the less you gain and they make more.
Investing is a long haul game, don’t look at the day to day ups and downs. For me personally, I keep mindful of my mutual funds and tend to do an evaluation when I do our income taxes (yes, I do them myself) each year. As an example, I tend to stay invested in a mutual fund for about 10 years on average, and usually have anywhere from 5 to 8 different mutual funds at one time.