How do you choose a financial adviser?

The majority of my clients are females going through divorce,and their husband has dealt with all the finances during the period of their marriage. Therefore when they are faced with having to find an adviser it’s a really difficult process for them to go through.

Choosing the right financial adviser to help you plan your finances for the future is one of the most important things you will do as part of your financial planning.  In an ideal world your adviser will work with you over a long period, not just for a one off piece of advice. So it’s important to make the right decision from the beginning.

But where do you start? And how do you compare one adviser against another?

Initially I suggest you ask friends and family if they can recommend someone to you. They will hopefully be able to give feedback on the service they received and how happy they were with it.

Failing that, there are a few websites that specialise in finding an adviser:

http://www.unbiased.co.uk/

http://www.vouchedfor.co.uk/

You need to choose an adviser you feel comfortable with since you will be disclosing a lot of very personal information. Your adviser needs to know all this in order to be able to give the advice you require. Someone who doesn’t fully understand your situation, circumstances and objectives cannot advise you properly.

Therefore during an initial meeting with your adviser pay particular attention to the questions they ask you. Are they asking a lot of questions specific to you, and are they interested in you: what you think, what you want in the future, what your goals are, what you feel and think about money etc.? Or are their questions more generic?

This will provide an indication as to whether the advice they give will be really tailored to you and your circumstances, or whether it will be a more generic “one size fits all” approach.

However, it’s not enough just to choose someone because you get on with them.  Although this is very important based on the long term relationship, as well as having the right character and personality, you need to satisfy yourself your adviser has the right technical skills for the advice you need.

I have written a guide to help,which can be accessed here.

If you have any queries on the guide, any comments or feedback please do let me know.

 Photo credit: flickr/rob Williams