Personal financial advisors assess the financial needs of individuals and help them with decisions on investments (such as stocks and bonds), tax laws, and insurance. Advisors help clients plan for short- and long-term goals, such as meeting education expenses and saving for retirement through investments.
A financial planner is a professional who helps companies and individuals create a program to meet long-term financial goals. Financial advisor is a broader term for those who help manage your money including investments and other accounts.
Generally, financial advisors charge a flat fee of $1,500 to $2,500 for the one-time creation of a full financial plan, or roughly 1% of assets under management for ongoing portfolio management. Of course, fee rates and compensation structures differ from advisor to advisor.
Becoming a Certified Financial Planner requires at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited university, as well as college coursework from a program that is registered with the CFP Board. You'll also need at least 6,000 hours of professional financial planning experience (or 4,000 hours as an Apprentice).
But if you're neglecting your finances, it's likely worth it to hire a wealth advisor. Time is money, and there's a cost to delaying good financial decisions or prolonging poor ones, like keeping too much cash or putting off doing an estate plan.
Not only that, but by shirking responsibility for your own investments, you're also losing a lot of money in FEES. The fees you pay to a financial advisor may not seem like a lot, but it is a huge amount of money in the long-term. Even a 2% fee can wipe out a significant amount of your future wealth building.
Advisors are often focused on investment management, while planners take a more holistic approach to help clients. "A financial advisor is probably going to be someone more interested in the markets and securities," Diehl says.
10 questions to ask financial advisors
There are three ways financial advisors get paid: Fee-only advisors charge an annual, hourly or flat fee. Commission-based advisors are paid through the investments they sell. Fee-based advisors earn a combination of a fee plus commissions.
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