How to Pick Your Investment Advisor?

Investment advisors are great for building a more secure future for yourself. They help you chalk out a stable plan for the future, help you meet your financial goals, and manage your investment portfolio so you can get the most beneficial returns. They will also help you with accrual of cash for your retirement so that you can retire early and rich. The best thing about all the money you have managed to save is that you can use it to generate more income exponentially. It can last you for your lifetime and you can leave it behind for your future generations that follow. 

Choosing the right investment advisor is important because they will be in charge of what happens to your finances. Making the wrong choice can result in failed investments, missed opportunities, and reduction in gains. So how do you choose the right one? How do you know what kind of investment advisor you need?

How do investment advisors help with asset management?

“It’s not about how much money you make but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you can keep it for.”

— Robert Kiyosaki

Investment advisors are certified professionals who have the expertise to offer sound financial advice to their clients. They are great because they offer personalized advice to all their clients based on individual needs. Your financial plan is dependent on what you need out of your investments, your risk appetite and the type of investments you are comfortable with. A single blanket solution cannot work for all, so advice that works for someone else might not always work for you. You need to be able to create a plan that makes you comfortable, builds wealth and increases your chances of growth and success in the future. 

What does an investment advisor do?

An investment advisor can offer a variety of options for you. There are multiple types of investment advisors that offer specialized services to meet your needs. It is all based on how you want to invest. Some of the services that they can help you with include the following:

• Wealth management
• Investment portfolio management
• Retirement planning
• Asset management 
• Building your investment portfolio
• Building your financial plan
• Selecting the right investments

Types of investment advisors

“Courage taught me no matter how bad a crisis gets … any sound investment will eventually pay off.” 

— Carlos Slim Helu

Carlos is right, but you need an investment advisor to help guide you through this process. How do you know what investments are sound and which ones will give you the returns you need? Investment advisors will guide you to the financial goals you have been aiming to achieve. There are many types of investment advisors that will help you with specialized knowledge based on the type of investments you need to make and the financial planning you need to do. 

Choosing the right investment advisor is important because you will need nuanced expertise in the niche you want to get involved with. So what are the different types of investment advisors and what kind of expertise and services do they offer? Let’s find out.

• Certified financial planners:
  Certified financial planners have gone through extensive training and education to get certified by a governing body. They have a fiduciary duty and have to adhere to the law when it comes to providing sound financial advice to their clients. They help with a number of savings and investment options such as repayment of mortgages or loans, clearing out personal debt, creating a financial plan, building your retirement fund, creating a budget and more. They can also act as investment advisors.
  
  One thing you should keep in mind is that these are certified financial planners that have met all the requirements set out by the CFP Board. There are financial planners who do not have a certification as well, and they are also capable of offering financial advice, but the CFP professionals are more trained and have more expertise in their field.

• Investment advisers:
  Investment advisers are registered financial advisors who have been recognized by the SEC board to offer financial and investment advice. They are also certified to offer asset and wealth management services, so they can manage your wealth directly as well. They can be individual investment advisors or work as an organization to provide these services.

• Brokers:
  These are probably the most widely known investment advisors today. Think Wall Street. They are mainly responsible for handling mutual fund, stock, and bond-based investments for their clients. They have various levels of certifications that allow them to offer different types of services to their clients.

• Financial consultants:
  A financial consultant is a general term that can be used by any type of investment advisor.They can be college graduates, can have extensive certifications, work as brokers, at banks, and more. If you are looking for a generic financial advisor who can help you with understanding the basics, you can opt to work with a financial consultant. If you want more specific knowledge or services, you should look into financial consultants with additional certifications.

• Financial coaches:
  Financial coaches give you basic guidance to get you started on your journey with saving and budgeting. They offer beginner-friendly advice on how you can reduce debt, build savings, and go about creating a financial plan for your future. They only offer guidance and help you understand more about the world of finance, but they cannot manage your investments.

• Portfolio and asset managers:
  Portfolio and asset managers are investment advisors who have the expertise to manage your entire investment portfolio. This can include a number of assets that you own such as gold, bonds, stock, and other investments you have made like real estate, private equity, and more.

Choosing the right financial planner or investment advisor for your business

Now that you have a better idea about what services the different types of investment advisors provide and their levels of expertise, you should be able to make a more informed choice on the kind of investment advisor you want to work with. Go to specialized financial advisors who can offer you the best advice in the type of investment you want to make, check for their certification, and stay within your budget. 

Remember, they are here to guide you on how you can build your wealth, so it may feel like an added expense, but if you are getting high returns on it, it is another type of investment – an investment to secure your future.

Thank you for reading.