Today’s Prep:

When shopping for a potential advisor, you want to find the right fit for your needs. Ask each candidate these three important questions.

(Click the featured times below to jump forward in the episode)

Equipping Points:

[1:12] –  How Do You Get Paid?

• Your advisor is probably earning money one of two ways. They’re either earning commissions on products you purchase through them, or they’re charging you a fee. These fees could be hourly. Your advisor could also charge you a percent based upon the amount of money they’re managing for you.

[1:52] – Fees Versus Commissions. 

• Some people don’t like when their advisors get paid via commissions. They argue the advisor is divorced from the product they’re selling you. Our practice uses a hybrid of fee and commission-based services. We’ll always work in your best interest, and we’ll never use a product that doesn’t do exactly what we tell you it will do. If we’re going to invest your money, we’ll charge you a fee. This incentivizes us to make you more money, as we get paid when you get paid.

[5:08] – Ask Your Advisor Whether They Have A Specialty.

• Different advisors have different specialties, and you want to work with one who specializes in your situation. Our specialty is retirement planning, and we want to help you transition into retirement. You need different tools for asset preservation than you did asset accumulation.

[6:14] – Retiring Ready.

• Eric shares the story of an instance in which he was able to help a couple see their ability to retire with peace of mind.

[8:45] – Ask Your Advisor Who Will Be Working With You.

• Some advisors have large firms, and while the principal is the firm’s image, there are usually several other advisors who meet regularly with clients. At our firm we do a bit a both. We’ve added an associate advisor, Jared, and you might meet with him when you come for a visit. However, we work together on each case as we develop a sound retirement plan for our clients.

Today’s Takeaway: