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When you first meet with a financial advisor to see if they’re a good fit, you likely have at least some idea of the questions you want to ask.
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Some financial advisors and experts GOBankingRates talked to suggested some questions they wish new clients asked. You may be surprised how such simple inquiries could lead to useful information as you try to find a good match.
1. How Do You Get Paid?
According to Andrew Lokenauth from Fluent in Finance, this is the single most important question, and almost nobody asks it. Fee-only advisors charge you directly. Commission-based advisors get paid when you buy certain products. Fee-based advisors do both.
“During my time on Wall Street, I watched clients get steered toward investments that paid the advisor better, not investments that served the client better,” Lokenauth said. “You deserve to know if your advisor makes more money selling you product A versus product B.”
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2. How Can We Simplify Our Finances?
According to Kevin Estes, CFP, founder of Scaled Finance, accounts and investments seem to multiply. It can get overwhelming.
“Consolidating accounts may eliminate logins, statements and transfers,” Estes said. “Streamlining investments can improve visibility and simplify management. Automating transfers and payments may also help.”
3. What Is Your Investment Philosophy?
Marguerita Cheng, CFP, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth, said this is among the questions she wishes new clients would ask. After all, it’s incredibly helpful for the investment philosophies of the client and the financial advisor to align.
4. How Do You Help Me Save on Taxes?
Taxes are typically one of the largest expenses someone has throughout their life.
“In my experience, many folks don’t have that as a top priority when planning,” said Brandon Gregg, CFP, advisor with BBK Wealth Management. “Yes, there are many areas of planning and all of them are important, but taxes should be on the top of the priority list. I’d argue that retirement planning or financial planning in general is not ever complete if taxes are not taken into consideration.”
Christopher Stroup, CFP, founder and president of Silicon Beach Financial, added that taxes quietly shape your long-term outcome more than most people realize. “Understanding how income, equity compensation and investments interact lets you keep more of what you earn and avoid decisions that look good short-term but hurt later,” he said.
5. How Do I Plan for Health Issues and Long-Term Care?
According to Gregg, most new clients want to know what they need to have or need to do to retire. He said it’s a specific year or time in the future, and they have tunnel vision on that. However, he added, it’s important to think about all of the possibilities in retirement.
“Health issues are one of the biggest things to derail a plan,” Gregg said. “It’s important to discuss these potential roadblocks and opportunities available to protect their plan and their future no matter what the circumstance.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I’m a Financial Advisor: These Are the 5 Questions I Wish New Clients Asked
