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Benefiting from working with a financial personal planner doesn’t require you to be a billionaire. If you are investing thousands of dollars or millions of dollars, the professional advice from a financial personal planner can save you a significant amount of money and give you confidence that you are meeting your savings and investment goals.

Financial personal planners do more than tell you which products to invest in or where to place your money. Financial personal planners can help you establish a budget, plan for important expenses (such as tuition, retirement and home mortgages) as well as help you build a strategic plan for weathering turbulent times or taking advantage of market opportunities.

What to look for when choosing a financial personal planner

Like any professional, not all financial personal planners are created equal.  It’s important to choose a financial personal planner who is a good fit with your goals, your communication style and even your personality. Getting the most out of your relationship with your financial personal planner relies on open, clear channels of communication.

A financial personal planner should take a comprehensive approach to helping you plan your finances. This means looking at all aspects of your financial situation and acting accordingly. Comprehensive planning helps avoid blind spots that may prove troublesome down the road.

Fee Only Advisors

When working with a financial personal planner, find one that works on a fee-only basis. Fee-only financial personal planners are compensated only by the fee that you pay them. Some financial advisors, on the other hand, will receive commission for recommending certain products. As you can imagine, this may introduce a conflict of interest between you and your financial personal planner. For example, if a financial personal planner is offered 10% commission for every person he or she steers towards a certain institution, you may have a situation where the advisor recommends a product more because of the financial perks for him or herself, rather than looking out for your best interests.

What to expect

It’s also important to manage your expectations when working with a financial personal planner.  Although financial personal planners are highly educated and skilled, they cannot:

• Predict the future
• Read your mind
• Guarantee performance on investments
• Protect you from your own destructive financial habits
• Magically earn you the returns you want

In order to make sure that you are always on the same page as your financial personal planner, it’s your responsibility as a client to always be up front and completely candid. Let them know what your goals are and what your tolerance for risk is. As long as you are open with your financial personal planner, he or she will be able to present realistic advice and feedback on whether your goals are attainable.

Financial personal planners are not only for the ultra wealthy. On the same note, financial personal planners can also help those who feel they are very good with their money. Professional advice is something that anyone can benefit from. Whether you are investing a small sum of money or are looking for a second opinion on what to do with a large fortune, it is well worth the investment in order to ensure that all considerations are addressed.