How to interview and choose the best personal finance planner

To pick the best personal finance planner will, in the end, depend on your ability to interview and judge. Here we offer some suggestions which can be useful in your interview and choice...

Some advisors will offer you an initial meeting without charge, others will charge so it is best to ask about this before you meet to avoid unexpected surprises.

The first meeting should focus on getting to know each other and it is best to not attempt to resolve all your financial problems in this meeting.

To make the most of the meeting you need to know clearly what aspect you wish to evaluate (follow the link if you haven't yet done this, or wish to review the topic), and keep in mind the following:

• Clearly establish how much time you'll have for the meeting.
• Review your worksheet with the topics you chose to investigate and adjust them according to the time available.
• Try to interview a minimum of three different candidates, is a good practice.
• Use your worksheet to immediately rate your candidates and make note of any additional information you feel is necessary.

In this meeting your objective is to make certain that your main concerns are clarified and, the candidate will want to convince you that their services are the most suitable for you.

For this reason, to allow both parties to achieve their objectives in the meeting, it's best to allow the candidate do most of the talking and you direct the interview with the questions which you've prepared in your worksheet.

How to choose the best personal finance planner

If you've completed the interviews and have completed your worksheet with the corresponding ratings, the best choice is now made. What to know what it is?  Follow the steps below:

a. Print the summary worksheet with the final ratings.

b. Use this free decision making software called: Choose It!. This software will help you organize the information you have and will show you in five simple steps which personal finance planner is best for you.

1 - (Ask the right question). Write "Which one of the advisors I interviewed is best for me?

2 - (List your possible answers to your question). Write the name of each candidate which you interview in each space.  If you interviews more than 5, you can add more by clicking the button labeled: "Add a possible answer".

3 - (List what is important to you). Enter exactly what you have in your summary worksheet the areas you picked and rated in the interviews together with the rating which you gave to each aspect.

Example, if you chose the point "a. I need an advisor who is a professional" and you assigned an importance of 90 then you'd put: Is professional and in the box beside enter: 90

Repeat for each of the factors you chose and, if necessary you can add more using the button: "Add a Factor"

4 - (Score each possible answer). Enter the rating which you gave to each candidate for each of the factors which you entered on to your summary worksheet.

5 - (Choice!). Your ideal choice is revealed.  The summary of your ratings and the best choice will be shown in a bar graph.

If you have any doubt or comments about how to choose a personal finance planner, please contact us.

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