How to choose a financial planner to grow your wealth

Every person’s financial goals are different. You may be aiming for a comfortable retirement, be planning for your children’s education, or have your eye on developing a property portfolio.

Financial planners grow wealth in a number of ways. They take in your priorities, look at the markets, and create a strategy or roadmap to get you from where you are now to where you want to be.

A great financial planner also teaches and empowers. They educate you on how to invest; how to manage debt; when to jump in and invest into growth assets and when to play it safe. They give you the tools and power to make the best decisions to grow your wealth.

Choosing a financial planner to grow and protect your wealth is one of the most important decisions you will ever make, so you need to get it right. Here’s how you can go about it.

Determine what you want from a financial planner

Start off by explicitly thinking about what you want from a financial planner.

What are your actual goals and objectives? Then whittle it down to specifics.

Are your goals straightforward, such as to grow wealth, or are they more particular, such as investing in shares or property?

Look for a registered financial planner

Only ever put your financial wellbeing in the hands of a registered financial planner.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has an online register, which you can use to find out whether your prospective financial advisor is authorised to provide financial advice, as well as their experience and employment history.

The register lists financial advisors who are AFS licensees, authorised representatives, employees or directors of an AFS licensee, or employees or directors of a related body corporate of an AFS licensee, and those who are authorised to provide personal advice.

Ask your financial planner questions

When you meet with a prospective financial planner, come armed with prepared questions.

A financial planner will be well-used to answering questions, and the answers to these questions will provide you with important intelligence as to whether this financial planner can best help your grow wealth.

Here are some examples of questions you may want to ask:

• Who are some of your existing clients?
• What areas do you specialise in?
• How often will we meet?
• What information will I receive from you and how regularly?
• How will I be consulted on decisions?
• Do you receive any commissions or incentives from certain financial products?
• How will you choose which financial products and services to recommend to me?
• What types of financial investments do you advise on?
• What is your investment philosophy?

Get clear about fees

There are a number of fees financial planners charge to grow wealth, and these can quickly add up. Make sure you check these against the fees being charged by other financial advisors.

Financial planner fees are usually broken down into fixed fees and percentage-based fees.

Fixed fees include a one-off fee for the development of a financial strategy, a fee for implementing financial advice, and ongoing fees for their advice and services.

Percentage-based fees are based on the total value of your portfolio. This fee is paid regardless of how well your investments perform.

Prepare for your financial planning session

When you initially meet with your financial planner to discuss wealth creation plans, you’ll need to be prepared.

Make sure you bring with you:

• A list of your assets and financial liabilities or obligations
• A list of financial goals and objectives with figures attached to them
• Your current household budget
• Historical financial records.

This information will inform initial discussions and ideas from the financial planner about your wealth growth.

Grow your wealth with a financial planner

LDB Group has financial planners with the expertise and experience to get the most out of your assets and help grow your wealth.

To find out how one of our specialists can help you better manage your wealth, please call (03) 9875 2900 or fill in the contact form below.