Prepare Yourself With Answers to These 10 Questions

Here are 10 questions that NAPFA advises clients ask you, so prepare yourself with answers.

1. How are you compensated?

2. If you accept commissions, will you itemize the amount of compensation you earn from products that you recommend to me?

3. Do you accept referral fees?

4. Are you held to a fiduciary standard at all times?

5. Would you sign a fiduciary oath committing to putting my financial interests first?

6. Have you ever been disciplined by the SEC or FINRA?

7. Do you provide comprehensive financial planning or just investment management?

8. Do you have many clients like me?

9. How will you help me reach my financial goals?

10. What happens to my relationship with the firm if something happens to you?

These questions are part of this forever timely infographic that NAPFA has created to better educate the general public. It includes simple yet powerful tips that might help you to better put yourself in your clients' shoes as they aim to find qualified, objective financial advice.

View the graphic here.

“A more educated consumer will be a better consumer for financial services,” says NAPFA’s Communication Manager Ben Lewis.

"People need to do their homework before working with a financial planner. And the financial planner -- especially if they are a CFP professional -- need to be prepared to answer their questions," Dan Drummond, director of public relations for the CFP Board, tells me.

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