Use My Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor
October 2023
Introduction
The relationship between you and your professional advisors (of any profession) should be an easy two-way communication and trust relationship, with your advisor being a good listener to your concerns and placing your interests first (before their own financial rewards).
Of course, the first step in finding a financial advisor is to meet with at least three professionals to discuss your needs with them. This will require you to be open about your savings, income and your expectations. You should also ask them the questions in the PDF file below and expect forthright answers
This article is in three parts. I first direct you to the Government of Canada and FP Canada web sites that provide recommended questions, although their questions are incorporated into my checklist. In Part 2, I provide a list of suggested questions, followed by Part 3 with details on the reasoning for some of my questions supplemental to those by the Government of Canada and FP Canada. However, their web sites should make you feel more confident that you are justified asking questions, and that your planner should be willing to answer them, especially given the amount of money you will be putting at risk. I would like you to compare the time you spend looking for a new kitchen appliance costing $1,500, including looking at price comparisons, warranties and the ability to obtain local service, compared to the time you spend investigating an advisor to whom you are going to give thousands of your lifetime savings.
Click on the link below for my full article as a PDF file. To read the PDF file, you may need to download Adobe Reader.
Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor
Blair Corkum, CPA, CA, R.F.P., CFP, CFDS, CLU, CHS holds his Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant, Registered Financial Planner, Chartered Financial Divorce Specialist as well as several other financial planning related designations. Blair offers hourly based fee-only personal financial planning, holds no investment or insurance licenses, and receives no commissions or referral fees. This publication should not be construed as legal or investment advice. It is neither a definitive analysis of the law nor a substitute for professional advice which you should obtain before acting on information in this article. Information may change as a result of legislation or regulations issued after this article was written.©Blair Corkum