Building a Team of Advisers

The start of the new year is a good time to reassess who you turn to for financial and accounting advice. With the turbulent economic times, now might be a good time to form a trust team if you don’t already have one. The Wall Street Journal discusses several factors you should consider when choosing or evaluating the advisers you choose.

Choosing a financial adviser can be scary because anyone can claim to be an adviser and offer advice. Certified financial planners, chartered financial analysts, and certified public accountants have taken the most classes and passed several exams to gain their titles. Another thing to consider is what kind of duty does the financial adviser have to you. Registered investment advisers, CPAs, and lawyers have fiduciary duties to you, which is a higher level of duty to invest in your interest than a stockbroker or another adviser has.

When trying to assess a planner, you can ask questions about what services he/she provides, what he/she charges, whether or not he/she will be acting as a fiduciary, how often you will communicate with him/her, whether he/she is disciplined by a professional or regulatory body, what his/her money management style is.

When choosing a tax preparer or accountant, you should find one who keeps you up to date on tax changes and try to anticipate moves you should make. If you have complicated assets, you may also want to choose a lawyer who specializes in your situation. You can look at the American Bar Association website to find lawyers with different specializations or you can get recommendations from friends.

See Karen Blumenthal, How to Build Your Financial Dream Team, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 31, 2011. 

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this article to my attention.