If you don a detective’s hat and investigate a little, you will realize that a lot of people around us have had some sort of bad experience with finances. Either they have been duped by a financial planner or cheated by an online financial planning firm. And it is indeed tough to recover from such a situation where in one had put a lot of hard earned money in an investment scheme that went awry.
And once you realize what sort of experiences people have had, you’ll definitely be careful while choosing financial advisors for yourself. After all, who would want to hire a financial advisor only to realize later that his previous 5 clients have filed cases against him, and he’s been barred by the board of financial advisors! To ensure that you don’t suffer a bad experience, here are some tips –
Understand the advisor’s qualification It is quite easy to be fooled by a financial advisor’s qualification. One never knows what those abbreviations stand for. And there are a multitude of abbreviations that might not exactly convey the true depth of skills a financial advisor possess. The first thing you should do is to visit a financial certification credentials page. They have a list of all the qualifications and can help you understand better.
Check the regulatory authority’s website India’s financial advisors are governed by SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). They have a list of the financial advisors who’ve registered with them, and also some norms that one should expect them to follow. They will even inform you about the past conduct of the advisor as well as their previous employment details, if any.
Ask your friends and family members If the financial advisor is based in your locality, there’s no better way to check their credentials than to ask your friends and family members living in the same area. Ask them whether they’ve personally ever encountered the financial advisor in question.
Once you’ve done your homework, you should definitely hire a financial advisor. No one can provide better financial planning and forecasting than they can.
And once you realize what sort of experiences people have had, you’ll definitely be careful while choosing financial advisors for yourself. After all, who would want to hire a financial advisor only to realize later that his previous 5 clients have filed cases against him, and he’s been barred by the board of financial advisors! To ensure that you don’t suffer a bad experience, here are some tips –
Understand the advisor’s qualification It is quite easy to be fooled by a financial advisor’s qualification. One never knows what those abbreviations stand for. And there are a multitude of abbreviations that might not exactly convey the true depth of skills a financial advisor possess. The first thing you should do is to visit a financial certification credentials page. They have a list of all the qualifications and can help you understand better.
Check the regulatory authority’s website India’s financial advisors are governed by SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). They have a list of the financial advisors who’ve registered with them, and also some norms that one should expect them to follow. They will even inform you about the past conduct of the advisor as well as their previous employment details, if any.
Ask your friends and family members If the financial advisor is based in your locality, there’s no better way to check their credentials than to ask your friends and family members living in the same area. Ask them whether they’ve personally ever encountered the financial advisor in question.
Once you’ve done your homework, you should definitely hire a financial advisor. No one can provide better financial planning and forecasting than they can.