{"id":8588,"date":"2017-07-06T06:07:31","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T13:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.paladinregistry.com\/?p=8588"},"modified":"2017-07-06T06:07:31","modified_gmt":"2017-07-06T13:07:31","slug":"how-to-find-the-best-financial-advisor-when-approaching-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/retirement\/how-to-find-the-best-financial-advisor-when-approaching-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Find the Best Financial Advisor When Approaching Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

As you get closer to retirement, it\u2019s time to get serious about your money. After a lifetime trying to increase your wealth, you now need to shift your focus to preserving it and generating income.<\/p>\n

In decades past, this wasn\u2019t a big deal. To make the switch, you just shifted from stocks into bonds and enjoyed strong interest rates.<\/p>\n

In recent years, this has obviously changed.\u00a0 Thanks to record-low interest rates, achieving a reasonable return without excessive risk is not easy at all.\u00a0 In fact, it is very difficult.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

This is where a financial advisor can help.\u00a0 An experienced professional can help you create a plan to generate income and help you maintain your desired lifestyle no matter where the market or economy goes.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately not all financial advisors are alike.\u00a0 There are many excellent advisors who will work diligently to help you create a realistic plan and protect your assets from excessive risk.\u00a0 On the other hand, there are also many advisors who are more trend followers than risk managers.\u00a0 That may be something you can live with early on, but this can be a significant risk for those with less time to recover from setbacks.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re working with one of those advisors, things look rosy when the entire market is going up\u2026like right now, since the US market has gone up for 8 years straight.\u00a0 But think back to 2008 and 2009.\u00a0 It is only at these times that many find out if their advisor was helping them manage risk or primarily just following the market.<\/p>\n

This can be an expensive lesson.\u00a0 After 2008 many people had to postpone retirement.<\/p>\n

Many people also left their advisors, unhappy that they didn\u2019t protect them on the downside.\u00a0 So this is why it is extremely important to pick your advisor VERY carefully.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re nearing retirement, you need a professional who will help you manage risk so that your future is secured no matter where the economy or market goes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, there\u2019s no free lunch.\u00a0 You can\u2019t have the high returns of being invested in a bull market and be protected on the downside at the same time.\u00a0 You\u2019ll need to give up some of the potential gains in exchange for dialing down the risk.\u00a0 But when you\u2019re close to retirement, this is what can make it easier to sleep well at night.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the spectrum, many people decide it\u2019s hard to find a professional you can trust so determine it\u2019s better to do it yourself.\u00a0 Usually, that\u2019s a big mistake.\u00a0 Just like with your medical needs, do you consider do-it-yourself surgery?\u00a0 For whatever reason, our society thinks it\u2019s okay to DIY on money, but the fact is that most people try to do that, and at the same time, most Americans don\u2019t have enough saved for retirement<\/a><\/span><\/strong>. \u00a0Money management is not easy, and that\u2019s why there\u2019s financial professionals who study this all their lives.\u00a0 Getting help is the smartest thing you can do.<\/p>\n

However what\u2019s vital is that you get the right<\/strong> help. Here\u2019s some tips to find the best possible advisor to help you in your pre-retirement and retirement years.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Look for advisors with broad experience in retirement planning and income generation. If you\u2019ve got an inner ear issue, you don\u2019t want to see a family doctor or a podiatrist.\u00a0 You want a specialist.\u00a0 Same with retirement:\u00a0 you want someone very well versed in generating income for retirement while managing risks.\u00a0 Who is qualified?\u00a0 Look for Certified Financial Planners<\/a><\/span><\/strong> and others with strong planning backgrounds, and ask how many retired clients they work with.\u00a0 The more they do it the better they\u2019ll usually be at it.<\/li>\n
  2. Know the difference between a broker and a true financial advisor. A broker is technically a product salesperson and only has to give you advice that is \u201csuitable to you\u201d, even if it means steering you into higher cost products.\u00a0 A true financial advisor, however,\u00a0serves as a \u201cfiduciary\u201d, meaning he or she legally must always put your interests in front of their own.<\/li>\n
  3. Be sure to check with the regulatory agencies to make sure the advisors you\u2019re considering have clean records<\/a><\/span><\/strong>. See brokercheck.org<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  4. Look for advisors who work with clients in similar situations to you. These days, there are advisors who specialize in helping people from all walks of life\u2026teachers, physicians, municipal employees, business owners, executives, high net worth individuals, etc.\u00a0 You\u2019ll usually get the best result by looking for someone who work with clients like you, since they\u2019ll be familiar with a lot of challenges you face.<\/li>\n
  5. Ask a lot of questions. A good advisor welcomes questions and should be able to communicate effectively with you.\u00a0 Avoid those who don\u2019t welcome your questions\u2014the best advisors want an engaged client.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Is it easy?\u00a0 Not exactly, it takes time to interview and research potential advisors.\u00a0 But since your future is at stake, don\u2019t cut corners.\u00a0 Fortunately, there are some shortcuts and free resources that can help.\u00a0 There are independent advisor rating services such as the Paladin Registry<\/a><\/span><\/strong> that provide free screening of fiduciary advisors.\u00a0 Just answer a few questions and they will match you up with local advisors who have been vetted and meet their stringent requirements.\u00a0 This can save you time in finding a few advisors to consider that are already pre-screened.<\/p>\n

    Once you do find someone you like, don\u2019t sit back and relax.\u00a0 It\u2019s important that you stay very involved.\u00a0 It\u2019s your money after all.\u00a0 No one will ever watch it as closely as you do.\u00a0 Be sure to review your statements every month, and always ask questions if you don\u2019t understand how your money is being managed.<\/p>\n

    Whatever you do, avoid falling into the trap that \u201cI can do it better myself\u201d.\u00a0 Money is different.\u00a0 Money is emotional.\u00a0 Things seem easy when the market has been going up and probably has more risk than ever.\u00a0 Unless you\u2019ve studied the markets professionally for years, we all do better with an objective expert beside us helping us to make the right decisions.<\/p>\n

    Jeanne Klimowski is Founder of<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Wavelength Financial Content Inc.<\/em><\/a><\/span>, a provider of employee financial wellness programs and digital content for financial advisors.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As you get closer to retirement, it\u2019s time to get serious about your money. After a lifetime trying to increase your wealth, you now need to shift your focus to preserving it and generating income. In decades past, this wasn\u2019t a big deal. To make the switch, you just shifted from stocks into bonds and enjoyed strong interest rates. In recent years, this has obviously changed.\u00a0 Thanks to record-low interest<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":8592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retirement"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Find the Best Financial Advisor When Approaching Retirement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find a financial advisor that can help you create a plan to generate income and maintain your desired lifestyle no matter where the market or economy goes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/retirement\/how-to-find-the-best-financial-advisor-when-approaching-retirement\/\" \/>\n<meta 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