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"Most of us don&amp;#39;t need a financial planner until, well, something really great or really awful happens to us. Losing a job, having a kid, or coming into some money from your great-uncle Buck are all reasons to seek out someone who can manage your cash and investments. But financial planners are also the professionals to consult if you&amp;#39;re stressing out about your 401(k), looking to buy a home, or simply don&amp;#39;t know a trust from a bond. Here&amp;#39;s how to find a planner who&amp;#39;s right for you.\n\nGet a list of candidates together, but be sure to limit your choices to certified financial planners (CFPs). A stockbroker might be able to invest your money, but he isn&amp;#39;t going to know what&amp;#39;s the best life-insurance policy for you or what you should consider when preparing a will. CFPs undergo a rigorous training program that enables them to assess all aspects of your financial situation, including employee benefits, investment management, insurance, and tax, retirement, and estate planning. A CFP will specialize in one or more of these areas and will have a general working knowledge of all of them to better strategize your economic game plan.If you happen to have one, go to your lawyer for CFP referrals; lawyers work in the same circles as CFPs and can usually give you good references. But ask up front if he stands to make any type of commission from referring you to his guy. If he does, it&amp;#39;s not a good sign. The rest of us, who don&amp;#39;t have a dentist much less proper legal representation, should be prepared to dig in and do some research; www.cfp.net lists virtually every certified financial planner in the country. Steer clear of asking your insurance agent or accountant for suggestions; he may try to persuade you to use him instead of a CFP. &amp;quot;They&amp;#39;re going to say, &amp;#39;Oh, we do that,&amp;#39; no matter what you ask them,&amp;quot; says John Henry McDonald, founder and CEO of Austin Asset Management Company. &amp;quot;They don&amp;#39;t. A CFP has a wider range of knowledge concerning personal finance.&amp;quot;Interview five potential candidates over the phone, prepared with a list of questions. Start with these: What type of clients do you work with (those with high net worth, business owners, etc.)? What is your investment philosophy? Who exactly will work with me\u2014do you use one or more associates from the same office? Do you have a specific area of expertise? After narrowing down your list to three, arrange to meet with them in person, and make sure the consultation is free.When meeting a prospective CFP face-to-face, the most important thing to find out is how he is compensated. Fee-only planners will charge you a onetime flat rate for a comprehensive plan ($2,500, $5,000, and up) that can include everything from preparing for retirement to putting away enough ducats for Johnny&amp;#39;s Princeton education. They will sometimes choose to bill an hourly rate for consultations ($150 to $250) or charge a fee based on your assets under their management (usually 1 to 3 percent). Commission-based planners will usually bill you a lower fee in the beginning (around $500) but will stand to receive a payment from a third party based on the financial products you invest in, from stocks and bonds to insurance policies. If you opt for a fee-only planner, you may be paying a higher price at first, but you won&amp;#39;t run the risk of being sold something you might not necessarily need. Either way, a solid CFP should be willing to disclose how much money he stands to make from any commissions and fees.Soon after your initial meeting, once he&amp;#39;s analyzed your financial history, assets, and goals, a CFP should prepare a written proposal. You want someone who will give you personalized advice, not some half-assed brochure that could apply to your cat."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/choose-a-financial-planner>