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How to interview a financial planner
Listen to this articleSo says Tami Noll Russo, a certified financial planner with Noll Financial Services in Lower Swatara Township, Dauphin County.
“There are personal discussions involved,” said Russo, who is chairwoman of the Financial Planning Association of Central Pennsylvania. “You have to really, really like your planner and trust them with all your heart. It’s one of the most intimate relationships you can have, even more so than with your doctor, because I know your health and your finances.”
With that in mind, here are five questions experts say you should ask a certified financial planner before signing on the dotted line.
What is your experience?
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This is a nuanced question, said Eleanor Elayney, consumer advocate for the Certified Financial Planner Board, which certifies financial planners.
“The advantage of someone young is they were recently and freshly educated and examined,” she said. “But it may well be that you are a young person as well and want that perspective.”
A younger planner may also be tech savvy, doing more interactions online, which many millennials prefer.
But that’s not to say younger is always better, Russo said.
“In some cases, the gray hair trumps the credentials,” she said. “If you’ve been in the business for 30 years, that says something.”
Tied to this, double-check a person’s credentials by visiting the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s website. There you can find a planner’s licenses, credentials — and complaints. Doing due diligence yourself is key, Elayney said.
