Entrepreneurship - Tom Leydiker | Finance Blog

Finding a financial advisor is an important task in anyone’s life. Your financial advisor will walk you through your financial goals and then formulate a plan to help you reach them. Before you make a decision on who your financial advisor will be, consider the points listed in this article to ensure you are making the right choice.

Experience and Education

When looking for a financial advisor consider what kind of qualifications they have. Look for a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) before making your decision. Conduct an online search for your potential financial advisor and refer to any and all articles and websites about them. Follow up on previous or current clients to gather more information about their practices. It is one thing to state that a financial advisor has the proper qualifications but if they cannot correctly apply good methods than it is not worth the investment.

Pay Structure

The way a financial advisor sets up their payment structure speaks to their intentions in being your financial advisor. There are a few ways advisors can set up their payment structure. One way is commission based. Commission based advisors could be biased about what kind of investments you should consider because they are ultimately getting a cut of that investment. This could lead to investments that may not be working towards your financial goals. Another payment structure is fee-based. A fee-based advisor could give you advice that will benefit them in the long-run causing you to potentially stray away from your financial goals. Consider a financial advisor who charges by the hour. An hourly payment structure does not allow the advisor to be biased towards any financial decisions.

Contact

Make sure you understand how often you and your financial advisor will be meeting. Some advisors will have an initial meeting then only have scheduled meetings once a year from then on. If you are new to having a financial advisor, recommend that you and your advisor meet quarterly or more often than that if needed.

Outcome

You want to find a financial advisor who will point you in the right direction to achieve your goals. Eventually, you should be armed with enough knowledge to take over the reigns and conduct your own financial plan. Avoid getting stuck with an advisor who suggests that you need to stay with them to reach your goals. That kind of financial advisor may not have your best interests at heart.

Public Perspective

Besides the fact that giving back is morally right, the efforts put forth by a company to do so makes them look good to customers. Customers gravitate towards companies that take the initiative to help other people. Long-lasting and potential customers will pass along the good word of your business if they see you are taking steps to help others. Your efforts will give you a competitive edge over your competition. Companies who do not participate in corporate philanthropy generally see fewer customers compared to companies that do participate. Ensure that you are giving back for the right reasons and not just for financial gain or customers will look past it and disregard any efforts going forward.

Company Morale

Companies who participate in corporate philanthropy typically see a boost in company morale. Employees who value philanthropy on the personal level will appreciate and respect you for giving back. Even for employees who have no interest in philanthropy could bond with their coworkers over volunteer events. On either side of the spectrum for employees will benefit from this kind of philanthropy. The improvement of morale and relationships in the office could have a direct impact on productivity. An increase of teamwork and cooperation could be a direct link to volunteer outings and community service.

Community Benefits

The type of philanthropy you participate in matters. Whether its locally or globally, philanthropy helps people have acc3ess to things that they usually would not have the ability to have. Local philanthropy could benefit a company in a variety of ways. If your local philanthropic efforts include giving money to schools, then you could potentially receive direct feedback in innovation. Research institutions could conduct studies to help benefit your organization. Giving back to schools gives you a direct line into recruiting knowledgeable students from that university for your company.

Corporate philanthropy benefits a wide array of people. As a company, you should consider ways to give back to your community. This effort will help you with customers, employees, and appease a sense of fulfillment which otherwise would have been left unoccupied.

Category: Entrepreneurship

What To Look For In A Financial Advisor