The theme for this week is: how to pick a financial advisor. Here’s the reality: There are about 300,000 financial advisors in the United States. Many are trustworthy, competent, and looking out for your best interest. But the barrier of entry to being a financial advisor is low, and you might occasionally come across a bad apple - never a good thing when it’s your money and your retirement. So this week, I’m sharing with you the criteria by which you’ll want to evaluate and choose a financial advisor.

Yesterday, I gave you 5 important questions that you’ll want to ask your financial advisor before signing on the dotted line.

Today, we’re talking about the most important question to ask...at least in my opinion. It’s also a question that I’m willing to bet $20 that you’ve never asked.

I’m going to regret saying that, aren’t I...don’t email me saying I owe you $20 if you have asked this question.

Ok, so here’s the question:

“If I call you one day and I tell you to liquidate my portfolio, will you do it?”

Now, why is this question so important? The answer tells you a lot about your financial advisor. While you don’t want a stubborn mule for an advisor, you want an advisor who will stand up for his or her convictions and not let themselves be tossed around by the prevailing winds of the day. If you have a weak advisor, he or she will not stand their ground and will let you cash out everything after the market has already plummeted 20 or 30%.

Having an advisor like this can be very damaging, because not only are they more likely to sell low, but also buy high. Never a good combination.

So be sure to ask your advisor this one question: “If I call you one day and I tell you to liquidate my portfolio, will you do it?”

And just as important, make sure they have a good answer. Press them a little too. Ask them to tell you how they keep their clients sticking to their plan when panic sets in.

That’s it for today. Tomorrow, we’re going to recap the week and I’m going to give you a little preview of next week’s theme.

Before you continue on with your day, please take a moment to leave a review for the One Minute Retirement Tip in Amazon. If you’re getting any value from these tips, it’s a great way to share the love. And thank you to those of you who have already taken the time to write a review.

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, how to pick a financial advisor, fiduciary financial advisor, fiduciary, fiduciary law