When it comes to your money, a financial advisor can be a trusted resource to help provide guidance and growth. The key to a successful relationship with your advisor starts with the initial meeting.
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GOBankingRates spoke with financial advisors to identify five key questions you should be asked in that first meeting — and the red flags that could send you running in the opposite direction.
What Are Your Financial Goals?
Anna Yen, a senior financial advisor with nearly two decades of experience in financial markets, said one of the first questions you should be asked in your consult is about your financial goals.
“These questions can address your short- and long-term financial goals, such as funding education, buying a home and affording retirement,” Yen said. “A good advisor should also ask about any major upcoming expenses or life changes.”
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What Is Your Risk Tolerance?
Yen said it’s important for the financial advisor to ask early on about your risk tolerance. This helps shape an investment strategy that aligns with your comfort level regarding market fluctuations — whether you prefer steady conservative growth or are open to higher-risk opportunities.
What Does Money Mean to You?
Ali Dhanji, a financial advisor with Raymond James, said your advisor should seek to understand how you and your partner value money and what it represents in your life — such as security, freedom or opportunity.
This insight helps the advisor shape your financial strategy around what truly motivates you, making sure that your plan supports not only your money goals, but also your overall life values.
What Was Your Experience With Money Growing Up?
Your financial story doesn’t start with your first job or investment, or even with your first meeting with a financial advisor. It begins in childhood. According to Dhanji, “Early financial experiences significantly shape your current money attitudes and behaviors and a thoughtful advisor explores these formative influences.”
Whether you grew up in a household where money was scarce or abundant, the lessons you absorbed can impact how you save, spend and plan. Your advisor should want to understand that history in order to offer meaningful, personalized guidance.
What Financial Habits Would You Like Your Children To Learn From You?
Dhanji said this question reveals an advisor who cares about your values and your family’s long-term financial well-being beyond just your immediate needs.
Yen emphasized that these types of questions are critical because a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in financial planning. An advisor must understand you as an individual to truly provide tailored investment advice. It also helps ensure a strong long-term fit between you and your advisor.
Red Flags To Watch Out For
In addition to what you should be asked, there are a few signs to watch for that could suggest an advisor isn’t going to be a good fit for you.
According to Dhanji, be cautious of any advisor who dominates the conversation instead of listening attentively, or who recommends specific financial products before fully understanding your situation.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: If a Financial Advisor Doesn’t Ask These 5 Questions in Your Consult, Keep Shopping
