How to find a financial advisor you can have a strong relationship with

August 20, 2024

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5 min read

The process of finding a financial advisor can leave something to be desired. But finding a financial advisor and building a great relationship is not as hard or daunting as it may seem when you go into it with the right information and right process and tools to get matched with the right advisor for you.

Like most people you use this thing we call money and from time to time you seek out education and advice when you’re looking to accomplish something with your money.

Whether it’s getting life insurance, planning for retirement or your cash flow there’s a strong argument to get professional financial advice. Just like with going to the doctor we know that there are some things we need professional help with.

But how do you find the right advisor for you? How do you know they will understand you? How do you know you will like and trust them? Ultimately, how do you build a great relationship with your financial advisor?

Money is personal and we are not going to just open up and talk with anyone about our financial skeletons, so finding the right advisor and building a great relationship with them is very important to help you get the guidance and advice you need, when you need it.

Here are some tips and things to consider when finding and building a great relationship with the right advisor for you.

What type of relationship do you want with your financial advisor?

Whether you’re looking for a one time transaction or long-term relationship with your financial advisor it will be important you have a relationship with them where you can open up. It’s OK if you only need them to buy a product and then be on your way. Or perhaps you are looking for long-term advice. Either way we all know that when we like and trust someone that the entire experience is better.

Strong, meaningful relationships are built on so much more than ZIP code and how much money you have in your 401(k). We connect with other people like us based upon shared commonalities, personality traits, preferences, etc. It’s just how we are wired as human beings

Now you may be thinking, “I don’t want to become best friends with my advisor, that’s not the type of relationship I want.” And that’s fine. But remember, in working with a financial advisor you will be sharing very personal things about not only your financial situation but also your hopes, dreams, and goals.

These are very personal things we don’t just share with anyone, so forming a great relationship with your advisor is key to being able to open up. If you don’t open up then they won’t have the information they need to truly serve you.

Questions to ask a financial advisor

Once you’ve identified a potential financial advisor, what are some questions you should ask them?

First make sure they are the person you thought they were from your online research, make sure you have a good “gut feeling” about them when you have your first meeting. If you don’t like them then the rest of the stuff doesn’t really matter.

There are three sets of questions you should be thinking about when assessing a financial advisor; questions you should ask yourself, technical questions you should ask them and relationship-based questions.

First, check out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau resource called Know Your Financial Advisor. It’s a great resource that’s been around for awhile that will help you assess different advisors.

The second resource is the AARP Interview an Advisor tool. This free resource gets you thinking about what you should be looking for and asking any potential advisors you might hire.

Third, ask them about who they are outside of work. Determine if you have shared interests, commonalities and backgrounds to see what kind of gut feeling you get. Human beings are pretty good at determining if they like and trust someone relatively quickly, so find out if they are a dog or cat person, what they like to do on weekends, where they went to school and so on.

Blending professional questions with more personality-driven questions will give you a good idea if any particular advisor can actually help you but also whether you would feel comfortable.

Questions to expect a financial advisor to ask

On the flip side you should also expect a financial advisor to ask you some questions too. More and more advisors are becoming specialists, otherwise known as niches, and will want to make sure any new client they decide to work with will be a good match for them and their expertise.

Expect an advisor to ask you things like: What do you need help with? What are your expectations of us? Some advisors will also ask about your net worth, income and so forth. This is a delicate dance since asking these questions too soon can be off-putting, but some advisors simply do have minimums and most know what you have before they can agree to work with you.

Maintaining a strong relationship with a financial advisor

Once you’ve found the right advisor, now what? As with most relationships in life open and strong communication is key. You should remember that the advice your advisor gives you is only as good as the information you give them to work with.

Make it a point to keep your advisor informed on life events and changes that happen between any review meetings you have with them. Let them know what’s going on in your life, what’s going well, what’s keeping you up at night and so on.

You also should ask them how often you should expect to hear from them. And if they don’t already perhaps suggest they share some personal updates in addition to financial updates and scheduling meetings.

At the end of the day the best way to find a financial advisor you like and trust is to connect with them on a human level first, and then know they have the expertise and experience to help you solve your financial goals.

Derek Notman is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and Founder and CEO of Couplr AI, a tech company helping connect people with financial advisors for the right reasons, at the right time and place. Derek is passionate about Fixing our Relationship with Money using AI (and Flip-flops).