The Four Critical Keys to Finding Great Dallas Financial Planners for Your Personal Finances
The economy today is anything but stable, and risk, uncertainty, and a lack of direction can all be found in abundance. What may not be in abundance is a great Dallas Financial Planners – a financial professional who has the talent, skill, and knowledge necessary to guide your financial ship through troubled waters.
A great Dallas Financial Planners exists and can be found – but in order to find a Dallas Financial Planners who can assist you with creating goals and devising a strategy to get you to your destination, you need guidance and assistance in the process. After all, finding a great Dallas Financial Planners is about far more than using search engines online; it is about understanding the crucial steps in getting the help you need.
Strategic Planning with a Dallas Financial Planner
Below are the critical keys you can use to find a great Dallas Financial Planners for your personal finances, whatever they may be. Whether or not you are focused on income generation, wealth building, or risk management, the tips given below can help you find the financial professional you need in order to succeed in today’s financial climate.
Dallas Financial Planners’ Critical Key #1: Identify Your Needs
What do you want to do with your money?
This may seem like an easy question, but in reality it is quite difficult to answer for most individuals today. With all the uncertainty in the economy, even knowing where you want to go is challenging – and that’s not even considering how you will get there.
Therefore, the first step in finding a great Dallas Financial Planners is to identify your needs. What are your goals and objectives? What would you like to do with your money? Do you need or want to…
– Save for your education or that of your children?
– Generate primary or secondary income?
– Build up a nest egg for retirement?
– Pay off existing debt obligations and restore your credit?
– Dynamically grow your existing net wealth?
Identify what you want to do, then establish timelines for your goals – i.e. think about how quickly you would like to do it. Then, if you can, consider what approaches – investing in stocks, buying Treasury bonds, etc. – you feel comfortable using. If you are not very knowledgeable about the specifics, don’t worry – that is why a Dallas Financial Planners exists.
You then use this to establish a list of Dallas Financial Plannerss who appear to match your needs.
Dallas Financial Planners’ Critical Key #2: Identify Your Risk Profile
The risk profile is at the heart of any fundamental financial plan or strategy. You may be risk-adverse, risk-neutral, or risk-tolerant – and that, combined with your goals and objectives, will determine your comfort range when it comes to how you achieve your plan.
An in-depth risk profile can be achieved through your Dallas Financial Planners, but thinking in general terms about your risk tolerance and your comfort level with various approaches and asset classes can help you narrow down the list of available Dallas Financial Planners to those who understand your risk tolerance and can work with you to find a comfortable yet productive approach to meet your goals.
For example, if you have an investment account, your account could – and will, at some point – lose equity. You want a Dallas Financial Planners who understands your tolerance to these types of fluctuations and has limits on how much fluctuation is allowed in trading that match your tolerance.
If a Dallas Financial Planners does not operate within your realm of risk acceptance, then he or she is not a good fit for you, period.
Dallas Financial Planners’ Critical Key #3: Examine Licensure and Certification
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it is vitally important to find a Dallas Financial Planners who is properly certified, licensed, and registered. A Dallas Financial Planners must first be licensed to do business in your area, and this typically involves one of three licenses:
– Investment Advisor Representative
– Registered Representative
– Insurance Producer
Most Dallas Financial Plannerss today fall under the first category. The specific license held, as required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), depends on what services the Dallas Financial Planners offers. A Series 7, for example, allows one to become a Registered Representative and handle a broad range of investment assets, such as stocks, bonds, options, and other asset classes. States typically also require a Series 63 or Series 66 license.
Once licensed, it is important for a Dallas Financial Planners of your choice to be registered with your state or with the Securities and Exchange Commission, depending on the advisor’s Assets Under Management (AUM). At the very least, state registration is required.
Finally, having a Dallas Financial Planners who is properly certified is highly recommended. Two highly-desired certifications are the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations. Both require extensive coursework and accreditation from two international professional organizations, and signify that the Dallas Financial Planners has met strict standards of experience, knowledge, and ethical conduct in the industry.
The more certifications a Dallas Financial Planners has, the more qualified he or she will be for your business and your needs.
Dallas Financial Planners’ Critical Key #4: Examine Their Fee Structure
How your Dallas Financial Planners gets paid is also a key factor to consider for many.
There are a few ways Dallas Financial Planners receive pay. Some are commission-based Dallas Financial Planners, which means they receive a commission on any financial product they offer to you. Some are fee-only advisors, who are paid based on fees attached to certain services rendered and time spent. Some are fee-based advisors, which means they operate on fees and commissions.
Fee-only advisors are becoming more popular these days because many individuals want advisors who are paid only by them and do not receive compensation from other sources, or receive commission by unethical practices known as ‘churning’ (buying and selling assets unnecessarily just to receive commissions).
Regardless of your preferences, the four critical keys discussed above can help you narrow down the long list of potential Dallas Financial Planners to the best Dallas Financial Planners for your circumstances. This way, you can obtain a professional who is tailored to you and your needs, goals, and situation – and achieve financial success with a trusted Dallas Financial Planners.
A great place to start your research is with the Dallas Financial Planners Directory.
