My wife went in to our Bank last week (the brick and mortar version), to cash a cheque. She decided to do this at a teller, and she stood in line for this privilege. As she got to the teller, suddenly she was accosted by the teller, asking about how our family investments were being handled, and whether we had an investment advisor.
You want fries with your GIC?
Mrs. C8j has learned the answer to give, and she simply stated that we take care of our own investments and we were happy with that, however, evidently that was not good enough for this teller. My wife came home with a glossy brochure, and, a flyer about Financial Planning Week, along with the name of a “Financial Planner” who could help us out. I realize this is the bank attempting to “drum up some business” for their Financial Planning income stream, but it is another reason (for me) to stay away from my local branch.
As usual, I should thank TD for giving me more content to rant about, since without them I am not sure what I would be writing about.
Given I feel I have a smart and sophisticated readership, I’d like to give you folks some homework. I do plan on sending an e-mail to this planner and possibly going to visit with him to research how the system now works, however, what kind of questions should I be asking?
Questions to Ask Your Financial Planner
So far, I have a couple of obvious examples:
- How do you earn your pay ? What is the difference between you and a fee-based financial planner?
- What licenses, credentials or other certifications do you have?
- Could I see a sample financial plan?
- What makes your client experience unique?
- Given I have a pension, what kind of a retirement plan do you think I should have?
- Do you still make money if I lose money?
Am I missing other great questions to ask?
