Do You Need A Financial Advisor?

Over the course of your investment and wealth creation journey, you might come to the realization that you need external help. In those moments, a financial advisor might come in handy

Over the course of your investment and wealth creation journey, you might come to the realization that you need external help. In those moments, a financial advisor might come in handy.

There are two types of people in the world: Those who figure things out on their own and those who get help. Those who cook their meals themselves and those who have others cook for them.

Those who fix their cars themselves and those who take it to the mechanic.

Interestingly, none of these methods are right or wrong as long as the goal is achieved at the end of the day. More so, there is always a point you get to that you can no longer afford to do it yourself and you need to seek support.

No matter how great you cook, you would eventually have to eat out at some point even if it is just to acquire another taste and no matter how great you are with cars, some problems are better solved by the mechanics.

In the finance world, a financial advisor is the mechanic of your financial life. The person is duly trained to offer you financial advice in relation to services ranging from estate planning, investment management, retirement planning, or financial planning.

Their services range from helping you manage money, helping you invest more, or just guiding you to achieve your financial goals. They would typically work with you to create a plan tailored to your needs and are required to put your interests first – even if they have to take a fiduciary oath to prove that.

How Do You Know You Need One?

A good financial advisor can come in handy just before you make costly investment or financial mistakes. They are also there to help you achieve your financial goals especially when you have challenges meeting them yourself.

In addition to helping achieve your goals, your financial advisor plays the role of ensuring you are well informed. He or she helps you stick to your plan in times of stress, and helps you manage risk to protect and grow your assets.

The moment you realize that you cannot achieve any of these on your own, you have to seek professional help.

What Kind Of Advisor Do You Need?

One That Has Relevant Skills, Training & Experience

Just as nobody wants an inexperienced medical student to treat them in the hospital, nobody wants an advisor who would use them to practice consultancy. You want one that is trained and has had the required experience to offer guided and backed-up advice.

This is borne out of the experience of the advisor as well as skills he or she has obtained over years in the game.

One That Understands Your Needs

Your financial advisor should be one who understands your challenges completely. He or she must be willing to ask all the necessary questions as oppose proffering generic solutions.

Before you can accept investment strategies or lessons from an advisor, it is expected that he or she has invested before and experienced the same challenges you are currently experiencing. Your advisor should not just be academically savvy but must be able to walk his talk and understand exactly what you need.

One That Can Show You The Risks

You don’t want an advisor that sugar-coats how you can potentially lose money. He or she must be able to highlight all your possible losses in any investment. He should also be able to show you an exit plan just incase things get bad.

One That Can Offer You Bespoke Solutions

It is almost impossible that two people will end up with the same investment or wealth plan because we all have different needs, goals, and are all at a different stages in their financial journey.

A financial advisor will help you put these things in perspective, giving you tailor-made advise.

__One Who is not Product-Oriented __

It is not uncommon to find financial experts telling their clients about juicy investment offers simply because they represent specific industries or have rigid methods that worked for them.

No one investment vehicle would give you all the gains you require. A diversified portfolio will, and your advisor should be able to offer advise in that relation rather than telling you to invest in specific industries or specific vehicles.

Today, a huge part of the services offered by the financial advisors can now be obtained remotely with the right exposure to financial information.

The Yochaa App can keep you abreast with all the market information you need to make constructive investment decisions. It is pertinent to note, however, that both the App and your financial advisor would be of little help if you are not willing to make the necessary steps to meet you investment or financial goals in the first place.

Written by Lawretta Egba