The number of people in support roles tells you something about the service you will receive. To give you a benchmark for evaluating staff support, my firm has six staff people for every financial planner. If planners do not have working relationships with experts in taxes and accounting, find out how they will address issues that require such expertise and what it will cost. In my company, we employ experts in specific fields, such as taxes and accounting, and they review every plan we create. I m frequently asked one more question that I consider pointless.
People ask for references.
Any financial planner can provide references, which is why asking for them is a waste of time. Don t bother. You can only guess. If you get satisfactory answers to these questions, you have only one thing left to do. You have to evaluate whether a prospective planner really listens to you and understands what you want to accomplish.