Questionnaire

What’s the approximate value of all of your investment accounts?

Some advisors have a minimum asset level requirement to manage (invest) their clients' money. We want to make sure you are matched accordingly. Also, advisors’ commissions and/or fees are often based on the amount of assets they manage.

(We ask since some advisors have account minimums)

Great! Does that include assets held in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans such as 401(K) or IRA?

Not sure what type you have? 401(k)s are most often associated with corporate savings plans, 403(b)s with tax-exempt organizations such as schools and churches, and 457s are often associated with government-related jobs. Your retirement plan statement will tell you which one you have!

N/A

Yes

No

Most recent annual Income

Include everybody living under your roof, their salaries, income from investments, real estate income, inheritance windfalls, royalties for commercials starring your dog, etc.

Nice to meet you! What’s your age?

Younger investors have a much longer time horizon to invest so they can absorb a lot more risk than somebody who's almost ready to retire.

This will help us evaluate your risk/retirement profile

Great! How would you describe your outlook on the future?

Attitude is everything. Some people actually want to jump out of airplanes while others won’t even sit inside one. How you feel about risk is very important.

N/A

The glass is half full

The glass is half empty

Hopeful: Investing some of my money in stocks fits my profileBetter safe than sorry, I'd like to minimize my exposure to risky investments

Now what's your view on stock market ups and downs?

This gives us an idea of how involved you want to be in the investment process with your advisor. If you’re paying attention to which way stocks move every day, you probably want to take a more active role with your advisor. If you’re more focused on the big picture (year-to-year gains or losses), you might prefer your advisor decide when it’s time to buy or sell within your portfolio.

Day-to-day fluctuations concern me

I pay attention to weekly results

Monthly reports is where it's at

I look at quarterly gains like the pros

I'm a long-term thinker and look at yearly performances

I'm like Warren Buffet and only affected by multi-year results

*Check all that apply

Now let's figure out which type of advisor will work best with you.

How often do you see yourself sitting at your advisor’s office discussing your finances? If you prefer every meeting to be a face-to-face, then a local advisor or at least one based in your state or may be your best choice. If your advisor’s willing to travel to meet you a few times a year, and you feel comfortable handling some conversations by phone, email, text or Skype then we can widen the net to find more advisors across the country who fit your unique circumstances.

N/A

Local to my home/workplace

Regional

Anywhere if my advisor will travel to meet with me.

I prefer my financial advisor to be

Well, it’s true. If you’re going to have a relationship with an advisor, it’s good to know that you just feel more comfortable working with a woman or prefer a man for serious financial advice.

N/A

Male

Female

Gender does not matter to me

*This will limit results to only the chosen gender

How do you prefer to communicate?

Face-to-face meetings are strongly recommended for your first meetings as you’re establishing a new relationship, but once you’re off and running, do you tend to be available for quick consults by phone or is email or a text message your favorite way to communicate. Feel free to choose more than one.

*Check all that apply

How often do you expect to interact with your advisor?

Constant communication with your advisor about your portfolio will help certainly keep you informed and involved. Or maybe you’re at the other end of the spectrum and expect your advisor will manage your investments and do all the heavy lifting so you can focus on your family and/or career. Most of us fall somewhere in between these two extremes.

On a scale from 1-5, What kind of interaction are you looking for?

Constant communication with your advisor about your portfolio will help certainly keep you informed and involved. Or maybe you’re at the other end of the spectrum and expect your advisor will manage your investments and do all the heavy lifting so you can focus on your family and/or career. Most of us fall somewhere in between these two extremes.

Don’t bother me with any details - My financial advisor can take care of everythingBother me with all details - My opinion is important with all investment/ planning decisions

How quickly do I expect my advisor to respond to my questions or inquiries?

You and your advisor should agree on how quick you should get answers to your questions. Think about this carefully. (Hint: this is one of the biggest reasons investors break up with their financial advisors.)

N/A

Within 24 hours

Within 2 days

2 days or more

How would you like to compensate your advisor?

Some advisors get only a straight fee either by the hour, by the plan or their fee will be based on a percentage of the money they manage for you. Other investment advisors earn commissions every time you buy or sell an investment. And just when you thought you had this all figured out, others get both a fee and commissions. There are pro‘s and con’s to each compensation method. Fee-only provides a level of transparency that commission-based advisors can’t offer, but sometimes paying a commission is just the right choice. We suggest you ask any advisor to show you exactly how much of your hard-earned money will go to fees, transaction costs and/or commissions.

N/A

Hourly or flat fee per plan

Fee based on percentage of asset

Pricing model does not matter to me

How soon are you looking to hire a professional financial advisor?

This helps us pair you with advisors with availability based on what you need and when you need it. Or feel free to ask an advisor who fits your circumstances the question that’s burning in your mind—go ahead don’t be shy!

N/A

Immediately

Sometime this year

Not now (But I'd like to ask an advisor a question)

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I'm Pam Krueger from MoneyTrack on PBS. For two decades I've been educating investors about the good, the bad and the ugly of financial advisors. Let's match you to the right financial advisor in 3 easy steps.

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I'm Pam Krueger from MoneyTrack on PBS. For two decades I've been educating investors about the good, the bad and the ugly of financial advisors.
Let's match you to the right financial advisor in 3 easy steps.