You’ve worked hard at your career and been prudent with your money. You have been a diligent saver. Now you have amassed as a nice-sized nest egg. The trouble is, you feel that you could make financial mistakes with it. Your level of financial expertise is not as good as you’d like.
If you are interested in taking steps to protect your financial position but feel that you lack sufficient expertise, you have options. An excellent option is to work with a professional money manager.
Signs of Financial Illiteracy
As you assess your financial skillset, perhaps the best way to do so is to ask yourself questions. Here are a few to think about:
- Do you understand the difference between saving and investing?
- Do you operate with a budget?
- Do you find yourself having difficulty making ends meet before the end of the month?
- Are your bills always paid on time?
- Do you have a sufficient emergency fund?
- Do you gamble money that you should invest or save?
How you answer these and similar questions can go a long way to help you understand if you need professional financial help.
Professional Financial Planners
When seeking out a high-quality financial advisor, ask a lot of questions. The good ones will be happy to share with you where they were educated, how long they have been in business, and their track record for their clients. They should possess the following skills:
- A passion for finance and investing,
- Deep analytical ability,
- An easy ability to work with numbers and concepts,
- The ability to communicate in jargon-free terms, and
- An alignment of their investment and financial philosophy with yours, and above all
- Honesty and integrity.
The best of the best are committed to their client’s financial well-being. The work to ensure that client’s assets are intelligently protected and growing.