Tips for choosing a financial advisor

Feb 26, 2021

4 min read

This post is part of a paid collaboration with Servus Credit Union.

I think for a lot of people the hardest part of getting started on your personal finance journey is the actual GETTING STARTED part of it. How do you choose a financial advisor?

Let’s face it, our education system lets us down when it comes to teaching us about finance and so you likely learned everything you know from your parents, which, in and of itself, could be a good or bad thing. And since no one EVER talks about their money, you may have no real idea if you’re on the right track. Heck, you might even think you ARE on the right track when it turns out you’re not, and there’s only one real way you can be sure – by getting a third-party opinion.

For us, that has looked like chatting with Brock from Servus Credit Union, but we didn’t choose Brock, Servus was kind enough to set us up as part of our partnership. So, how should you go about choosing a financial advisor?

Well, I’m glad you asked.

Photo by Angus McKenzie

How to choose a financial advisor

I’ve already said it before, talking with someone about your finances can be intimidating and awkward, that’s why it’s super important that you trust whoever it is you’re going to talk with.

Who you choose as your financial advisor can depend on your goals. Do you need help with investing? Do you need help with retirement? Do you need help saving for a house? Do you want someone to optimize your entire financial picture?

For most people, the easiest person to talk to is someone at your current financial institute. Places like Servus have staff who can help you understand and buy certain types of investments such as GICs and can help you get started contributing to registered savings plans such as RRSPs, RESPs and TFSAs.

Advisors who work at a bank or credit union, such as Brock, have a number of advantages. For one, they’re trained and governed by the company’s policies and guidelines and they’re convenient and consistent. They can, however, only offer the products offered by their financial institution. In most cases, this isn’t a big deal as most institutes’ offerings are robust.

Outside of financial institutes, there are a variety of independent and firm financial advisors that can help you. In general, here are some tips for what to look for:

Know what type of advisor they are, this includes knowing how they get paid. Are they commission-based or salary? Are they paid based on the types of products they sell? Do they have service fees? If so what are they? How does this affect their advice? Is there a financial incentive for them to offer certain types of products over others?
Do they offer advice on only the products and services provided by their company? Or can they look at other options and your full financial picture?
Get to know them personally. What’s their education? Do you trust them? Feel comfortable talking with them?
Make sure they understand your goals both short-term and long-term
Lastly, don’t choose a friend or relative. Nothing complicates a relationship more than money and if things go south, guilt or a family tie could make it harder to change course.

Finally, no matter who you go with, you can perform a disciplinary check against them to see if any action or complaints have been filed against them.

Photo by Angus McKenzie

Our experience with Servus Credit Union

Even though we didn’t choose Brock, given the chance we would go with him regardless. Brock took the time to just chat with us about our lives and our goals. Through this conversation, we learned that he’s only a few years behind us as far as life goals go and he and Jane bonded over their love of finances (in fact he even tried to get her to apply for a job lol).

We’ve built up a trusting rapport with Brock and feel confident in the advice he gives us. With our ultimate goal of freedom in mind, Brock has assessed our retirement plan, made suggestions and worked with us to personalize our strategies. Additionally, Servus has digital tools to help us efficiently manage our savings anytime, from anywhere.

Our short-term goal setting with Brock has also helped to build the base of our rapport. The changes we can see based off of the small tweaks he has made instilled confidence in us that he knows what he’s talking about, but also that he has listened to our goals and what we value most.

If you’re skeptical, or unsure about a financial advisor setting short-term goals is a great way to test the waters with a financial advisor. Once you’ve built up that trust and relationship – like we have with Brock – it makes it easier to set goals for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years and retirement. Servus has products to help you reach your goals whether they’re short-term or long-term, find out more here.