Choosing a Financial Advisor: Potential Mistakes

1. Choosing the advisor that is based closest to you. Your financial Advisor can make or break your future. To choose the one that is closest, solely because of convenience, is simply a case of laziness especially in this age of online connectivity.
2. Sticking with your existing advisor despite the fact that their advice has not been up to par in the past. Chopping and changing your financial planner unnecessarily is not advised, but remember that there are plenty of other excellent advisors out there.
3. Going with the advisor that contacts you because they know someone you know. Is this necessarily the best advisor?
4. Going with your bank advisor/broker. Whilst there are no doubt some excellent bank brokers out there, don't just go with them because it's most convenient or they promise to speed up your bank loan.
5. Choosing an advisor that is a personal friend. Business and friendship usually work best when they do not interfere with your personal financial affairs.
6. Choosing the first advisor that you get a proposal from. Hey, if you were getting tyre prices, you'd get 3 quotes right? This is your life you're talking about.
7. Staying with an advisor because they make you feel guilty about "being unloyal to them after all of these years". You came for advice not loyalty programmes.
8. Choosing the advisor that is cheapest. Often when you pay peanuts - you get monkeys!
9. Choosing an advisor that wines and dines you and sends you gifts. Don't decide on this alone!
10. Basing your decision on the car they drive. There are plenty of sharks out there driving Porsches.