Financial Advisor St. Louis can help you make smart money decisions. These can include things like what to do with a windfall, whether to rent or buy a home and when to start taking Social Security benefits.
Depending on your situation, you may want an advisor who has the letters CFP or CFA after their name. Those designations indicate they follow a code of ethics.
1. You’re at a Crossroads
A financial advisor offers guidance and accountability when it comes to achieving your short- and long-term goals, such as saving for retirement or purchasing a home. They also help you create a framework for managing financial matters during life transitions or market downturns.
Many individuals manage their money reactively without a plan, leading to fragmented efforts and missed opportunities. A financial advisor can provide structure to your planning process through goal prioritization, financial modeling and trade-off analysis.
When shopping for a financial advisor, look for professional designations and an open door policy. Lastly, be sure to check out their background through resources like FINRA’s BrokerCheck tool. Also, consider their fee structure and investment philosophy. Ultimately, choosing an advisor that aligns with your values and goals is paramount.
2. You’re Getting Older
There’s no set age at which you should start meeting with a financial advisor. However, significant life milestones such as getting married, having children, obtaining an inheritance or nearing retirement can trigger a need for more complex strategies and increased monitoring.
In times of uncertainty, advisors with a track record of helping clients navigate similar events can offer valuable guidance. They can help you prioritize your goals, develop a plan to achieve them and adjust that plan as needed. They can also help you make sense of the complexities involved in investing, retirement and Social Security claiming strategies. They can even help you manage the emotional decision-making that often accompanies major life changes. You can recognize a qualified financial planner by the letters CFP (r) or CFA(r) after their name. Those designations signify they have met rigorous education and experience requirements.
3. You’re Getting Richer
As your wealth grows, the complexity of your financial life increases. Advisors create strategies to manage the complexity through goal prioritization, financial modeling, and risk mitigation. They minimize costly mistakes and missed opportunities by avoiding a reactive approach to your finances and keeping you aligned with your goals and values.
Even the most experienced investors have blind spots, just as doctors don’t perform their own surgeries or dentists pull their own teeth (ok, that’s a bad analogy). A financial advisor is like a second set of eyes to help identify and mitigate your blind spots.
They can help you avoid expensive tax mistakes by identifying and implementing tax-saving strategies such as Roth conversions, tax loss harvesting, and donor-advised funds. They can also collaborate with your estate attorney to minimize probate exposure and ensure that assets are distributed according to your wishes.
4. You’re Buying a Home
There’s a lot to consider when buying a home, from finding the best value to making sure that your finances are ready for the commitment of homeownership. Financial advisors have deep expertise in this area and can help you create a budget and plan that’s tailored to your unique needs.
A financial advisor can also help you get pre-approved for a mortgage by assessing your finances and collecting documents like pay stubs, tax returns, letters of explanation for income that doesn’t come from wages, and loan statements. This step is necessary for the underwriting process, as mortgage lenders need to verify that you can afford your new home before making a final loan decision.
When choosing a financial advisor, find out whether they are fee-only and if they’re a fiduciary, meaning they must place your needs over their own profit incentives.
5. You’re Getting Divorced or Separated
If you are in a relationship that is clearly failing and you’re daydreaming about divorce, you should consider hiring a financial advisor. An experienced planner can help you create a comprehensive financial plan that includes budgeting, savings, investing, retirement planning, and risk management. This will help you avoid emotional decision-making, reduce stress, and improve long-term outcomes.
It’s also a good idea to work with a fiduciary financial advisor, which means that they are required to provide advice in your best interest and are transparent about fees. They may charge a flat fee, hourly rate, or percentage of assets managed. This helps you determine whether the services they offer are worth the cost. If you’re unsure where to start, try our Advisor Match Tool. It will help you find an advisor who fits your needs. You can even interview advisors virtually through the platform.
6. You’re Getting Married
Significant life changes often require financial expertise. Whether you’re getting married, buying a new home, receiving an inheritance or going through a divorce, a financial advisor can help you navigate these major milestones with confidence. Their guidance transforms confusion into clarity and strategy.
Similarly, significant business milestones often call for expert guidance. A financial advisor can offer key insight in critical areas like cash flow management, tax compliance, and business valuation.
In addition, medical professionals face unique financial complexities. A qualified financial advisor can simplify and organize their financial situation, enabling them to make informed choices about investments, saving strategies and retirement plans. This can reduce stress, allowing them to focus on what matters most.*
7. You’re Having Children
The financial implications of life changes like marriage, having children and divorce can be complex. A financial advisor can help you determine the best course of action and address any concerns.
For example, a financial advisor may recommend growing your emergency savings to ensure that you have enough to cover three to six months of expenses. The advisor can also help you set a budget and create a plan to reach your goal.
New parents are often concerned about near-term expenses like childcare and education costs. They may also worry about long-term issues like if they should both work or if one parent should stay home to care for the child. A financial advisor can help you understand how these factors affect your goals and help you develop a strategy that is best for your family.
8. You’re Getting Married Again
Getting married again usually involves changing your personal financial situation. A good advisor can help you make the right changes while keeping your long-term goals in mind.
When you meet with a financial advisor, he or she should take the time to understand your current money goals and dreams—from the vacations you want to save for next year to how you plan to retire. They should ask questions that reveal opportunities and blind spots you might miss on your own.
Whether you’re paying an hourly fee for tuneups, investing by the portfolio, receiving a commission or something in between, always check that your advisor has a license to practice and is bound by a fiduciary duty to put your interests first. You can find out by checking the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Investment Advisor Public Disclosure database.
9. You’re Getting Divorced or Separated Again
The financial fallout from major life events can be a challenge to handle on your own. Whether it’s a new job, a marriage, divorce, the death of a loved one, or a career change, each has a unique set of financial ramifications that require an adjustment to your plans and priorities.
A financial advisor can serve as an anchor, a second set of eyes, and an accountability partner during these stressful times. They help ensure that your goals, values, and needs remain front and center and that your plan is evolving to account for changes in your situation. They also offer valuable guidance on a range of topics from tax planning to estate and legacy planning. They do so with the goal of helping you reach your life goals in a timely and cost-effective manner. Unlike brokers who charge commissions, financial planners and wealth managers typically charge a flat fee or percentage of assets under management.
10. You’re Getting Married Again
A financial advisor is more hands-on than a financial coach and can help with the bigger picture, like your retirement savings plan and how to best allocate assets between you and your new spouse. They can also look at how you might be able to reduce your tax burden by leveraging strategies that maximize the benefits of retirement accounts and other deductions. Before hiring a financial advisor, make sure they are a fiduciary (meaning they’re required to act in your best interest) and transparent about fees, which will help prevent any hidden conflicts of interest. Also, be prepared to communicate often with your financial advisor.