Before hiring a financial advisor, determine what services you need from them. Whether it’s full-service investment management or a plan focused on a specific area of your finances, put together a list of what you’d like help with before contacting an advisor.

Though most people use a financial advisor simply to invest for retirement, this is only a small part of what many advisors offer. Here’s a quick rundown of potential services a financial planner may offer you:

• Budgeting and money management
• Debt management
• Insurance planning
• Retirement planning
• Other investment planning
• Inheritance planning
• Estate planning
• Tax planning

As you can see, financial advisors can help you with your entire financial picture, not just investing. As you start to plan for life’s bigger milestones, you should consider finding a financial advisor that specializes in those areas.

Finding the right advisor can help you minimize risk, maximize gains and take advantage of tax breaks while investing for your future. They can also help you protect your assets with the right kinds of insurance and help you pass on your financial legacy with a proper estate plan.

Once you have a list of services you would like, review the fee structures financial advisors offer. Finding a balance between the services you need and the cost of those services will help narrow down the field of advisors you may want to work with.

If you are looking for a full-service advisor to manage all of your investments, consider searching among fee-based financial advisors. If you want to manage your money yourself, consider the flat fee and monthly subscription advisors for ongoing support.

Once you have chosen the services and fee structure you prefer, it’s time to contact a few advisors and interview them. Here are questions to ask financial advisors:

• What services do you provide?
• What are all the ways you get paid? (fee transparency)
• What is your investment strategy?
• How do you measure investment performance?
• How do we communicate about my plan?

Interview multiple advisors to get a feel for who you want to work with. A combination of fees, services, and customer service will help you determine the best fit for your financial advice.

Once you find an advisor (or two) you feel comfortable with, it’s always a good practice to check their credentials and the firm’s details. You can do this at the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website. 

You can check both the individual and the firm to view their background and experience details, as well as any disciplinary action taken against them or their firm.

As licensed financial professionals, there is oversight into how financial advisors conduct business, so running a quick (free) check on them is recommended.

For additional information about advisor credentials, read our article to learn the most popular designations held by financial advisors, as well as specialized credentials which may be important to consider if you have unique financial planning needs.

Deb Meyer: Working with a Christian financial advisor ensures that you share core values and beliefs. I cannot stress how important this is when it comes to your stewardship journey. Faith-agnostic advisors are more concerned with your financial net worth and propensity to save without taking generosity or your God-given talents into consideration.

As Christians, we make different choices about money that oppose societal norms. It takes courage to go against the grain, and a Christian financial advisor is there to not only support but also guide you.

View Deb’s profile page on Wealthtender or visit her website to learn more.

Jeremy Keil: If you’re someone who is a Christian and want to align your faith with your finances, there’s an advisor just for you: the Certified Kingdom Advisor^®.

This designation takes a lot of study because you’re not just learning the investments, but you’re also learning how it applies to what the Bible says about money.

If you are someone who is concerned about living out your Christian faith through your money decisions, it’s helpful to work with an advisor who has a similar worldview and has been trained in what the Bible says about money and how to apply that to todays finances.

You may have a different view on debt, investing, giving to charity, and how to leave an inheritance than the prevailing worldview. A Certified Kingdom Advisor^® should support you in ways that you can use your finances and tax, investment and legal planning, to advance God’s Kingdom.”

View Jeremy’s profile page on Wealthtender or visit his website to learn more.

Keil Financial Partners Jeremy Keil, CFP®, CFA, CIMA®

New Berlin, Wisconsin

Serving Clients Nationwide

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Douglas Boring: That is a great question and certainly a fair question. There are many great financial advisors who operate with integrity. My belief is that a Christian worldview changes the conversation about financial planning in a number of ways. The implications of a Biblical worldview are far-reaching:

1] Understand that God owns it all:  We are stewards and not owners of our stuff. Ideally, the conversation should be about balancing Stewardship and Impact, not worrying about the future.

2] Spend Less than you earn: Contentment is difficult in a world that is focused on immediate gratification. Cash flow is essential.

3] Avoid Debt: Debt, while not ethically wrong, may limit what God desires to accomplish in your life.

4] Build Liquidity: Margin {Cash Savings} has a direct impact on how you experience financial confidence in your life.

5] Set Long-Term Goals: Planning is a process, not a one-time event. Wise stewardship requires periodic adjustments informed by Biblical wisdom and the leading of the Spirit.

6] Rejoice In Generosity: Jim Elliot, the famous Christian missionary said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” In the end, it will be our time, talent, and treasure that will count for God’s Kingdom, not the stuff we accumulated.

In summary, any one of these principles has the potential to dramatically change the quality of your discussion with a financial advisor. A Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) can help you design financial strategies from a Biblical perspective for both the present and into the future.

View Doug’s profile page on Wealthtender or visit his website to learn more.

David Sandhu: Before working with a Christian financial advisor, I would ask if they help align clients’ investments with their biblical values, also known as Biblically Responsible Investing. I would look for a Christian financial advisor that understands Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI), many clients want to honor God through their Investments and BRI is the solution, especially for socially / Biblically aware investors, which allows Christians the opportunity to align their faith with their Investments, by owning companies in their investment accounts that don’t conflict with their biblical values.

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Q: What is a common financial planning challenge unique to Christians that you frequently encounter when working with your clients? How do you work with them to overcome this challenge?

David Sandhu: Christians often wonder if they are being truly generous with their wealth. They dream of giving more than just a tithe and yet have not created a plan to live a more generous life. Generosity breaks the power of money in our lives, allowing us to master money rather than to have money master us. I work with clients to create individualized generosity plans as part of their overall financial plan, regardless of the level of their assets.

View David’s profile page on Wealthtender or visit his website to learn more.