Helpful Hints in Preparing for a Meeting with a Financial Advisor
A Financial Advisor can help you to navigate your financial waters. Meeting with a Financial Advisor is an important opportunity to discuss your financial goals, any changes that may occur and when ready, prepare for retirement. Listed below are some helpful tips on how to prepare for a meeting with a Financial Advisor.
Write down your Financial Goals – prioritize your goals!
Some questions you may want to ask yourself and discuss with your advisor:
- Are your investments tax efficient, low cost and the most beneficial for your specific needs?
- Are you saving to buy a home? Do you need help or advice obtaining a mortgage?
- Are you starting a new job or career? Do you need advice concerning your employee benefits (insurance, etc)?
- Tax planning – do you have sufficient withheld from your pay?
- Do you have loans (student loans or other) or debt that you want to pay off or pay down?
- Do you have children that you would like to save for education expenses?
- When do you want to retire? What lifestyle do you expect to have during retirement?
- Do you have an emergency fund? How much should you have?
When you are ready to schedule a meeting with a Financial Advisor, these are some important documents you should gather to bring to your meeting:
- A list of your Goals
- Current: 401K statements, investment account statements, bank account statements, info for 529 savings, stocks, bonds, etc.
- Monthly Expenses
- Tax Returns (if your advisor doesn’t already have them)
- Current employee benefit info and compensation info (latest pay stubs, SS, pensions, trusts, inheritance info)
- Insurance policies – (Life, health, auto, home, umbrella, etc) (declaration pages usually have all important info)
- Estate Plan documents (wills, Power of Attorney, Living Wills, Healthcare Directive, etc.)
At Lighthouse Financial Advisors, we always welcome new clients and very much appreciate our client referrals. If you know someone who can benefit from our services, please feel free to give them our information so they can contact us and get started on their journey to financial freedom!
