How to know if you're dealing with a value-add financial advisor.

Demand Value for Your Hard-Earned Money.

Let's be brutally honest - if you're going to entrust someone with managing your finances and investments, they better deliver value that far exceeds the fees they charge. Paying an advisor simply to execute trades or offer rudimentary guidance is an insult to your hard-earned wealth.

When choosing  a financial advisor, don't just look for letters after their name and call it a day.  Ask meaningful questions to determine if they generate REAL value for the fees you'll pay. Don't settle for platitudes or generic responses – ensure the  person handling your financial future  has the expertise and commitment to materially improve it beyond what you could do for free.

Here are some good starting questions to help you identify a value-add advisor:

1. What tangible value do you demonstrate for clients? Don't just ask for references – insist on seeing concrete examples and data on how the advisor has generated superior returns, minimized risk, capitalized on tax efficiencies, and optimized overall wealth for similar clients. Empty claims are worthless.
2. How does your investment approach consistently outperform? The advisor's investing philosophy and strategy should be a finely-tuned engine of battle-tested processes and techniques purposely designed to generate market-beating performance. Passive approaches and outdated mentalities are unacceptable.
3. What specialized expertise justifies your fee structure? Whether commission-based or fee-only, the advisor's compensation must be transparently tied to their distinctive skillsets and accreditations. Generalists simply cannot command premium prices in today's competitive landscape. Identify and verify their niche capabilities.
4. How do you relentlessly advance my specific goals? This isn't about broadly growing wealth – you need an advisor diligently focused on making calculated moves to propel you towards YOUR life milestones. Regular review of your progress towards your personalized targets should be baked-in.
5. What proprietary advantages do you utilize? The most indispensable advisors have proprietary tools, models, frameworks, and insider intelligence that construct an unfair competitive edge for their clients. Demand the details on what unique advantages they'll leverage for your portfolio.
6. How do you preemptively protect my assets from threats? With fiscal headwinds and market volatility, risk management is more crucial than ever. Good advisors will demonstrate a keen ability to proactively identify dangers and dynamically adjust defensive strategies to safeguard your capital.

The questions could continue, but the main point is this:

Paying for commodity-level financial advice is a waste of your hard-earned money. You should never pay a fee for cookie-cutter guidance or passive management. 

‍If you want an advisor that delivers you more, you need to ask the right questions in those first conversations to ensure they know the stuff that really matters.