Because there are four criteria to consider, choosing a financial advisor can be difficult.
First, the advisor must be appropriately qualified. There’s no point engaging a CPA whose specialty is business valuations to help you with financial planning. Second, the advisor should deal with clients like you; there will be dissatisfaction all around if you take a modest portfolio to someone who usually deals with multi-million dollar accounts, and vice versa. Third, you should avoid advisors who earn commissions selling products. It’s fine to go to an insurance agent when you need insurance and a mutual fund salesperson if you want to invest in mutual funds, but neither is qualified to give overall financial planning advice. The fourth criterion is to never accept a one-size-fits-all recommendation; your advisor should tailor a financial plan to fit your particular circumstances.
Your responsibility in achieving financial stability doesn’t end with choosing an advisor. Just as you expect your advisor to be honest and candid with you, you have to be honest and candid as well. For example, you have to tell your advisor the degree of risk you’re willing to take and whether there are companies in which you don’t want to invest. You need to satisfy yourself that the type of information your advisor provides is exactly what you need. And don’t hesitate to ask how the advisor’s recommendations are arrived at; in this area there’s no such thing as a stupid question but there are sometimes astoundingly inappropriate answers.