The core objective of a financial advisor is to get your finances on the right track & help you strategize your spendings, investments & savings to mitigate the future financial risks. A financial advisor creates a plan for you based on your short term & long term financial goals keeping the market situations into consideration and provides you a roadmap to attain those goals.

A good financial advisor is the one who has a sound knowledge of managing finances, the experience of working with market ups & downs & most importantly - understands your financial goals & needs well. To find a 'good' financial advisor, you need to get your financial goals defined & choose the best fiduciary financial advisor that puts your best interest on priority. Choose the best financial advisor for you with our financial advisor's directory.

A financial advisor provides a vast spectrum of advisory investment management, debt repayment, tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning, insurance depending on your need, whereas a financial planner helps you create a financial plan to help you meet your goals. While the work of a financial planner & a financial overlap at a certain point, there is a fine line of difference based on cost, goals & way of working between the two.

The cost of a financial advisor depends upon factors like experience, certifications & the type of financial advisor. Cost varies as per the type of financial advisor you choose as no one-size-fits-all compensation option for advisors. The most common ways a financial advisor is compensated are fee-only, hourly rates, commission-based, fixed flat rates & percentage of the account. You need to talk to your advisor about the cost involved before hiring the one.

Given a wide variety of financial advisors, if you are unable to analyze the type of financial advisor you need, you should consult an advisor who can look at the complete picture. In general terms, the CFP or ChFC certified financial advisor is a preferred choice as in order to achieve the certification one needs a good amount of hands-on experience.