Pitfalls to avoid when chosing a financial advisor/planner

"mscsrrr.com" wrote

I think you can avoid some pitfalls by preparing carefully for your meeting/interview of the potential advisor. Know something about asset allocation; e.g. try the online links to quick and free asset allocation tools listed at

. Know something about the historical returns of the stock market, short (very risky!) and long (historically speaking, not risky); know what it means to own a stock. Always understand that the only stupid question is an unasked one (assuming you put a little effort into answering the question yourself first via tools like google). Stow this money in a money market account yielding upwards of 4.5% right now. Then lurk here for six months.

1) Get a couple of books on investing at the bookstore or the library. 2) Think about how "risk tolerant" you are. Do you have the stamina to deal with the ups and downs of the market? If you are unsure, you need to favor bonds over stocks. 3) Decide what your goals are with this money? Retire young? Blow $100k in Vegas? Avoid taxes? 4) Talk to several financial planners. You have two ways to pay them: a fee directly to them or via commissions on transactions. Which way is better for you? 5) Consider doing it yourself.

Frank