Seven mistakes you could be making while engaging with your financial planner

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

adviser to sort out your finances? Or, are you, perhaps, already working with one? While you can be reasonably assured that your money will be in good hands after taking this decision, you will still need to play your part in getting the best out of this relationship. Are you engaging with your adviser to the extent and in the spirit that this relationship warrants? Or could you be undermining your planner unconsciously or otherwise? In a recent survey conducted by ET Wealth, financial planners conceded that the individuals who came to them for advice, disrupt the process in a myriad ways.

Behavioural tics, wilful misrepresentation, and selective implementation are some ways in which they dilute the sanctity of financial planning. These habits and attitudes not only end up compromising the value of the advice, but importantly, prove costly for the clients in the long run.

For no fault of the adviser, the client could fall short of the funds needed for a goal, or worse, fail to achieve them. If you expect the planner to make the right moves on your behalf, you must also participate wholeheartedly.

Harsh Roongta, Founder, Fee Only Financial Planners LLP, insists, “When a patient consults a doctor, it is only with his full cooperation that the prescribed course of medicine can work. It is no different in an adviser-client relationship.” In this story, we bring out the common missteps and mistakes that clients make while engaging with planners.

We hope it will help you unlock the true potential of your relationship with your adviser.Q. What are the issues you face while engaging with clients? Not involving the family in discussions and selective implementation of advice by clients are among the biggest concerns for financial