Click here to request a contact from an Ohio financial advisor now.

Recent Posts:

August 19, 2009: What type of fees do Ohio Financial Advisors charge?

A common question among Ohio investors is about how fees and charges work for investment advice. While not many people actually complain about investment fees, they've usually heard comments from a journalist or someone in the investment industry that certain fees are "right" or "wrong". We aim to clear up that misconception.

Asset-based, Fee-based, or Fee-only fees are charged as a percentage of the investment account under a financial advisor's management. The good side to this is that the advisor gets paid a little more if your account goes up and a little less if your account goes down. The advisor usually does your financial planning for free, in order to earn the fees from the account. The bad side to this is that the advisor isn't actually getting paid for any advice outside the account. Which means that their incentive is for you to keep money in the account, rather than pay off debt or buy a new car.

Commission based fees are charged on each transaction, buy-or-sell that you perform in the investment account. The good side is that if you keep your portfolio steady and don't make a lot of transactions, it may be cheaper to pay a couple of commissions on a portion of the portfolio, than to pay a fee on the whole amount each year. The down side is that the advisor has incentive to "churn the account" or make a lot of transactions to earn more commissions. Insurance products like life insurance and annuities are almost always commission products. That's not wrong and again, may be cheap in the long-run, it's just bad incentive for making a lot of sales or trades.

Another type of fee is a planning fee or hourly fee. In this case, the financial advisor or financial planner charges you a set amount for providing something like a retirement plan or they charge an hourly fee for investment advice. This can be very flexible. A planning fee might be suitable for someone who wants just the advice and to then manage the account on their own, without meeting and paying the financial advisor again every quarter.

As you can see, different fee structures can be the best match for different financial situations. This is why it is best to think about your situation and what you want before finding an Ohio financial advisor or planner.

July 27, 2009: How to do a Background Compliance check on Ohio Financial Advisors and Financial Planners

In light of the Madoff and other scandals, many Ohio investors may feel more uncertain whether they can trust financial advisors and the investment industry in general. One important thing every investor should do is to perform a background check on any current or potential financial advisor they work with. Unfortunately, a background check isn't a guarantee that you are dealing with a quality financial planner, but it's an important step in your interview.

It might be necessary to check a couple different websites, as investment brokers, registered investment advisors and insurance representatives are all regulated by different agencies. In general, these agency websites will provide proof that the financial planner actually has the licenses they say they do. In addition, the sites show any regulatory or disciplinary action taken against the advisor by these regulatory agencies.

This should be one of the first steps you take when interviewing a new advisor. You will need their name or ID number to look up their information. The following article gives you more information and the actual links to the regulatory websites:    How to do a Background Check on your Financial Advisor or Planner.