Financial Consultant Near Me

Sherri Dalphonse, a professional editor at Washingtonian Media Inc., states that a professional financial adviser does not deal only with investments. A well-experienced investment plan designer focuses on the bigger picture: Do the clients have adequate insurance? Is there any chance for your client to lower your client’s taxes? Are your clients saving enough for their retirement period?

A “financial consultant near me” will usually focus on specific financial goals. At the same time, a wealth manager will handle all aspects of a wealthy individual’s (or family’s) finances, including investments, retirement, philanthropy, etc. For example, Pillar Wealth Management is a niche and fee-only firm that caters to personals and families with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets. The firm handles management and planning services related to its client’s finances, including retirement planning, estate planning, personal finance, and investment management.

In this guide, we will explore how you find a “financial consultant near me.”  What does a financial consultant do? Is the financial consultant an excellent job? Let’s get started right away.

Top 10 Consulting Firms in Each Practice Area In 2022 by Firsthand

#	Company
1.	Deloitte Consulting LLP
2.	Ernst & Young (Consulting Practice) NA
3.	McKinsey & Company
4.	Bain & Company
5.	PwC Advisory/Strategy
6.	Boston Consulting Group
7.	KPMG LLP (Advisory)
8.	Accenture
9.	Oliver Wyman
10.	FTI Consulting, Inc.

How Do I Find a Financial Consultant Near Me?

If you have been researching financial advisors and wealth managers, searching for a “financial consultant near me” that you can work with, then one question must have indeed occurred to you – How do I find a financial consultant? You must have wondered whether it is a good idea to work with a financial consultant or whether you should opt for a big brand-name management firm. There are plenty of management firms catering to wealthy persons.

Before we get into offering you tips on finding the best “financial consultant near me” for your needs, we recommend that you check out this short guide on critical shifts needed to maximize investors’ portfolio performance with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets. The focus has some vital questions you need to consider before choosing a financial advisor or consultant. Once you go through the guide, you will have a better idea of what to look for in a wealth manager.

Network

One of the least used resources for finding a top “financial consultant near me” is your network. Yes, who you know matters! What matters even more is what the people in your circle know. Ask relatives, friends, and work colleagues about any reputable financial advisors that they know. If your contact is a prosperous or ultra-high net worth individual, then the chances are that he/she may be working with an experienced professional for money-related decisions.

However, if this doesn’t work out for you, we suggest reading our guide on finding a financial advisor for investors with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets. You can also schedule a free consultation with Pillar Wealth Managements to explore what it has to offer as a “financial consultant near me.”

What does a “financial consultant near me” do?

A “financial consultant near me,” who works with wealthy individuals, is a wealth manager. To answer the question “what does a financial consultant do?” we will focus on financial services for affluent individuals and families.

A wealth manager who is also a “financial consultant near me” looks at all financial planning decisions in the realm of personal finance. Whether it is retirement planning, philanthropy, succession planning, estate planning, portfolio management, taxation, financial planning, or lifestyle planning, a good wealth manager has it covered. You may be wondering that all of these areas may be a lot to deal with by a person.

An excellent “financial consultant near me” will have the necessary knowledge and skill in-house to manage all these areas. If some specific skills aren’t covered, they can use a backup from outside, such as hiring the tax accountants or the additional financial planner.

Once a wealth plan has been decided and implemented, a good “financial consultant near me” will regularly re-visit the plan. The reason for continuous updates is that nothing in the world we live in is permanent. The markets change, industries change, lives change, and sometimes goals change. A wealth manager must adapt to all of these changes and keep clients on track to achieve the financial goals.

6 Cornerstone Financial Planning

1. Endowments, Foundation management, and Institution Wealth Advisers? Glenmede Trust Company
2. Insurance Advisers? Investomenia
3. Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
4. Wealth Adviser
5. Bank Wealth Advisers
6. Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

Divorce financial advisors help you divide or split the asset in a divorce case, considering your well-being in the future. The best financial advisors in a divorce case? It is undoubtedly fee-only financial adviser Cornerstone Financial Planning for their financial plan in divorce. Fee-only financial adviser, the best in its field? What a perfect one!

1. Endowments, Foundation management, and Institution Wealth Advisers

An endowment fund is an investment fund held by a foundation that is consistent in withdrawals from invested capital, charitable giving, and so on. The money in endowment funds is mostly applied in education sectors, nonprofit-organizations (NGOs), religion sectors, and medical sectors. The best-experienced company in foundation management financial services is Glenmede Trust Company, with $37 billion of assets under management, and has handled 500,000+ clients.

2. Insurance Advisers

An insurance advisor is a professional or firm that provides personal financial advisory to its clients on retirement income planning or strategies retirement for clients, investing, and protection. Insurance Advisors do financial planning and need analysis with clients, including assets and liabilities, tax status, existing insurance, and cash flow analysis. Investomenia is the best firm in this field. You can find them at 1410 Nevada Ave NW, Washington, DC 20015, Chevy Chase.

3. Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

A certified financial planner (CPF) is a title given to the financial adviser who passed the test for their knowledge, experience, and the certified financial planner (CPF) board requirement. The CPFs have a fiduciary duty to their customer’s finances. In short, CFP is an accredited professional who is trusted to handle your financial life well.

4. Wealth Adviser

Wealth advisers are a counseling or advisory service on finance that targets their clients to achieve their finance’s best result. Wealth advisors will help fulfill their client’s needs, deciding the best strategies, and reporting their current status to be analyzed further. The services they handled manifested as investigation planning, law or wealth for heritage, tax accountant, retirement planning, etc.

5. Bank Wealth Advisers

The banks have been competing to provide perfect wealth advisers for their clients. You can sometimes see banks attaching their name like “Speciality Bank and Institution Wealth Advisers” it is the strategy to give satisfaction to its customers and attract new potential customers.

6. Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

A CPA is a service provider that has focused expertise on tax matters. CPA helps a person planning their tax and also mind the preparation of the tax return. To achieve the CPA title, a professional has to finish their study in accounting, pass the exams, and have experience in real-life public accounting.

Is being a financial consultant a good job?

First, you need to explore what makes a good financial consultant. In particular, a top “financial consultant near me” is someone who connects financial decisions to client goals. The consultant has to communicate with the client and understand the client’s goals, fears, motivations, and lifestyle.

Think Holistically

A top “financial consultant near me” should also think holistically and incorporate multiple data points into a single decision. Every significant financial decision can have an impact on a family’s future financial security. The stakes are even higher when millions of dollars are involved.

A Couple of Points About Pillar Wealth Management

Pillar Wealth Management only Focuses on White-Glove Wealth Management Service

You have noticed that we have mentioned Pillar Wealth Management in this guide a few times. What makes the firm so unique? Firstly, Pillar Wealth Management is a niche firm focused on offering customized wealth management services.

Dedicated

Similar to a top “financial consultant near me,” Pillar Wealth Management uniquely treats every client’s portfolio. It even stress-tests every portfolio every 90 days for 1,000 random scenarios based on 100 years of historical market data to see how the portfolios hold up.

Keeps its size to an optimum level

Pillar Wealth Management can offer customized services because it keeps its size to an optimum level to be in clients’ best interests, while others may not. The firm is not hesitant to turn away new business to stay true to its philosophy.

Quality Oriented and Trusted

Pillar Wealth Management is a trusted firm with Assets Under Management of $131,387,186, and we only took on 17 new clients this year. The guiding philosophy of the firm is financial serenity.

7 Steps for Finding the Best Financial Consultant Near Me        

1. Types of Financial Consultants

Define your financial goals and familiarize yourself with the different types of consultants to determine which type can help you reach your goals.

Financial consultants provide financial planning services to their customers, but they don’t all provide the same services. Some consultants specialize in investment management but do not provide other services.

Some consultants offer retirement planning in addition to investment advice. They may also offer estate planning for individuals who have amassed a considerable amount of wealth to pass on to their beneficiaries.

Other services provided by financial consultants include providing advice regarding purchasing insurance, tax advice, and savings and budgeting advice.                  

2. A Good Financial Consultant has Credentials

Look for someone with the CFP designation, meaning the consultant has the required training to be a financial planner. A CFP is also a fiduciary.

Other designations to look for are CFA, chartered financial analyst, and RIA, registered investment advisor. A financial consultant may also be a CPA and provide tax consulting.

3. Determine Their Fee Structure

Another important element of choosing a financial consultant is their fee structure. Not all consultants are compensated the same way.

Many consultants will charge a percentage of the value of the assets that they manage for the client. The percentage ranges from 0.5% to 3%.

Some consultants are paid a commission for the products they sell, which creates a conflict of interest. Look for an advisor who is fee-only, which means their income is derived solely from the fees paid by their customers.

Some advisors charge an hourly fee, and some may charge a flat fee for a particular service, such as creating a retirement plan.

4. Use Search Engines to Screen for Criteria

By searching online, you can find financial consultants that work in your immediate area, which allows you to meet with an advisor face to face. Your search will also list financial consultants that you can work with remotely, as well as Robo advisor services. Many of the larger investment firms have online platforms where trades can be placed without the intermediary of a human, once the investor has created a brokerage account on the platform.

5. Ask the Right Questions

Before hiring a consultant, be sure to ask them about their compensation structure, as it’s important that you can afford to pay their fees. Ask them whether or not they are a fiduciary.

Get the specifics on the services they provide and how much they cost. For example, what do they charge for a retirement plan?

Also important is to understand their investment approach and their success with other clients. If they boast a little, that’s great, too!  

6. Verify Credentials

Before hiring a consultant, verify their credentials. Check their credentials with their certifying organization, which can also advise you on any complaints or regulator issues the advisor may have encountered. Example regulatory agencies are the SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency (FINRA), and the CFP Board.

7. Learn How to Spot Fraud Risks

The most reputable financial consultants use a third-party custodian for your investment accounts, such as Fidelity or Charles Schwab. Be wary of advisors that utilize less well-known custodians. Also, be cautious of advisors who have interests in the companies in which they recommend that you invest.

Trusted Advice from Experts

Hutch Ashoo and Christopher Snyder are the expert founders of independent, fee-only, and fiduciary wealth management firm Pillar Wealth Management. You can consult about how custom and trusted advice is given to prosperous individuals with $5 million to $500 million in investible assets. Click here to schedule a free consultation and talk to Pillar Wealth Management today.

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