Before you decide which investment adviser you would like to use to assist you with investing your money, there are some things that you should take into consideration. For starters you must have a clear understanding of what an adviser is. He or she is provides you with investment advice about securities such as stocks and bonds, mutual funds, and other types of financial instruments. He or she may also actually manager your investment portfolio for you.

When deciding on a brokerage firm or other type of firm you must understand how this person will be compensated. These individuals are typically compensated in a variety of waits including a fixed fee, or an hourly fee. Some are paid based on the percentage of the value of assets that they manage for your portfolio, some are paid based on a commission and some are paid based on an assortment of the above.

Investors must also understand the difference between an investment adviser and a financial planner. You will have to do some research when looking at specific firms to determine this because it can vary. Most financial planners are also advisers but not all advisers are actually financial planners. This depends again on the level of services provided that you will need to research. Some financial planners will look into every area of your investment needs including your savings, retirement investment, taxes, insurance, estate planning and more. Some may have very limited services that they provide.

You also may wonder if an investment adviser has to register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This actually depends upon the size of the firm or the agency that they work for. If they manage less than 25 million dollars then they are not required to register with the SEC, but they do have to register with the state security agency for the state that they work in. If the investment advisor manages more than 25 million dollars then they are required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 25 million dollar cut off includes the 25 million dollars in client assets.

Advisers and financial planners come from many different professional and educational backgrounds so it is very important that you do your own research before hiring one. Another piece of investment advice is that you should ask them for their credentials, including the organization that issued the credentials, and you can contact the actual organization to verify those credentials as well. The organization can tell you if the individual is still in good standing with them.

Market Direction: Due to travel conflicts, there will not be a Market Direction or a Public Stock Chat tonight.

Good investing,

The Candlestick Forum Team

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