Yes, you can do your own financial planning, whether for retirement or other goals. No, you do not need to work with a financial professional. However, if you get stuck or would like some additional help in your journey to financial freedom and success, you may find value in connecting with a financial professional.

Should you choose to head in this direction, you’ll want to know how to make a wise choice in who you work with. We cover this topic in depth below.

How do I find the right financial professional for me?

You can research nearby professionals online or request referrals from friends and family. If you have an employer-sponsored retirement plan, check with your plan provider. Many offer educational resources, or even access to a financial planner, that can help guide your planning.

Kristi Martin Rodriguez, Senior Vice President at Nationwide Retirement Institute, offers this advice: "Having someone who’s knowledgeable about financial planning is definitely important. That’s where a certified financial professional can help you develop a plan that’s tailored to meet your long-term retirement and savings goals.”

Once you have a short list of people with whom you think you want to work, schedule a time to interview each one. During the interview, you are primarily seeking to learn more about the professional’s skill set, education, and other background. This includes:

• Whether the person is licensed and/or certified, and if there have been any disciplinary actions with their professional organization
• How they approach financial planning—their process and philosophy
• How they are paid, whether it’s commissions, fees—with or without a retainer, as a percentage of assets under management, hourly, by project, or other variations (or some combination of these)

After you determine the financial professional is certified and competent and has a clean disciplinary record, you have one more task. The biggest and most important question is whether you feel comfortable working with this person. If yes, you may well have found your professional.

If not, keep looking. A financial advice engagement requires trust and a reasonably high level of relational comfort. It’s very important for you to be satisfied before you enter into such an engagement.

How do I prepare for the first meeting with a financial advisor?

Your situation will be a bit different from others, but there are certain steps that can help ensure your first meeting is successful. A financial professional will work hard to coordinate your financial plan in such a way that the various components work together. This means you should be prepared to share some specific information that may include:

• Personal information such as your age, marital/relationship status, dependents (children, parents, others), place of employment, and general health (especially if you have health issues that may create increased expenses)
• Income/expense-related information, such as current and projected income, several years of income tax returns, anticipated career changes, current and projected expenses, assets/ liabilities, income, and expenditures (be ready to share your budget, statement of financial position, and cash flow statement if you have them)
• Portfolio information such as insurance, investments, retirement, savings, and risk profile
• Any additional information you believe has the potential to impact your financial plan

Most importantly, you should be prepared to share your life goals and dreams. This is perhaps the most important area of preparation, because it will serve as a goal post for the path you and the financial advisor will travel.

What not to do when working with a financial professional

First, do not extend your trust too easily. There are, unfortunately, people and firms in the financial services universe who should not be trusted. Doing your homework up front, as described above, will go a long way toward protecting yourself. It’s not a bad idea to ask around, and check with people who have worked with a person firsthand, to learn about their experience.

At the same time, do not withhold your trust without reason. Many professionals and firms work hard to be worthy of trust. And ultimately, you and your financial professional must establish a relationship built on mutual trust. There is no other way for you to effectively work together. So, while you should protect yourself from being harmed, you should also extend trust where it is warranted.

What not to do when working with a financial professional

Don't:

• Come unprepared, without an idea of what you want to accomplish (especially in the area of your life goals).
• Refuse to provide reasonably requested documents and information.
• Bring all your statements in a bag for the professional’s team to sort.
• Provide misleading information.
• Make it seem like you have a greater risk tolerance than you do. Let the financial advisor know how you really feel, and he or she will be better able to serve you.
• Assume the financial professional will be able to arrive at the one perfect solution . . . especially without your help and input.

Neither the “to do” information nor the “not to do” list is comprehensive, but each should provide guidance to help as you work with a financial professional.

Even with these tips, there’s still quite a bit you need to contribute to the process. The value of a financial professional is that they can help guide you in the process and facilitate your progress in achieving your life goals. They can also provide insights when things do not go exactly as planned and adjustments need to be made. Finally, they can serve as a good source of information and as a trusted advisor.

You don’t need to work with a financial professional to be successful, but if you choose to do so—and you engage the right person for you—you may find that the path to achieving your life goals will be much cleaner and more straightforward. In fact, you may well find yourself being even more successful than if you try to do everything on your own.