How to choose a financial planner

If you decide to hire a financial planner, you'll have to find someone you feel comfortable sharing your finances with. David Diesslin, founder and president of Diesslin & Associates Inc., a financial services firm in Fort Worth; and Ellen Turf, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) offer several tips on finding someone you can trust.

1. Ask friends and relatives for recommendations.
2. Call two or three planners and interview them. NAPFA offers a free financial planner interview booklet covering major topics to address in an interview. For more information on the booklet, visit the NAPFA Web site.
3. Check credentials. Diesslin suggests using someone who is a certified financial planner, and both he and Turf recommend choosing a member of NAPFA.
4. Know how your planner is compensated. Fee-only advisers do not earn commissions from the investments they recommend. They charge a flat fee, retainer, hourly fee, a percentage of assets, a project fee, or a percentage of income. Commission-based advisers are compensated by the companies whose products they sell. Fee-based planners collect both fees and commissions.

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