Aligning your wealth and values: A guide to choosing a financial professional

Most people don’t have the time or expertise to focus on wealth management and long-term financial goals, so financial professionals are critical to their success. And if sound money management isn’t enough to convince you you need one, consider this: Many professionals have access to resources that can forward your values and mission. Those resources can range from access to experts in various fields — such as estate planning, investment management, and tax preparation — to connections with other clients with similar interests with whom you can exchange ideas on topics such as educating the next generation on wealth and philanthropy.

According to the financial technology company SmartAsset, there are between 240,000 and 370,000 financial professionals in the United States alone.¹ How do you find the one for you? The process of choosing does seem laborious, but the price for not getting it right can be heavy, and changing professionals down the road may be even more daunting. Here are some tips for finding the best fit.

Define your values

As your representative in the financial community, your financial professional is an extension of you, so you will need to communicate your expectations and values at the outset; being thoughtful and straightforward upfront will help ensure your professional advocates your goals and mission to the outside world. So your first step in hiring a professional should be clarifying those values for yourself. Family, philanthropy, wealth preservation, and political support, for example, are values you might consider when creating a formal mission statement. I usually encourage clients to start by asking themselves what lasting legacy they want their wealth to create.

Record your values as if you were going to share them without giving candidates the opportunity for questions, and consider this value statement when examining professionals’ marketing materials to see if your values align. For instance, if philanthropy is a key value for you, look for a professional whose firm has a philanthropic advisory team you can speak with directly during your search.

Once you’ve narrowed your choices, give copies of your value statement to prospective professional early on in the conversation. It is important that candidates recognize your values and consider ways they may align or conflict with their own. Address your values in a transparent manner throughout the review process. If you do not communicate your values upfront, you may find that down the road your professional's recommendations are not an accurate reflection of your priorities.

Create a “job spec”

Start your search for by recording how you envision your relationship with your professional. What role do you expect him or her to play within your organization? How often do you expect to communicate with the professional? What are your desired outcomes for the role? You should view your professional as more of a point person or relationship manager than the individual capable of doing everything, so be specific in your objectives. For example, you could say that you want your professional to walk you through the performance of your investment portfolio on a semi-annual basis, to introduce you to estate attorneys with local offices, or to provide access to investment managers with expertise in early-stage venture investing. Prospective professionals can then review and reply to your comprehensive job spec with their qualifications rather than with questions of their own.

A job description for your professional will also help you narrow the field. Once you put the word out that you’re looking, you may receive “applications” from professional who don’t match your criteria. Creating a job description will help ensure you identify someone who aligns with your values and mission.

Be proactive, not reactive

Your first exposure to a professional may be through a friend, colleague, or family member. Or professionals in your area may market directly to you as they try to grow their presence locally. The post-COVID environment means you can meet and connect with professionals all over the world more easily. In my experience, clients are quick to take meetings with professionals in their own back yards, allowing for in-person meetings, but this may lead to selection by proximity rather than value-alignment. I encourage my clients to cast a wide net. 

A virtual search may also lead to a more diverse pool of professionals. By being proactive with your search, you can ensure you’re identifying the best fit for your needs and optimizing for the ideal rather than settling for immediacy.

Do your due diligence. Ask to speak with other clients about the professional's strengths and weaknesses. Ask your network and use tools such as LinkedIn to find clients outside of the references the professional offers you, and inquire about their experiences. You should also search for press releases about the professional and his or her firm. You’d be surprised how much becomes visible when a firm evolves its stance on a certain issue, so this can be a clear marker for you to check against your personal values.

Develop a feedback loop

Once you do find a professional that fits your needs, treat him or her like an employee by providing feedback early and often. 

Professionals are likely aware that client relationships are the most fragile in the early years, so they may be more willing to take and react to feedback during that time. Research discussed in Harvard Business Review last summer suggests that the best time for feedback is relatively early in a relationship, as people are more receptive to recommendations when there’s still time to revise their approach.² I encourage clients to offer real-time feedback when there’s an issue or a miscommunication; if you wait, one or both parties may forget the specifics.

I also encourage my clients to conduct reviews at least annually to make sure their professionals are accurately portraying their values in the management of their resources and regularly amending their recommendations to keep current with the clients’ changing goals, which may evolve with their financial situation.

You may select a professional only once or twice in your lifetime, and since you’ll pay fees to that person, it’s a financial decision in its own right. Consider it like any other investment; being thoughtful and thorough from the beginning can lead to a productive relationship that can potentially last a lifetime.

This article was written by Janet Arzt from Forbes and was legally licensed through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.

1. “Financial Advisor Industry Statistics to Know.” SmartAsset, April 10, 2024.

2. “The Right Time to Ask for Feedback.” Harvard Business Review, June 5, 2023.