Your personal independent financial advisor. Profession financial consultant
In the context of the development of the current financial and economic market ordinary person financial literacy is vital. The profession of a financial consultant is becoming more and more in demand. If at the dawn of formation market economy In Russia, the services of such specialists were actively used by business owners and managers, but today ordinary people are increasingly in need of the help of a competent financial consultant.
Features of the profession
The emergence of the profession of financial consultant is a requirement of time. It is simply impossible to understand the intricacies of this kind of activity without special education and experience. The emergence of new opportunities, primarily related to investment, opens up certain prospects for individuals and legal entities. The help of a professional in the investment market is the key to a successful investment.
How big is the real need for such specialists? For legal entities, financial consultants are really necessary, and their task goes far beyond investing. Concerning individuals, then it all depends on how active a person is in the service market, whether he is interested in increasing capital, or whether he has serious problems with budgeting.
The state is interested in increasing the literacy of citizens in the field of finance. Hence the support of relevant programs to improve the level of knowledge in this area, the training of students, the development of legislative norms regulating the activities of financiers-managers.
The format of providing consulting services can be different:
- financial analyst, full-time employee of the company;
- independent financial advisor;
- law firm providing consulting services in the field of finance and economics.
It is convenient for ordinary people to work with independent specialists who have received appropriate training. However, choosing them is not easy. The profession of a financial consultant is becoming more and more popular, and the problem of training professionals naturally arises. In public and private universities there is no such specialty as a financial consultant. Education takes place in basic specialties at the faculties of economics in higher educational institutions.
A trained financial consultant must have an excellent knowledge of the specifics, theory and practice of the services he provides:
In addition, a diploma of completed training is not enough. The consultant must be a practitioner, that is, have real experience employment in the specialty in the main or related areas: accounting, insurance, business process analytics, lending, auditing, etc.
Family Financial Advisor
Engagement family budget third-party specialists is one of the requirements of the time. Even with a basic economic education and knowledge of legal legislation, a person may simply not have enough time to analyze the situation and study the most advantageous offers.
Hence the need for such specialists. A personal financial consultant is the person who will solve problems with money and other assets, suggest the most profitable and safe course of action, and help you make the right decision.
What does
A professional can really help an ordinary person, and the areas of cooperation can be different.
Financial consultant for individuals is engaged in the provision of the following services:
The most common service is the compilation of LFP. A financial consultant develops a set of measures that help improve the well-being of a family or an individual. Other types of assistance can be directed both for the future and for momentary resolution. actual problem. So, consulting a financial consultant will help ensure a comfortable old age, save money by a certain date, and without serious risks, receive income from existing capital.
If a person has any problems with a bank loan or needs help in filing a declaration in tax authority, then the solution of all issues can be taken over by a personal financial consultant.
Requirements for a specialist
Lack of experience in the field financial and legal activities can lead to fundamental errors and worsen the well-being of the client.
A family financial consultant must meet the requirements that apply to specialists in this field:
In some cases, specialists need knowledge of a foreign language, experience in dealing with government agencies, experience in personal sales, and psychology.
How to find a financial advisor? The easiest way is to use advertising. However, it is important to understand that reviews on sites may be paid, and the information may be unreliable. Therefore, it is most reliable to communicate with a specialist, make sure that he has a diploma, recommendations from real clients and personal success in the field of financial management.
What the law says
Since the financial and legal adviser has full access to the client's money, it is necessary legislative regulation relations between them. When entrusting your well-being to a stranger, you need to be, firstly, confident in his competence, and secondly, to have legal protection in case problems arise.
Existing Laws About the securities market" And " ABOUT self-regulatory organizations in the field financial market » require amendments in connection with the expansion of the boundaries of the provision of services to both the population and legal entities. During recent years The State Duma was engaged in the development of relevant documents. However, the law on financial advisers has not yet been adopted.
The drafters of the bill insist on the obligatory conclusion between the client and the financial consultant of a special civil law contract for individuals, which should contain the so-called financial and economic profile of the customer. According to this profile, the LFP should be compiled.
In addition, financial consultants will be able to legal grounds manage the family and personal budget, real estate transactions, life insurance, lending, etc. In the future, they will be able to become arbitration managers if an individual cannot pay large Bank loan and initiate bankruptcy proceedings.
Everyone wants to achieve financial independence. But how to do that?
financial literacy is not included in the curriculum in secondary and higher educational institutions, unless you are getting a corresponding profession. It is quite difficult for an unprepared person to understand the flows economic information, which, moreover, tends to change rapidly. You will need an independent financial advisor who can help you not only maintain a stable level of income, but also increase it.
What are the services of a financial advisor
An independent consultant analyzes the client's situation, evaluates his resources and develops a strategy. The result is clear recommendations explaining how to save and increase the available funds.
Of course, you can manage your cash turnover independently, at your own risk. But if you want to succeed in planning your own future, you must understand the structure of markets, be able to correctly assess income and expenses, and take into account risks. You should also know the procedures for issuing and acquiring securities, the procedure for obtaining loans and their quick and painless repayment, the principles financial control and taxation, reporting standards and much more. A financial or investment consultant is well versed in all these issues. His services not only save you money, but also time.
An independent financial advisor is not associated with other market players and can offer a wide range of investment products. Due to the absence of conflicts of interest and individual approach, expert assistance allows the client to get the maximum benefit.
Why is it profitable to get the services of a financial consultant in our company?
Our main advantage lies in the professional approach of experts. An investment advisor performs important functions:
- Regularly monitors market trends
- Gets information about new investment instruments and other possibilities
- Constantly monitors legislation, so always up to date with the latest changes
The services of a financial consultant in Moscow are provided by the company absolutely free of charge - we receive a commission not from clients, but from our partners.
Who needs a financial advisor
Most often, the services of a financial consultant are used by novice investors or individuals interested in optimizing costs and achieving certain goals. The specialist will help:
- Make a personal financial plan
- Achieve your goals (save for education, increase retirement savings, receive income from investments and many others)
- Learn how to properly manage your money
A financial advisor helps individuals manage their personal money competently. The article talks about who a personal financial advisor is, how he can help - and how you can find such a specialist.
1. What is the problem
The problem with many people is that they are not in control of their cash flow. And as a result, they live chaotically, not understanding where they are going in financially.
Imagine that I turn the key, start the engine and start driving. However, I have no purpose of the trip. But then it doesn't make sense. And it's better for me to stay at home until I decide where I need to get to.
If we talk about money, then we are all involuntarily involved in a constant financial movement. After all, every day we make various monetary transactions.
And it depends only on ourselves how conscious this movement will be on the scale of our entire life. To control the future, we need:
- Manage your cash flows;
- Turn the future into a set of clear, measurable financial goals;
- Make a plan to achieve these goals;
- Execute your plan.
This is a common situation that a financial consultant works with. Along with this, a special case is also possible.
A person already clearly understands what tasks he is striving to solve. He just needs a specialist who will help him choose the right strategy to achieve the goal. And will offer the best tools for solving important problems.
In both of these cases, a personal financial advisor will be helpful to you.
A financial adviser helps a person achieve his important financial goals in the best way. Schematically, this can be represented as follows:
Long-term financial planning is an important part of the work of a financial consultant
If you are going on a hike, you need to understand where you start from and where you want to end up. You need to make this path in daylight hours, go around a steep gorge, and ford the river. Taking into account these circumstances, the route will be laid.
That's the kind of work a financial advisor does for their client—helping pave the way for the future in the financial landscape. And for this, the financial planner will ask you questions:
- What is your financial position now (=point A)?
- Where do you want to be in the future (=point B)?
- What resources are you willing to use (seed capital, savings time, and cash flow for investment)?
With this in mind, the path to your financial goals will be paved. In fact, a financial adviser is your guide in an unfamiliar financial area. He knows where the ford is and where the sheer gorge is, which is worth going around. And with that in mind, he will pave a safe path for you.
Well, understanding the big picture, let's talk about the details.
2.1 Studying the current situation (point A)
Why is it important? If you mentally return to the campaign, then the finish time directly depends on how fast the squad is moving. In financial planning, the speed of movement towards the goal determines exactly your cash flow for investment.
To calculate this cash flow, you need to subtract its expenses from the family income. Part of this difference you will be able to invest.
You also need to analyze the assets and liabilities of the family, because they are the sources of its income and expenses. And often the liquidation of unnecessary or expensive assets increases the difference between income and expenses. And thus - will allow you to move forward faster.
Having done this work, we understand your current situation, and we know your budget for accumulation. And we move on to the next step.
2.2 Description of your financial goals (point B)
Here it should be noted that long-term financial planning is subject to large financial tasks. Here we are not discussing saving for the next vacation, or buying a new gadget.
What issues are discussed most frequently? For most people this is:
- financial protection families;
- Formation of funds for higher education of children;
- Improving the current standard of living;
- Creation pension capital for spouses;
- Savings for large acquisitions (for example - Vacation home);
- Creating a legacy for children.
Of course, each person has their own set of personal goals. And this general list is always adjusted to reflect the unique challenges of a particular individual or family.
At the end of this stage, we formulated several goals that are important for a particular person. For each of them, the amount necessary to solve this problem is determined. And the time frame within which it must be resolved.
2.3 We draw up a personal financial plan (PFP)
This stage is the development of the optimal route to your financial goals. LFP is the main tool for personal financial planning:
A person's financial plan is the main tool for long-term planning
And it is applied in the following way. We enter into LFP your initial capital, cash flow for investment, and the planned return on the investment portfolio. As a result, for each year in the future, LFP calculates the amount of a person's personal capital to this moment.
Knowing the amount of future capital, we can assess the feasibility of your goals. We are ready to answer questions such as: will the family be able to pay higher education children and buy a house. And whether the parents will be able to retire at the age when they want it.
It often happens that with the allocated terms of savings and the budget for investment, important goals are not achieved in the right time. And then the plan needs to be changed.
In this case, we consider additional plan scenarios in which you can:
- Invest more or
- Decrease target size, or
- Postpone its achievement to a later time, or
- Combine these options.
As a result of additional calculations, a plan is born that completely suits my client. Because important goals are achieved in it at the right time, and with a budget that is comfortable for a person.
It is also important to understand that the final LFP itself is a step by step plan towards your personal goals. Take and do - to achieve what is important to you.
In addition, let's not forget, the financial plan is an exact mathematical calculation. And these calculations irrefutably prove that your goals will indeed be achieved in right time in the future when moving along this path.
Thus, your large, distant financial goals turn into a chain of simple actions. By doing that on autopilot, you are guaranteed to move towards your important goals.
Download my pdf-report on the topic:
2.4 Issuing contracts to implement the plan
When the route is laid - it's time to hit the road. In personal finance, this means you need to start your investment program.
With this approach, a person forms his investment portfolio. It is called passive because the investor does not actively manage the contents of his portfolio, shaking it up every time the market changes.
Such a portfolio should consist of several asset classes. The proportions of different assets in a portfolio are determined by your risk appetite and the return you would like to receive.
Therefore, the task of a financial adviser is to determine your risk profile, and then help you choose the best investment tool. Often this is a brokerage account, or investment plan in an insurance cover. A personal advisor will help you open the selected instrument.
2.5 Further support along the way
So, you have started your journey. And this is already very important, because the beginning is half the battle. But the road is long and a financial advisor will help you along the way.
Perhaps your plans or attitude to risk have changed, and with this in mind, adjustments to the investment portfolio are needed. Or the changes that have taken place in life require the adjustment of existing contracts, or the release of new ones.
Therefore, in many situations, you will need to contact the financial adviser again in order to get help or support.
Well, let's take a look at what a personal financial advisor can do for you:
- Carry out a financial inventory: income/expenses, assets/liabilities;
- It will help to define and formalize (term, required amount) your financial goals;
- Make a mathematically verified plan to achieve these goals;
- Opens the necessary contracts to move towards the goals;
- Will support you along the way.
Thus, with the help of an adviser, the chaotic handling of money will turn into a systematic movement towards the goals you need. And if this is important to you, let's talk about what experts are on the market. So that you can accurately select the right specialist for yourself.
3. What are financial advisors
In Russia, several terms are used for the profession that we are discussing in the article. A personal financial advisor, a family financial advisor, or a financial advisor for private individuals are all synonyms. There are also investment advisors that stand somewhat apart.
Let's consider all of them in more detail.
3.1 Employees of financial companies
Employees of many companies in the financial industry are referred to as financial advisors. For example - bank employees, broker employees, or agents of an insurance company.
And you can refer to any of them. However, in my opinion, this is not the best choice. Why?
Because each of these people is a specialist in his own, very specific segment of services. They know in great detail how an insurance contract, bank account or investment plan works.
However, before choosing which tool to use, you need to:
- Analysis of the current situation,
- goal setting,
- Drawing up a plan to achieve goals.
First you need to make strategic decisions - to what goals, and how you intend to go. And only then do you go down to the tactical level and choose specific financial instruments to implement your plan.
Therefore, you first need a specialist to help you carry out the necessary strategic planning. And then - will recommend the best services available on the market to implement your financial plan.
Such specialists in Russia are usually called independent financial advisers (or advisers, abbreviated NSF). In the foreign world they are called the Independent Financial Adviser (IFA).
3.2 NFS
A distinctive feature of independent financial advisers is that these specialists are not employed by any financial organization— be it a broker, an insurer or a bank. From a legal point of view, many of them are individual entrepreneurs.
Having found out your current situation and long-term goals, the NSF will develop a financial plan to achieve them. And then, in most cases, it will offer and open specific financial instruments for the implementation of this plan.
NSF have a cooperation agreement with many financial companies - both Russian and foreign. And on the basis of these contracts, they can offer their customers a wide range of different products.
And for clients, the independence of the NSF is a great advantage. Why?
Because the NSF does not have the task of selling some kind of financial product to the client. His task is to offer the optimal solution for the client's tasks from those available on the market. And since the NSF is a partner of many companies, it can offer a wide range of solutions to the client.
In fact, the NSF is a kind of "financial hub". Through this specialist, individuals gain access to the most the best services on the market, and assistance in choosing optimal solution.
Conversely, a staff member of an organization who is also a financial advisor is often willing to offer only the products of his company. What sharply narrows the circle for the client possible solutions.
However, in addition to financial advisers, there is also a special segment of specialists on the market, which will be discussed below.
In December 2018, the Central Bank amended the federal law"On the Securities Market". These changes are sometimes also referred to as the "financial advisors law".
As a result of these changes, new professional members securities market - investment advisors (IP), or investment consultants.
And since then, only IPs have the right to give their clients individual investment recommendations. This is their key difference from other market participants.
In other words, only the IP has the right to tell the client: “invest in the shares of company XYZ”. No one else, by law, has the right to give such recommendations to a client.
Why was it necessary to single out investment advisors among other participants in the financial consulting market?
The regulator is tired of the complaints of individuals who were given absolutely inappropriate recommendations by illiterate or greedy "advisers" on the placement of funds. Indeed, as a result of these recommendations, many people have lost serious money.
Before the advent of IP, this was a completely uncontrolled market. To put things in order, the Central Bank singled out a separate class of professionals who have the right to give investment recommendations. And he began to strictly control the work of these professional participants, checking the compliance of their recommendations with the needs and risk profile of clients.
Control over the work of IP by the Central Bank is a great help for private clients. But there is also a big fly in the ointment.
The regulatory requirements for those wishing to become IP are so great that it is practically impossible for independent financial advisers to fulfill them. This has led to the fact that only large institutional players have become investment advisors.
For example, at the time of writing this article, there were only 39 IPs in the unified register of investment advisors published on the Central Bank website:
Single register investment advisers on the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (the so-called register of financial advisers)
Basically, these are the largest investment houses and banks in the country. Unfortunately, there are no independent financial advisors for individuals on this list.
So, you can choose your financial advisor from the following specialists:
experts working in the financial consulting market in Russia
Because many NSFs have experience in long-term financial planning. And they will help you create a plan to achieve important financial goals.
In addition, most of these professionals have access to the very best services available on the market. These are not only Russian, but also foreign financial products.
When contacting employees financial companies in most cases, you will narrow down the range of available solutions for yourself. And this can negatively affect the achievement of your goals.
However, a subtle issue arises here. How does the NSF, not being an investment financial advisor, form the investment portfolio of its client?
After all, in the end, the achievement of any of your financial goals means the accumulation of a certain amount to right moment in future. To create these savings, you need an investment portfolio. And in many ways, the task of a financial consultant is to help you competently form a personal investment portfolio.
Fortunately, there is no conflict with the law. NFS compiles several model portfolios for clients with different risk profiles. Then, talking with a private person, he determines his attitude to risk. And offers him a model portfolio of the appropriate risk profile.
Thus, the NSF does not give its client individual investment recommendations, and does not violate current legislature. At the same time, offering its client a high-quality investment portfolio that helps a person achieve his goals.
3.5 Are there fully independent financial advisors?
A financial advisor for a private person first carries out financial planning, and then selects the best tools for implementing the plan. And at the second stage, a conflict of interest between the adviser and his client is possible.
Because an unscrupulous consultant can recommend to the client those tools that are not suitable for the person. However, they will bring the maximum commission to the adviser.
Can this conflict of interest be ruled out? Theoretically, yes. In Western markets, there are specialists who provide only personal financial planning services for individuals.
This is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Traditionally, these specialists are considered the most objective.
Because in the consultation process they only develop a financial plan, and do not offer the client any financial products for the implementation of this plan. These experts are paid for their work only from their clients (fee only). And they do not receive commissions from financial companies that offer various products for individuals.
There are practically no such specialists in Russia. Because today the Russians do not yet realize the value of consulting an independent financial adviser. And they are not ready to pay for the service of personal financial planning the price that would allow them to implement the fee only business model.
Therefore, financial advisors in Russia charge a small consultation fee from the client, and also receive commissions from the providers of the financial products they open to implement their client's plan.
The exclusion of a possible conflict of interest is a matter of professional ethics, and the decency of a consultant. Which is also controlled by the professional community.
Because many current advisers are members of professional associations. Where can any client to whom the financial adviser gave the wrong recommendation, or provided a poor-quality service, turn to. The Ethics Commission analyzes such disputes and determines the punishment for the financial consultant in case of his guilt. Up to his exclusion from the professional community.
4. How to choose a financial advisor
You need an expert with experience. And if a professional has been working on the market for a long time, he probably has.
On the site, the adviser talks about himself and publishes his portfolio. These are professional articles, videos, various cases on solving the problems of his clients. Also on the site you will find diplomas and certificates confirming the training received by an independent financial adviser.
Explore the sites of different experts. Choose someone whose approach to financial planning and investing is consonant with your understanding of how to do it.
In addition, you need a specialist with whom you will be psychologically comfortable. And who are you ready to trust?
Because you have to discuss very personal topics with him. Your plans for the future, your income and current financial situation. And when opening insurance contracts - also the state of your health and your beneficiaries. Therefore, you should be humanly comfortable communicating with this specialist.
Does an independent financial advisor need to be licensed in any way? Not now.
Unless you intend to turn specifically to an investment advisor. Then the company in which this specialist works should be listed in the official register on the Central Bank website.
But back to the NFS.
Although not required by law, many NSFs are members of various associations of financial advisors:
Sincerely,
Vladimir Avdenin.
Indeed, a typical client of a financial consultant is a wealthy person. A Sravni.ru survey among consultants paints such a portrait. Age from 35 years, has a higher education - technical or humanitarian, top manager or businessman, family, with children. Financial goals - formation passive income, pension care, improvement living conditions, teaching children. The minimum income level is from 150 thousand rubles per month.
But this portrait is like the average temperature in a hospital. In fact, anyone can use the services of advisers. Just help for them will be different. For example, independent financial adviser Saida Suleymanova says that for her target audience are people with incomes above average, so that you can discuss financial goals with them in detail, because they have some savings for their implementation. However, this does not exclude working with people of lower income. For such clients, the main goal will be to understand how they can increase their income.
That's according to the executive director of the consulting group " personal capital» Irina Gulevskaya, for those who have modest income, the consultant will recommend how to manage them, how to accumulate reserve fund etc. For those who have already accumulated capital, the consultant will offer the most profitable way to invest and draw up an investment portfolio.
“From any amount that you have directed to investments, you can go to a financial adviser,” says financial adviser and asset manager Andrey Chernykh. According to him, the problem of investments is a psychological problem.
“If you, like most Russians, spend everything at first, then, of course, you won’t have any left for investments. Therefore, first of all, you need to invest a certain percentage of your income, and then spend the rest. This is how they become millionaires,” says Chernykh.
When is a financial advisor needed?
Saida Suleymanova highlights some of the most relevant financial matters, with which the client can and should apply to the adviser. There are ten “ifs” on this list:
- by the end of the month you have no money left;
- free funds lie and do not generate income;
- you save up for a big purchase, but constantly put it off;
- Are you thinking about your future pension?
- Do you want to save money for your children's education?
- Do you want to reduce your debt burden?
- you want to form your own investment portfolio;
- you are dissatisfied with how much your investments bring;
- you don't know how to reach your financial goal;
- you are the only source of income in the family, but your life is not insured.
There are also unusual cases. In "Personal Capital" orders for the organization of investments that do not contradict the principles of Islam are increasingly appearing. Saida Suleimanova is sometimes asked about how to make her ex-husband pay more child support. One client of Natalia Smirnova asked to draw up a schedule for his portfolio for 2017, indicating purchase prices for each day, and another wanted to increase his portfolio from 5 million rubles to 100 million in three years.
What can consultants do?
To summarize, personal advisors offer:
- one-time consultations, including on personal budget management;
- drawing up a personal financial plan;
- investment advice based on your goals;
- managing your capital.
Of course, consultants do not make their people millionaires, in fact, clients do it themselves - they accumulate capital, choose a conservative or aggressive investment strategy.
“All clients have different risk appetite and time margin: someone can start with 900 thousand dollars, have 10 years, then he needs a yield below 2%, he can stupidly invest in bonds of issuers A with maturity in 10 years and don't think about anything. And someone starts with 250 thousand and has 5 years, then the option is a very aggressive strategy with an expected return of over 30% per annum. Both can become millionaires, but the risks and general terms and Conditions they are different,” explains Natalia Smirnova.
The same thing happens with future ruble millionaires. Here you also need to take into account that not all clients come to advisers with such expectations - someone has a lower cost of goals. And the consultants themselves disown such ambitions. “I don’t have a goal to turn clients into millionaires, I see my goal differently - to teach them how to manage their finances so that they can provide themselves with a qualitatively different standard of living,” says Saida Suleimanova.
How much does financial advice cost?
The average cost of a one-time consultation is from 3 to 5 thousand rubles per hour. “The rest of the services are tied to the cost of an hour of the consultant's work, depending on the complexity of the task set by the client,” says Irina Gulevskaya.
The most expensive thing is drawing up a personal financial plan; prices here start from 10-30 thousand rubles and can reach up to 100 thousand, depending on the complexity and number of goals. You can create an individual investment portfolio or, in other words, your own investment strategy for a fee of 10-15 thousand.
If the capital is large, then it may make sense to give it under management. Natalya Smirnova takes 0.5-1% of the portfolio for this. “We don’t take a percentage of the profit, as this is not a completely fair option: if the portfolio grew by 20% in a year, and then fell by 20%, then it turns out that you will be charged a percentage of those 20% for the first year, which may may never be achieved again. Therefore, we take a percentage of the capital under management: we are interested in its growth, but 0.5-1% of the capital does not eat up a significant part of the growth, such as 20-30% of the profit,” the expert notes.
But not everyone is like that. For example, Andrei Chernykh takes a percentage of the profits for some of his services, while the first consultation, as a rule, is free of charge. “Next, we determine how I can be useful and what products - programs I can recommend. It can also be free of charge,” he clarifies.
How to choose a financial advisor?
The choice of a financial advisor should be approached as responsibly as the choice of a bank or insurance company. “First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with the list of services, the price list and the profile of the financial adviser himself,” says Saida Suleymanova.
He must have significant independent investment experience. “Because if the consultant himself does not invest in various securities, he does not know all the subtleties and will not always be able to correctly assess the risks,” explains Irina Gulevskaya.
Be sure to pay attention to the availability of specialized education. “And not for consultant courses in 1-2 weeks with a basic higher education as a baker or philologist, namely higher education - a financier, plus 5 years of experience in finance and a specialized education for a financial consultant,” advises Natalya Smirnova.
Further, according to her, you need to watch the video, articles of the consultant: does he speak clearly for you, do you work together, are you comfortable with him, at first glance, ask for an example of work (impersonal), perhaps customer reviews.
How to recognize a charlatan?
“To identify the “cheater”, you need to ask the consultant to announce: the expected return and risk (and give historical values for these instruments), describe where the selected instrument invests, plus describe the current situation on the market, give analogues of the same type of instruments to compare the average return on such tools. And also give an example of profitability and risk for the most conservative option of this type of instrument. For example, for bonds - make a comparison with government bonds for up to a year, ”recommends Smirnova.
If an advisor tells you about a guaranteed return of 50% or 70%, it is almost always a scammer. Professional consultants promise clients a return of no more than 5-8% per annum in foreign currency, says Irina Gulevskaya from Personal Capital.
How can you save on the services of a financial consultant?
You can save money only at the initial stage, for example, choose a remote consultation via Skype or a consultation with assistants, and not the main consultant. “Or you can try to do everything yourself without the help of a consultant on the basis of free materials this consultant. If the consultant participates in financial literacy events, visit them (they are usually free) and ask a couple of questions in person. But we must remember that free of charge is, as a rule, with time limits and, as a result, lower in quality than a full-fledged personal consultation,” says Natalya Smirnova.
Nothing, the consultant just loses a client. “There will be no compensation for losses, except in cases of fraudulent activities. But if this is not a scam, but simply a consequence of the choice of unprofitable instruments, then this market risk. In our country, brokers and management companies do not compensate clients for losses in the markets for unprofitable recommendations, so the same logic applies to consultants,” explains Natalya Smirnova.
In order for the recommendations of the consultant to have an effect, efforts are also needed on the part of the client, in particular financial discipline, recalls Saida Suleimanova: “The biggest disappointment for clients comes when a consultant shows that it will take time, a desire to act, and control over their actions in terms of financial management to achieve a plan.”
Alena, good afternoon! I work in a Western company, and I know that for a normal wealthy foreigner to have a consultant like you is a must, this is a special fad for them after the crisis, because. many have lost on investments. I have also matured) What parameters would you advise to be guided by when looking for a consultant? I know that there are already many consultants working in Russia now. Thanks in advance!
Elena, Moscow, 38 years old
Financial answer:
Hello, Elena.
Yes, you are absolutely right. 60% of families in the West have their own personal financial advisor who provides professional assistance in solving personal financial issues. Every year there are more and more financial instruments their mechanisms of action are becoming increasingly complex. The goal of a financial advisor is to help you figure it all out and choose the right tools that are right for you. When choosing a financial adviser, pay attention to whether he has a license from the only center for training independent financial advisers in Russia - the Institute of Financial Planning. This is the only applicable "quality mark" of a consultant in our country. To date, this institute has trained about 1,700 consultants in 47 Russian cities. Three of them, by the way, work in our company. Moreover, the managing partner of Finplan is the director of work with corporate clients of this very institution. So, turning to us, be sure that you will be provided with truly professional assistance. You can always sign up for a consultation (personal or via Skype) by calling or sending an email to me.
Sincerely, Alena Strelkova.