Broadcast Retirement Network’s Jeffrey Snyder discusses how investors can select a financial advisor with Savvy Wealth’s Brandon Mull, CFP, CFA.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Joining me now, Brandon Mull is with Marathon Wealth Advisors and Savvy Wealth. Brandon, so great to see you. Thanks for joining us this morning.
Brandon Mull, CFP, CFA, Savvy Wealth & Marathon Wealth Advisors
Thanks for having me on, Jeff. Nice to meet you.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Well, it’s nice to meet you as well. And thank you so much for coming on. You know, there’s been so much turmoil in the market recently.
And I think a lot of people want to seek the guidance from a professional just like yourself. And I want to talk with you about the process to select an advisor. In your mind, what’s the first step if I’m looking to hire a Brandon Mull or someone like yourself to help me with my retirement or my financial planning?
Brandon Mull, CFP, CFA, Savvy Wealth & Marathon Wealth Advisors
Yeah, that’s a great question. What is that first step? And I think, you know, as you think about the answer there, it’d be, hey, what life stage am I at?
What are my goals for the future? You know, if you’re just starting out getting your feet wet financially, you might be comfortable on autopilot in terms of your investments. But beyond that, you know, a starting question is, hey, what keeps you up at night financially?
You know, beyond autopilot, are you confident you have a plan for your retirement assets, taxes, health care costs, estate distributions? All of those things are going to become more and more important over time. And if you’re sticking to it without an emotional inference as well, you might be fine on your own.
But most people find as their complexity evolves, as their financial needs evolves, and as life changes, the value of having an advisor, you know, outweighs the cost by a long shot. So it’s a proactive approach. It’s something that takes years to build.
And so those are the kind of things that you want to have in mind as you seek out that to answer that question. You know, do I need an advisor or not?
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
So Brandon, if I’ve established that I need someone like you with your experience and expertise, where do I find a pool of potential suitors? Where do I find someone like yourself?
Brandon Mull, CFP, CFA, Savvy Wealth & Marathon Wealth Advisors
Yeah, that’s a great question, Jeff. And there’s a lot of resources that are available. Certainly, you can look out at Barron’s and Forbes and look at national rankings for advisors across the country.
Those tend to have a little bit more of a marketing flair. So I would suggest leaning in, and we may talk in a moment about credentials for advisors, but for example, CFP Board, CFA Institute, looking on those websites, and then from there, identifying pools of advisors who have those credentials. That can be a good starting point.
So you know that you’re meeting up front with a credentialed professional and then taking it to the next level from there. Obviously, Google, FINRA websites, SEC websites are other places that you can look. But starting with casting a wide net and then narrowing down is a good starting point.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Well, let’s talk about, you brought it up. So let’s talk about those credentials. First, what do those credentials, you mentioned CFP, CFA, there are probably some others that people need to know about, but what do they mean and what do they establish?
I, my understanding is there’s a body of knowledge that people with those credentials have.
Brandon Mull, CFP, CFA, Savvy Wealth & Marathon Wealth Advisors
Yes, yeah, that’s a great question. And so I mentioned CFP, that’s the Certified Financial Planner designation. It’s a rigorous educational exam that you pass, and it’s kind of the gold standard on the planning side of the investment advisor relationship.
So I hold that designation. I also hold the CFA, which is Chartered Financial Analyst. And Jeff, that’s going to be more on the investment side of the equation, even more rigorous in terms of exams, in terms of investment focus.
So you don’t need to have both an advisor. It’s certainly a nice to have, but those two are kind of the gold standards. There’s a handful of others that are also excellent, the EA and tax, CEMA, CPWA, a few others that come to mind.
I’ll also say that a handful of them are more marketing focused and not rigorous. So you want to watch out and make sure just because someone has letters after their name, does it actually mean anything?
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, really, really good advice. And then, so we’re, I’m kind of imagining it as this funnel, as you’re describing it, the funnel of the pool, and you’re trying to narrow it down. You look at the credentials, but there, you mentioned FINRA, but there are SEC and other sites where you can look at certain regulatory filings, I would imagine that will help you look at whether someone has been rebuked or by a regulatory entity or fined or whatever the correct terminology is.
So is that a good place to go after you kind of have your pool?
Brandon Mull, CFP, CFA, Savvy Wealth & Marathon Wealth Advisors
Yes. And then maybe even starting there, just to make sure there’s no red flags, but certainly the SEC website, and you can also look at FINRA broker check and pull up any individual advisor rep and their background and history, see if there’s any complaints, any criminal activity or other red flags to look for. That’s all disclosed and publicly available.
The public doesn’t often know that, but I definitely recommend either of those websites as a starting point.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
And Brandon, I mean, it’s not about just about those, the credentials and some of these other things. How important is that interview process? Should you sit down with a potential advisor, maybe came to you via a referral source, meaning a family member, a friend, a loved one, whatever, but chemistry, you know, it’s more of a qualitative factor, but it’s something that, do you agree that maybe you need to look at, do I have chemistry with this person?
Does this person get me? Do they understand where I’m coming from as a consumer, as a customer?
Brandon Mull, CFP, CFA, Savvy Wealth & Marathon Wealth Advisors
Yes, that’s an excellent point. And I kind of liken what I do to a little bit more of a provider-based relationship, if you will. My father’s a family physician, and while I didn’t go into medicine myself, what I love about what I do is that we are moving beyond numbers into what you described, an aspect that’s a little bit more qualitative and personal.
And that is tremendously important, that good fit together, because I really view it as a partnership. You’re going to be working with your advisor for the longterm and through major life events. That could be birth of a child, that could be, you know, the death of a spouse or a loved one, and all of those things, a good advisor will step through those life phases with you.
And if you meet someone through your brother-in-law or at a country club, it might work out, but you never really know. So you really want to evaluate that personal fit and relationship, and you’re trying to understand as well, will this person call me back? How much did they care about me?
Are they listening more than talking at me? And they should be able to give you a really good comfort level and confidence that, hey, even when the market is up and down and sideways and whatever, I have a good understanding of the plan we have in place, and I have every confidence that you’ll be right by my side through that market cycle.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, well, you may not be a medical doctor, but I would say that your financial wellness probably relates really well to your overall health. My last question is, Brandon, let’s, you know, you don’t work for free. I don’t work for free.
There are fees associated with the services that an advisor provides. How do you figure all that out? What, you know, there are some people out there, Brandon, who think that they, and they have an advisor, that they don’t pay any fee.
But the reality is there are fees, fee for service. How do you get the best fee, and are fees negotiable?
Brandon Mull, CFP, CFA, Savvy Wealth & Marathon Wealth Advisors
Yes, that’s an excellent question. Industry has really evolved over the past 30 years. You know, fees are generally lower now than they were back then, so that’s good for consumers and clients.
But also, you know, the way that an advisor is compensated is tremendously important. You really do want to have, Jeff, that alignment of interest between yourself and the advisor. And so, for me, how I’m compensated is strictly through advisory fees on an ongoing basis.
So, hey, as I grow, or excuse me, as you grow as a client, I grow together in a smaller way with you. What I don’t have in my book is, you know, commissions, revenue shares, sales quotas, that type of thing. And so, those are the questions that you’ll want to ask.
You want to make sure that there’s value for any fee that’s there. And then beyond that, too, what are the hidden fees? What are the costs of my investments?
What are the costs of my portfolio? Those things are kind of under the hood, a layer down, but they’re equally important.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, it’s a process. Just like it’s a process to select investments, it’s a process to select your doctor or even to buy a car. It’s a process.
You got to go through the process. Brandon, we’re going to have to leave it there. Really great to see you.
Great information. Thanks for joining us. And we look forward to having you back on the program again very soon.
Brandon Mull, CFP, CFA, Savvy Wealth & Marathon Wealth Advisors
Thank you very much. It was great to meet you today.
