Finding the Right Financial Advisor for You

Your Family CFO Team • August 27, 2019

In our noisy world, it can be difficult to determine which financial advisor is best for you and your family. However, there are core questions you can ask that will greatly increase your ability to find the right match.

1. Are they a fiduciary?

A firm with a fiduciary responsibility is legally required to make recommendations with your best interest in mind. Rather than selling an investment product for compensation, a fiduciary is required by law to ensure their recommendations are truly what is best for you. Financial strategy provided by the Team at Buttonwood Financial Group is focused around our fiduciary duty.

2. What is their investment strategy?

Investment management comes in all shapes and sizes. Some firms require each advisor to develop investment strategy for their specific clients. Other firms focus on a single strategy for all their clients. It’s important to make sure the firm you are interviewing has an investment strategy that matches your specific needs. At Buttonwood, our Investment Policy Committee (IPC) manages assets for our own investments as well as our clients’. The objective of our IPC is to produce a more consistent rate of return over full economic cycles. With a more consistent rate of return, our lifetime cash flow, tax, insurance and other financial strategies have a much higher probability of success. Read how Buttonwood’s IPC manages assets.

3. Investment Manager vs Wealth Manager / Family CFO

Often, firms will claim to have your full financial picture in mind when really, they are only looking at one piece of the puzzle; Investment management. While investments are a very important part of your financial strategy, they are just one piece. Wealth managers typically have a more comprehensive approach. Buttonwood is a Wealth Management firm and our approach is unique. For the same reason a business would hire a CFO, we serve as Family CFO for our clients. We coordinate comprehensive tax, insurance, estate, investment, cash flow, retirement, education and business strategies. We not only make specific recommendations, we also implement, monitor and adjust strategy as you and your family move through life. We do the work to provide you with more time to appreciate your wealth.

If these ideas resonate, simply click here to schedule an informal conversation to learn how our Family CFO services can benefit your and your family.

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