Financial Planners

If you would like to ask questions or have someone give you feedback about your financial plan, there are several types of financial planners you can consult. Fee-only advisers work strictly on a fee basis. They do not sell products and will advise you and guide you to the best assets for you. Commission-based financial planners will not charge a fee but will be compensated based on the products you buy from them.

Go to the Web sites for the National Association of Personal Financial Advisers (fee-only advisers) www.napfa.org. Click on Public and at the top How to Choose a Financial Adviser. The Web site for the Financial Planning Association is www.fpanet.org/public. At their home page, click on Find a CFP® Professional. You can also check at the Web site of financial planners who have the certified planning designation (CFP): www.cfp-board.org. Under Quick Links click on Search For a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional.

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Financial Planning Professional Organizations

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. regulates individuals who have earned the Certified Financial Planning designation. The Web site provides information for the general public including finding a Certified Financial Planning™ professional and sending for a free kit about financial planning:

Financial Planning Association offers general information about financial planning including an online financial planner referral service, checklists, quizzes and allows you to ask general financial questions of CFP® Professionals.

National Association of Personal Financial Advisers is a membership organization for fee-only (no products are sold) financial planners. This Web site offers information to the public about many financial planning topics.

Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) is a national professional organization focused on supporting, promoting and advancing the field of financial counseling and planning education. The membership consists of university and Cooperative Extension educators, military financial counselors, private practitioners, and interest organization and government officials.

George Kinder revolutionized the financial planning profession by emphasizing a life planning approach to client decisions and planning. The focus for clients and financial planners is to allow greater awareness of both life goals and persistent obstacles to be clearly addressed within a context of empathy and trust. When greater clarity and intention in regard to life goals occurs, the advisor and the client are then ready to do the financial analysis and plan design that will best substantiate "the life that wants to be lived."

Visit George Kinder’s Web site at www.kinderinstitute.com

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