Knowing which questions are the most important will help you maximize your time and the potential of your wealth.

- The first thing to remember is that there are no dumb questions. We’ve all heard this before, but the financial market is complicated, and this is your future, after all. Ask questions, seek answers, and take an active part in your relationship with the professional you hire. He or she should know your goals and your comfort levels and work to keep you within both. As such, perhaps the most essential question you can ask your financial advisor is if a suggested opportunity fits with your individual investment goals. Are you looking for long term investments or a quick turn around? The longer an investment takes, the more likely it is that you will see a return. Short-term investing can be riskier, but it can also lead to rapid profits. Both are viable options, depending on your personal level of risk tolerance.

- Another important question you should ask your financial advisor is how the investment will make money. Will it pay dividends, or will it give you interest? What has to happen in order for the investment to start turning a profit? Also, what fees are involved with the investment? If there are fees to purchase, maintain, or later sell the investment, you need to know this upfront so you can plan for the expenditure. Having the full picture of an investment will prevent surprises down the road and help you better manage your money.

- You also need to know how to research the investment opportunity. While you will have many questions for your investment advisor about the strength of the investment, you should also ask how to obtain information about it from other legitimate sources. No matter how qualified your financial advisor is, virtually no investments are guaranteed, and other experts may be able to offer you more information to help you make the decision.

An investment planner is a great resource, and you should take full advantage of his or her knowledge. There are many questions you can ask your financial advisor to get the most out of an investment opportunity. No matter how new you are to investing, your planner should treat all of your questions with respect and take the time to make sure you fully understand where you are putting your money. Your wealth can give you a secure future, and it deserves to be in good hands.

With the abundance of financial advisors out there how can you know which one is right for you.

The first thing you should do when looking for a financial advisor is to ask family and friends for recommendations. The same way you would get a recommendation for a doctor or accountant. Try to ask friends and family who seem to have their financial lives on track. Otherwise if you don’t have any quality recommendations to work from then call up the financial planning association and ask for a few recommendations.

Then schedule a meeting with the financial advisor. With many firms the first meeting is free and its an opportunity for you and the advisor to meet each other and get to know a little bit about each other. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions on this first meeting. There are no silly questions and you can be sure that no matter what your question is that they have more likely than not heard it before and would be happy to answer it for you. You want to know how well you get along with this person and if you want to have them managing your finances.

Find out about their background, experience and credentials. You want to know if the advisor has the necessary background to be able to advise you suitably. Know who their general clients are. If you find that the first specializes in doctors and you’re a public servant then they may not be as suitable for you as managing high net worth individuals like doctors is very different to managing public servants. So you want to know who their typical clients are.

Ask about their fee structure and how commissions are charged. Find out if they are affiliated to any particular products and what commissions they are provided for selling these products. Some financial advisors are owned by banking institutions or the like and therefore may push their parent companies managed funds ahead of more suitable funds for your situation.

Once you’ve decided with your financial advisor the first step they will likely take is to find out your current financial situation and design a financial plan for you to follow and implement.