Investor Insight Meeting with a financial planner

If you're like many people, you'd sooner go to your dentist for a root canal than meet with a financial planner and face up to your money management inadequacies.

But professional help can pay off, whether you've never before met with a planner, or you're just overdue for a review with a longtime adviser on how to survive the current volatile markets.

Here are some tips to try to ensure a productive relationship, based on advice from planners attending the recent annual conference of the Financial Planners Association:

1. KNOW YOUR PLANNER: Screen multiple planners from different firms through phone or in-person interviews and other research, and settle on one who seems to be a good fit. Beware of people who call themselves planners but lack credentials such as Certified Financial Planner or Personal Financial Specialist designations. Groups like the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards and the Financial Planning Association can offer information on credentials. Find out how a planner is paid _ typical arrangements include fee-only, fee-based, and commission-based.

2. CONSIDER A SPECIALIST: If you want nuts-and-bolts advice on investments, choose a planner with that focus. Others have expertise in insurance or tax issues. But if you're unsure of your most basic goals before and during retirement, consider a registered life planner. "Some hardcore life planners don't even get into the financial stuff in the first meeting," said John Napolitano, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Success as a Personal Financial Planner," and chief executive of U.S. Wealth Management, which coaches financial advisers.

3. COME PREPARED: You may not go over them in your first meeting, but bring documents: your budget and estimates of where your money goes, pay stubs, bank statements, tax records, information on investments. And don't hide debts. "You have to be prepared to open the kimono, and show them what you've got, and what it's worth, and how much you owe, and what you make, and what you spend," Napolitano said. Write a list of questions you want to ask, and take notes while you meet.

4. GO AT A REALISTIC PACE: Don't expect to map out a specific financial plan in an initial meeting. Once you've screened a planner who looks like a good fit, give them a sense of your finances. But focus on where you are in life, and where you're headed.

"I often relate this back to dating, which is very much like the planning process," said Jim Barnash, national director of financial planning for Ameriprise Financial Inc. "We have to find out whether we believe we can work together and have a relationship."

If it looks like there's a mismatch, find another planner or firm. "You should always have the ability to say, 'That's enough. I don't want to go any further,' Barnash said. "And I as the adviser need to be able to say the same thing to you: 'If you're not going to take my advice, you're wasting your money.'"

Determine how frequently to meet _ say once every three months, or perhaps less frequently _ and agree on a plan. If you don't want to meet four times a year in person, consider holding some sessions over the phone.

5. DON'T HIDE DISAGREEMENTS: Meet with family to establish financial goals. If there's a disagreement, explain that to the planner. "Be prepared to say, 'We each want something different,' and ask, 'How do we deal with that?'" Barnash said.

6. KEEP UP TO DATE: Tell your planner if there's a significant change in your income or personal life, or if you've revised your life goals. A new job, the birth of a child or a decision to delay retirement could merit a meeting with your planner right away, rather than waiting for the next scheduled session.

7. CONSIDER RISK: Especially in times like now, when markets are volatile, investing decisions often come down to self-analysis of how much risk you're willing to take to realize your goals. Consider not only your risk limits, but what you may lose if you play it too safe. "People these days are coming in because they're nervous, and they're second-guessing themselves, or looking to make a change," Napolitano said. "But to figure out what to do, they need to determine how much risk they're willing to take."

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Investor Insight Meeting with a financial planner