finding your guru (or guru's)
One of your first priorities should be to choose a great team of advisors. "But what if I want to do this alone?" Well, Impact Investing isn't easy, so doing it alone isn't always the best choice. Yet there's a lot of greenwashing out there. So how do you build the right team? How do you know if having a team is right for you? This section will give you the questions to ask, so you can create the right strategy for you.
How to find help
where do you start when looking for an advisor/team
Often the best place to start is by asking people in your close circle or network. “Who do you work with” can be relayed to your family, friends, accountant, community group, etc. A full 44% of high-net-worth clients found their wealth manager or advisor through this method (link). If you’d prefer to find someone on your own, there are some great resources online that you can utilize:
- Find a Certified Financial Planner Tool
- U.S. News & World Report Financial Advisor Search Tool
- The Accredited Financial Counselor Website
- The Garrett Planning Network
- Financial Planning Association Search Tool
- Search engines: This one may seem like a no-brainer, but the power of search engines can’t be overlooked. Chances are a search engine is how you found your way here. So if none of the above prove fruitful, consider a quick Google search for “financial advisor near me” or “find an impact investing advisor”
what if i don't want an advisor?
here's what you can do if you want to roll solo
Not everyone wants an advisor. That can be true whether you have a few thousand dollars to your name, or tens of millions. So, if you're in that camp, you'll want to leverage the tools that are out there to help you go it alone. See below for a list of tools that can help you figure things out on your own.
so many questions
here's a list of questions to consider asking anyone you're interviewing
For those of you who do want an advisor or team to help you out, you're going to need to know which questions to ask. The one's we've assembled below will help you get a good idea of whether they're a good fit for you, and how they compare to other folks you're considering.
- How do they get compensated? (is it a flat fee, fee as a percentage of my account value, or commission-based?)
- Are there any conflicts you should be aware of? (for example: are they only allowed to offer certain products, do they get paid more to offer certain products, etc)
- Do they act in a 'fiduciary' capacity? (this holds them to a higher standard when managing your assets)
- Have them describe their typical client and why would they be a good fit for you
- How often can you expect to hear from them? (emails, calls, meetings, etc)
- What reporting will they provide so you can keep track of your investments and how they're performing?
- Do they have a track-record you can review to see how they've done in the past?
- How long have they been focusing on impact investing?
- What are the issues they believe are most important from an impact perspective, and why? (this can help you see if they really know their stuff or simply posing as mission-aligned)
- What services do they provide beyond investment management? (financial planning, family discussions, etc)
- What types of investments will you not be able to do through them?
- Do they have a team supporting them? If so, who will be your primary point of contact?
- Who produces the reporting I receive? (be wary of anyone who produces their own reporting. Ideally your statements and reporting will come from a 3rd party, like the custodian bank holding your assets)
- What control will you have over my account? (discretionary authority versus advisory authority)
- Which resources or 3rd parties do they use to bolster their impact investing services?