No doubt for me the most important thing I think about when evaluating professional services - whether it's home remodeling or dentistry or as in this case, financial planning - is the person's qualifications and experience.

When choosing a financial planner, I'd want to know the answers to a few important questions having to do with his/her qualifications and experience:

• How long has this person been doing financial planning work?
• What sort of financial planning does this person specialize in?
• What professional designations or certifications does this person hold?
• Is this financial planner's experience relevant to my situation?

Let's look at these one by one.

How long has this person been doing financial planning work?
Financial planning as a profession has been around long enough you'll find people out there who have made a career of it. This wasn't the case so many years ago when I was starting out. I remember my first encounter with a financial planner. He was a slick (too slick) and very well-dressed stock broker who no-doubt moonlighted on the weekends selling used cars. He was chasing the next big thing, looking for the easy buck hustling commissions by recommending front-end loaded mutual funds as sound financial planning advice. Hopefully his financial planning career did not last much longer than our meeting.

Ask straight out how long your prospective financial planner has been in business. The answer will help you gage his/her commitment and passion for the profession. It will also tell you whether they've been around long enough to learn the ropes - the things they don't teach in schools.

What sort of financial planning does this person specialize in?
If I'm in the market for a financial planner who can help me get started saving for retirement, I'll probably be better served discussing my situation with someone who specializes in this area. Financial planning is very broad and complex. Financial planners today are specializing, breaking down and focusing in on particular areas much like doctors and lawyers. If I'm going to pay someone to help me manage my financial health and well being, shouldn't I hire the best, most well-suited to the task?

Be careful to ask about this one up front because it's important for you to be comfortable with the financial vehicles which will be recommended to you. A financial planner's background can and will significantly affect his or her recommendations. As an example, I discussed financial planning once with a friend who had been in the insurance business prior to studying for and receiving his financial planning certifications. His recommendations for a secure financial future all centered around insurance products. That may sound absurd, but it's not bad advice by any means. It's a viable means to a secure retirement for many. All the same, I would not feel comfortable with non-insurance related recommendations from someone who specializes in insurance products.

What professional designations or certifications does this person hold?
This one might seem obvious. A diploma, certification and a bunch of letters after the name on the business card serve as proof of having learned enough to pass the tests and earn the designation. Yeah, that sounded rather thin, didn't it? That's exactly my point. I've known plenty of people who were great test takers because they have excellent "book smarts". Some of them can't think 3 minutes ahead though. You probably know someone like that too.

For me, certification is important, but only for the having of it. To me it proves two things only: This person has, or at one time had, a foundational knowledge in the financial planning profession; and that this person has shown the commitment necessary to attain a goal. A professional designation tells me little more than that.

Is this financial planner's experience relevant to my situation?
You should want to know whether this financial planner has much experience is with people like yourself. You may have come upon this particular financial planner through the recommendation of a friend or acquaintance. That's a great start, but you will want to know how much of his/her client base are people like you, people roughly in your current situation.

Knowing these few things is a great first start to finding a financial planner. Next time we'll have a look at what service offerings your financial planner might offer.

Finding a financial planner - part 1