5 questions to ask a financial adviser before hiring one

Related: Can I afford to retire early?

If, on the other hand you’re just looking for a few fund recommendations or want to get a ballpark estimate of how much you should be saving for retirement, then a broker with an established, reputable investment firm or a representative with a mutual fund firm or discount brokerage that has a good roster of online tools and calculators for selecting investments and building a portfolio may be able to satisfy your needs.

2. Are there restrictions on the menu of products and services you can offer?

Ideally, you want an adviser who can build a diversified portfolio by picking the best options available, even if that means mixing and matching mutual funds, ETFs and other investments from a variety of firms.

In reality, though, many advisers are limited to a menu of investments and services that are sold by the company they work for or by affiliated firms.

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