Star Tribune
What to look for when choosing a financial adviser to help manage your money
Deciding how to convert a lifetime of accumulated savings into retirement income usually requires professional assistance.
Investment advice, like legal or tax advice, is highly specialized. Finding the right professional is critical. If you’ve accumulated some wealth, the number of people seeking to assist in the management of your wealth can be overwhelming. Everyone from your banker, insurance agent, stockbroker, mutual fund manager, lawyer and even your CPA wants to help. Here’s some advice on how to find the right financial adviser for you:
The ideal investment adviser possesses three characteristics: 1) attentive listener willing to learn the full picture of your personal circumstances; 2) trained/experienced expert on all relevant subject matter; and 3) ethical practitioner whose interests don’t conflict with yours and whose compensation properly reflects the time and wisdom provided.
The most reliable way of finding someone who meets the first characteristic is to ask people you trust who are working with an adviser they like for a referral. If you don’t have access to such referral sources, there’s always Google. Try searching for an investment adviser using search terms such as “local,” “experienced,” “flat fee” and “highly rated.”
Once you’ve acquired a handful of names, conduct a background check. The financial services industry is highly regulated with client-facing professionals who must have licenses, supervision and up-to-date knowledge of best practices. Any complaints reported against them are public record.
For financial advisers, FINRA’s BrokerCheck is a helpful resource for viewing advisers’ experience, licenses and any “disclosures” of complaints or legal actions. If the representative is an insurance agent, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and Consumer Information Source (CIS) serve as watchdogs where you can find information akin to what FINRA provides for advisers. Searching for an adviser’s name and firm online can also yield some other important and relevant biographical information.
When you have your list narrowed down, investigate the advisers’ pay. The bottom-line question is simple: Is the adviser’s compensation based on the investment decisions you make? In other words, do your investment decisions impact how much the adviser or their employer earns?
The financial services industry has long blurred the relationship between your investment decisions and how much your adviser makes from those decisions. In my experience, even when properly disclosed and highly regulated, such conflicts function like gravity. They’re an invisible force that pushes financial advisers to recommend certain products or programs that increase the adviser’s own compensation. In short, you should be aware of all potential conflicts of interest when selecting an adviser.
DULUTH — A Duluth man who said he doesn’t remember killing his girlfriend pleaded guilty to second-degree murder without intent Tuesday in St. Louis County court — a plea deal that could land him in prison longer than sentencing guidelines would dictate.
Dale John Howard, 25, told Judge Theresa Neo that he doesn’t remember it but believes he caused the death of his girlfriend, Allisa Marie Vollan, 27, on March 22. Vollan, described on a fundraising site as a “bright young lady” with “an abundance of friends,” had a no-contact order against Howard at the time of her death. Howard could be sentenced to 20 years in prison — more than seven years longer than Minnesota’s presumptive guideline for the murder. According to the county attorney’s office, the longer sentence is legal because of the active domestic abuse no-contact order against him.
Howard’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 14.
According to court documents, officers responded to a morning call at Howard’s Central Hillside apartment and found him beneath a blanket with Vollan, who was dead. He told officers that he had hung out with Vollan late the previous night, then left to meet friends at a bar, and Vollan went to sleep in a guest room. When he tried to move her into his bedroom the next morning, she wasn’t breathing. He called his father, who was at the apartment when Duluth police arrived.
Neighbors in the upper level of the duplex told officers that, in the time before Howard would have left for the bar, they heard a woman crying and an angry male voice. They heard muffled moaning, thuds and the sound of something being dragged. They recorded it.
A preliminary autopsy by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office found that Vollan had likely been smothered.
Earlier the same month, Howard had been arrested after neighbors saw him repeatedly slam Vollan’s head into a door. The no-contact was issued by a St. Louis County judge.
Minneapolis School Board Member Fathia Feerayarre, who represented District 3 in the city’s center since January 2023, has resigned effective immediately, the district announced Tuesday.
Her departure comes too late to add the seat to the November ballot, however, meaning her colleagues will have to appoint her successor in a process and under a timeline to be outlined next week.
Feerayarre ran unopposed in 2022 as part of a four-candidate slate endorsed by the Minneapolis DFL and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, and was set to serve until Jan. 4, 2027.
Board Chair Collin Beachy, who also was part of that four-person slate, said in a news release: “I thank Ms. Feerayarre for her service to the Minneapolis Public Schools community as a member of the school board. We all wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
Minneapolis School Board Member Fathia Feerayarre, who represented District 3 in the city’s center since January 2023, has resigned effective immediately, the district announced Tuesday.
Her departure comes too late to add the seat to the November ballot, however, meaning her colleagues will have to appoint her successor in a process and under a timeline to be outlined next week.
Feerayarre ran unopposed in 2022 as part of a four-candidate slate endorsed by the Minneapolis DFL and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, and was set to serve until Jan. 4, 2027.
Board Chair Collin Beachy, who also was part of that four-person slate, said in a news release: “I thank Ms. Feerayarre for her service to the Minneapolis Public Schools community as a member of the school board. We all wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
