There's nothing wrong with asking for help. While I believe that every Smart Woman is capable of managing her finances on her own, if that is her goal. However, I still strongly suggest that before you start making investments, you consider getting some professional guidance. Now, hiring a professional to help you does not mean you are weak or lazy or lacking in confidence. It's like hiring a coach-and there's nothing wrong with hiring a coach. The most accomplished people in the world hire and work with coaches on a daily basis. Take Barbra Streisand. She is one of the greatest singers in the world, yet she still has a voice coach. Same with Tiger Woods. Perhaps the greatest golfer on the planet, he's got a golf coach. Michael Jordan works with basketball coaches as a matter of routine. Meryl Streep, the brilliant Oscar-winning actress, uses drama and dialect coaches.

Why do these people, all of whom are at the top of their respective games, still rely on coaches? Because they want to keep improving-and because a coach can give you something that is very difficult (if not impossible) to give yourself: accurate and objective feedback on how you're doing.

So consider hiring a financial coach. Not only will he or she make the job of managing your finances much easier, but if you hire a good one (which is the only kind you should consider), you probably will end up achieving better results than if you tried to do it on your own.

How do you find a good financial advisor? The interesting thing is that, while this may be one of the most important people you ever hire to help you in your lifetime, most investment books don't discuss how you should specifically go about hiring a real financial pro. Having grown up in the financial world my entire life, there are a couple of things I know for a fact. One, if I did not stay in the investment business, I would not continue to manage my own money. I'd hire someone to help me because within a few years of leaving the business, the laws and financial arena would change, and if I was not managing money full time, I'd lose my edge and ability to really manage my money well. So I would be forced to go out and do what you may need to do right now, which is to start interviewing a financial advisor. Knowing what I know now, having managed money for years, here are the rules I would use if I was going to go out and interview someone to help me manage my money. While these rules may seem basic and even obvious, most people don't use them. If you use these following rules and really apply them, I am confident that you will be able to find a financial professional who can help you and your family (if you have one) make smart decisions with your money. Most important, you'll be able to hire the best advisor possible and get the best attention possible.

Rule No. 1: Go Where The Money Is.
Rich people do not manage their own money. As a rule, they work with top-notch financial professionals. So why reinvent the wheel? Go out and find someone who is wealthy and ask if he or she would be willing to refer you to a financial advisor. I guarantee you will start out an "A" client, even if you don't have a lot of money to invest.

Rule No. 2: Go To Your First Meeting Prepared.
A real professional will insist that you come to your first meeting prepared. That means he or she will ask you to bring copies of your investment statements, net worth, current expense breakdowns, and your most recent tax returns-in short. A professional who doesn't ask you to bring this sort of information is not the kind of professional you want to hire.

Rule No. 3: During Your first Meeting, You Should Do Most Of The Talking
Your first meeting with a financial advisor is like a financial checkup. The goal is for the advisor to determine your financial health and to discover (or help you discover) what your financial goals and values are. A good financial professional will conduct the meeting in such a way that you end up doing most of the talking. If the advisor spends a lot of time telling you how great he is, how much money he makes for his clients, and how powerful his firm is, thank him politely for his time and continue with your search. This is not the type of financial advisor you want.

Rule No. 4: A Good Financial Advisor Should Be Able To Explain His Or Her Investment Philosophy.
Ask the financial advisor about his or her investment philosophy. He or she should be able to explain it quickly and in simple terms. A real professional should have this part of the process down to a science and be able to explain it both easily and comfortably. A financial pro has a set philosophy, a long-term plan or strategy, that shapes all his or her dealings. What you should look for is someone whose philosophy coincides with yours.

Rule No. 5: Find Out What The Financial Advisor Charges.
Some financial advisors are paid by commission (that is, they take a small percentage of every transaction they make on your behalf). Some are paid a flat annual fee on assets managed. Some are paid on an hourly basis. Some are paid a combination of commissions and fees. Don't be reluctant to ask the advisors you are considering to explain how they are compensated and what their services will cost you. Get them to list and explain all the associated fees they charge, including hidden costs such as internal mutual-fund fees. (I call these "hidden" because many financial advisors--and even some no-load mutual-fund companies--often don't explain them in detail. A good advisor will.)

Rule No. 6: Decide How You Want To Pay Your Advisor.
The financial services industry is in the midst of dramatic change. For decades, financial advisors worked on commission. But those days are ending. As a result of technological change and increased competition, commissions on stock and bond trades are getting smaller and smaller, and more and more advisors are moving toward fee-based compensation. Under a fee-based arrangement, you generally pay a financial advisor an annual fee of 1 to 2.5 percent of the value of the assets he or she is managing for you. In other words, to manage a $100,000 portfolio, a fee-based advisor will charge you somewhere between $1,000 and $2,500 a year.

Overall, I believe that the fee-based system makes more sense than paying your advisor a commission per transaction. That's because with a fee-based relationship, there is no conflict of interest. The advisor is not paid to move your money around, as he or she is under a commission system. Rather, the advisor makes more money only if he or she grows your portfolio effectively. If the advisor does not do a good job managing and servicing your account, you'll take your business elsewhere and the fees stop. This puts you totally in the driver seat, which is where you should be.

Many financial advisors, myself included, are in the process of changing over from charging commissions to being fee-based. Those who are doing it now are on the cutting edge. It is only a matter of time before the rest will be forced to follow suit or become like the dinosaurs, extinct.

Rule No. 7: Make Yourself An Important Client … By Saying "Thank You."
It is not enough simply to hire a good financial advisor. You want whoever you hire to pay attention to you-ideally, to consider you one of his or her most important clients. The fact is, it's not just money that determines how much your financial advisor cares about you. It's how you treat your financial advisor that matters. So when your financial advisor makes you money, take a moment to say "thank you." No matter how small your portfolio, a small gesture like a simple thank-you note or a bottle of wine can transform you to an "A" client.

Another great way to say "thank you" to your advisor-and become as a result an "A" client-is to refer the advisor some new business (that is, to recommend that a friend hire your advisor). Not only will this show your advisor how much you appreciate what he or she has done for you, it may turn out to be just what your friend needs to get her financial life together.

Our parents were right: Saying "thank you" goes a long way.

Rule No. 8: Hire A Financial Advisor With A Strong Support Team.
Many financial planners run a one-person shop. They answer their own phone, get your coffee, validate your parking, prospect for new business, service clients, and then-if there's any time left-manage your money.

The fact is, the support staff of a good financial advisor is often as important to you as the advisor him- or herself. In my office, all I do is meet with clients and manage money. Everything else--service, correspondence, statement requests, dividend checks, newsletters, seminars--is handled by my support team. There are nine people on my team, four brokers and five assistants. This depth of trained support staff ensures that our clients receive the attention and service they deserve. Ultimately a good support staff will mean better service for you and, ideally, better investment returns long-term.

Rule No. 9: Check Out A Prospective Advisor’s Background.
There are more than half a million people in this country who call themselves financial advisors. How can you tell if the one you are talking to is someone you can trust? The newspapers always seem to be filled with stories about dishonest financial managers who swindle their clients out of their life savings.

What you want to do before you hire a financial advisor is check out his or her U4 with the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). To do this, telephone the NASD at (800) 289-9999, or visit their Web site at www.nasdr.com, and ask them if the advisor is clean or not. Also take a look at the firm where the advisor works. If you hire someone from a large firm, you are buying built-in safety. Large firms have what are known as compliance departments, which see to it that all employees of the firm observe the highest ethical and legal standards when it comes to investing and money management.

FIVE-STAR TIP: If you use the Internet to do this search, when you get to the advisor's page that shows his or her information, there will be a section that reads disclosure events. If this term is highlighted it may mean your advisor has had past legal problems. You will be able to request additional information on this, and the NASD will mail it to you within ten days. This is extremely important. One advisor I know of who was hired by a major investment firm had a police record for assault and battery on his mother. He is not required to advise prospective clients of this, but it is listed on his U4 and available to those who do their homework.

Rule No. 10: Never, Ever Hire An Investment Advisor Who Brags About Performance.
In recent years, with the stock market's unprecedented run-up, many investment portfolios and mutual funds have had little trouble producing double-digit returns. As a result, currently it is quite easy for a financial advisor or mutual-fund company to come up with a recommended portfolio that's generated earnings of better than 20 percent a year over the last 5 years.

Looking back at the last 5 years means very little going forward. I call it "rearview mirror" investing, and it does not make for good solid financial forecasts. A good financial advisor will talk to you about historical returns going back not 5 years but at least 20 to 30 years. That’s important because looking at the returns generated by different investments and asset classes since the 1960s and 1970s, you will see that over the long term, investing in the stock market is more likely to produce annual returns of about 11 percent, not 20 percent.

What we know is what history has shown us. The more history we use-that is, the farther back we go-the safer our projections are bound to be. Once your potential advisor gives you a proposal on how to invest your money, ask the advisor what the breakdown in his proposal is between stocks, bonds, and cash.

Rule No. 11: A Good Financial Advisor Explains The Risks Associated With Investing.
A good advisor will spend time explaining and educating you about the risks associated with investing. At The Bach Group, before we implement an investment plan, we show our clients exactly how often in the past the market has dropped, how long it has stayed down, and, based on the history of the last 45 years, what we believe the risks associated with our proposal to be.

Rule No. 12: Look For An Advisor Who Has Many Satisfied Clients.
A first-rate financial advisor is like a good doctor or a great restaurant--hard to get in to. The fact is, a good advisor is bound to be busy--so busy, in fact, that he or she may not be able to see you for at least a few weeks.

A financial advisor who is available to come to your home on a moment's notice is not a professional. (When was the last time a doctor came to your house?) You should expect to have to take time out of your workday and go meet with a financial advisor at his or her office. Someone who will meet with you either at night or on a weekend either does not have enough clients or has no personal life. Both are bad signs.

Rule No. 13: Go With Your Gut Instinct.
When you interview a financial advisor, ask yourself if you feel comfortable with this person. Is this the kind of person you want to open up to and work with for years to come? Do you feel deep down inside that this is someone you can trust? The answer should be a ''gut level'' yes. If it is not, continue your search. You have not yet found your trusted advisor.

Rule No. 14: Keep In Regular Contact With Your Financial Advisor
If you haven't heard from your financial advisor by phone or by letter in the last 12 months (statements don't count), then you may have fallen into what we call the client abyss. Either go in immediately and reacquaint yourself with the professional with whom you are working, or start interviewing for a new advisor. As a rule, your advisor should contact you at least twice a year, and you should sit down together to review your financial situation at least once every 12 months.

In Conclusion
These 14 rules are meant to make your search for a lifelong financial guide easier. Don't let anything I have said scare you off from searching for one. There are many, many good and ethical professionals out there who can help you with your financial decisions.

Remember, it's now time for you to move on your decision. If you have decided that you do want professional help, make hiring an advisor a priority. Your ultimate goal should be to hire an individual or a team that you could see yourself working with for a long time-perhaps even the rest of your life. Therefore, the hiring process is something you should take very seriously. Ask around your community, talk to friends and wealthy people you know and respect, and ask who they are working with. Spend time, interview more than one professional, ask for references, and then follow up and call those references.

I promise you-it will be worth the effort.

©1999 David Bach, Orinda, CA. All Rights Reserved.