As a healthcare professional, you have a unique set of circumstances. 

You may work long, irregular hours, and feel the weight of balancing your work and family life. You might have student loans to pay back, or even be currently enrolled in classes to further your education and receive additional licenses. 

Whatever the scenario, you have a lot going on, and it can be difficult to find time for things you know you “should” do, like think about your financial future.

Fortunately, finding the right financial advisor can take some of the weight off of your shoulders, and give you peace of mind knowing you have one less thing to worry about. 

Right now you may be saying “Well that sounds great, but there are a lot of financial advisors out there… How do I find one that’s right for me?”

That’s why we put together this guide of 6 traits you should look for in a nurse-friendly financial advisor. 

1| Focused on planning, not product sales

If you’ve been in your position for long, odds are, you’ve had a friend or family member who works at a big insurance company reach out and set up a meeting with you. They go by the title of Financial Advisor, but when you sit down to talk, they seem to only want to talk about one product and how amazing it is for everyone. 

Maybe this hasn’t happened to you, but it is all too common in the finance field. The truth is, no single product is a one-size-fits-all plan for financial freedom. 

A good financial advisor will sit down with you, figure out your goals, timeline, and attitude toward risk, and build a portfolio designed just for you.

The focus should be on what you want to accomplish and how you plan to get there, rather than on what product is best for you. 

2| Has a transparent fee structure

Financial Advisors typically make money in one of three ways:

1. They charge a fee based on the amount of money that they manage for you – so if your advisor manages $100,000 and has a fee of 1%; they will receive $1,000.
2. They charge a monthly or quarterly rate, like $100/month
3. They receive commissions from the products they sell or the funds they buy for you

In the first fee structure, the potential for a conflict of interest is greatly reduced.  As your assets under management potentially grow, the advisor’s fee will grow as well. If your assets potentially decline in value, then the advisor’s fee will decline.  The focus here is on the overall investment objective and goals of your assets , not on individual transactions.

Now, it’s important to understand that while the first two fee structures minimize conflicts of interest, they are never eliminated. It’s also difficult to avoid all commissioned products. 

For example, nearly every insurance policy you buy will pay a commission to the person who sold it to you. This is also true for life insurance policies bought from financial advisors. 

However, we believe that many young healthcare professionals are best suited for low-cost term life insurance as opposed to the much more expensive whole life policies. These policies are cheaper and have lower commissions than their whole-life counterparts. 

That’s not to say that there isn’t a situation where a whole life policy may make sense. But if someone is pitching that as the only option, it may be worth a deeper look. 

3| Relationship-oriented

If a stranger walked up to you on the street and said “Hey, I need to go buy a car right now. What should I get?” how would you answer that question? 

Probably with a bunch of follow-up questions.. What do you use your car for? Do you have kids? Do you need to tow a boat? Is gas mileage important to you? What’s your budget?

Now think about doing that with something as important as your financial future. There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all financial plan. 

It’s important to find a company or advisor who will take time to talk with you and learn about your unique situation before making any financial recommendations. 

4| Expertise in your career field and life stage

It may not seem like a big deal to have an advisor that’s familiar with your particular career field, but that bit of familiarity can make a big difference.

Just like there are specialties within the healthcare field, advisors specialize in serving certain groups of clients so that they’re able to understand their client’s lives on a deeper level and offer proactive recommendations based on real-life scenarios from their other clients. 

Having an advisor that understands the intricacies of the healthcare field, and the financial aspects of your career can make the relationship-building process much easier and lead to a deeper understanding of what you really need. 

5| Technologically Savvy

The days of needing to meet with an advisor in person are over. With the advent of video conferencing and secure file transfer, you should be able to meet with your advisor on your own schedule, from home, the beach, or anywhere in between. 

With the busy schedules and irregular hours that healthcare professionals typically have, it’s important to find an advisor that’s flexible and willing to meet virtually. 

There’s also been a boom in financial technology that allows you to view your investments, aggregate your accounts, and set financial goals all from convenient online dashboards. Advisors are beginning to share these tools with their clients, which can be really helpful in gaining a full understanding of your financial picture. 

6| Puts an emphasis on education

Nobody likes feeling stupid. But unfortunately, one of the biggest complaints about financial advisors is that they talk down to their clients, or use financial jargon to make themselves seem more knowledgeable. 

Education is empowering and finding an advisor that will explain things in a way you can understand can change the way you think about money all-together. 

A solution built just for you

InvestRx® is a hybrid financial planning company built to accomplish everything listed above. We provide an online investment platform coupled with virtual financial advice from real professionals who are familiar with the healthcare field. 

Unlike other online investment platforms, InvestRx® doesn’t leave you on your own when it comes to your investments. Everyone who opens an investment account gets a complimentary call with an InvestRx® advisor, to make sure their investment choices align with their stated goals and risk tolerance. 

If you need more in-depth financial planning help, InvestRx® offers a Financial Roadmap service. With this service, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss your top three financial goals or roadblocks with an InvestRx® advisor. Then your advisor will put together a custom report with their recommendations to help you achieve those goals. 

InvestRx® was built to serve the Healthcare community and we’re dedicated to providing the best ways for you to plan, save, invest, and protect your money. 

Learn more about the services InvestRx® has to offer