Yesterday, I wrote on tips on finding a good accountant/lawyer or investment advisor. Today, I wanted to discuss 3 tips on the best way to work with your advisors. Not only will you be able to save money but you may get some great practical advice.

1. Build a relationship. The best way to get poor quality service from a professional advisor is to view them purely as a commodity. See them once a year to file your taxes or review your RSP contribution and never think of them for the rest of the year. If you treat your advisor like a commodity, how good of service do you think you would get? Think of your co-workers who only think of you in terms of what you can do for them and think of how you treat any request they make. Same thing with an advisor if you view them as “just another accountant.” Contrary to popular belief, accountants and lawyers are people too. They desire human inter-action and don’t want to feel that every interaction begins with “can I ask you a question…” and you pump advice out of them and leave as soon as they have answered your question. I have lunch with my accountant every quarter, drinks with my investment advisor every so often and dinner with my lawyer. We talk business but we talk about other things too (if you really want to know how the financial industry works, sit down with your advisor and ask). You’ll be surprised how many professional favors they will do for you if you respect them as people and not a human advice dispensing machine.
2. Delegate and don’t abdicate. This may be the biggest mistake most people make with their professional advisors. Just because you hire an advisor does not mean you hand your whole life to them. If you completely abdicate your decision making to your advisors, who’s interest do you think they will work for? It is only human nature an advisor would work in their own favor. Advisors definitely have specialized knowledge but you still control what you want them to do. Do you want aggressive growth in your portfolio? Do you want to aggressively tax plan? Do you want to credit proof your affairs? Once your advisors know what you want, they can work on how you get there. If you leave the goal to the advisor, they may pick a goal which works for them but not for you.
3. Be clear on your parameters. I give my investment an annual goal every year. It is basically the same thing every single year: 7-9% growth through blue-chip, dividend yield equities, an annual goal of how much dividend income I want, and an asset allocation to bonds and cash. No mutual funds, no principal protected notes, no segregated funds. This annual goal does a couple of different things-my advisor knows what I want, acts as my brake if I get off my goal and serves as a reference point every time we talk. Advisors are also very litigation conscious- if you put something in writing, all advisors tend to take it more seriously than if you say something in passing (and memory does strange things when if comes to verbal instructions). The point is be clear on your parameters with your advisor which not only helps them help you get to your goal but makes your advisor become your sober second thought before you do something crazy.

I hope this list helps you with your advisors. I wanted to finish with one last point; if you are not happy with your advisor, have a conversation with them on how you think the both of you can work together better. Your unhappiness may be due to some miscommunication between the parties rather than any inherent deficiency in your advisor. Good luck.