How to choose a financial planner: Reaching your financial goals

It's not just about fees -- carefully consider who is qualified to advise you, and who you feel confident can handle your money.

By Larry Stevens, AMNews correspondent. Jan. 20, 2003.

During the heady days of the dot-com bubble, Edward Pillar, DO, an emergency physician at Inland Valley Regional Medical Center in Wildomar, Calif., thought he could handle his own finances. But after losing some money when the bubble burst, Dr. Pillar figured it was time to stop going it alone. "I needed some help getting my finances in order," he said.

So Dr. Pillar went searching for a financial adviser. He wanted "someone who could understand the needs of a doctor." Who he found was Erik W. Thurnher, MD, a certified financial planner and emergency physician for Kaiser Permanente in Anaheim, Calif.

Dr. Thurnher helped Dr. Pillar develop a budget, create a will and an estate plan, decide on the required amount of life and disability insurance, and map out a retirement plan. He even discovered through a call to Dr. Pillar's insurance agent that his disability package had expired the previous year because of a mix-up when the insurance company was bought out.

While not every physician will be able to find a financial planner who is also a doctor, it's possible to find a planner who meets your needs, so long as you put a little effort into checking the background and personality of anyone you consider selecting to handle your money.

In general, financial planners or advisers (the terms are used interchangeably) help clients achieve their financial goals. They may help young physicians plan how to pay off student loans and save for children's college expenses while at the same time protecting the doctors and their families against unforeseen catastrophes such as death or disability. They may assist a midcareer doctor in determining how much he or she will require for retirement and what should be set aside to meet that goal. Or they may help a late-career physician determine the optimal retirement time and how to dispose of his or her practice.