There’s nothing like trusting someone with your money – and one such person that you should be able to trust more than any other should be your financial advisor, right?

Right.

But then you have a little bit of money disappear here, and then a little bit more there, and you eventually realise something is going wrong.

But whose fault is it?

According to HighTower’s CEO, Elliot Weissbluth, there’s a simple way to find out – just ask. Speaking for Business Insider, here’s what the one question you need to be asking your financial advisor is:

(Just note by way of translation, you’d substitute the U.S. usage of the term “Fiduciary” for “Independent Financial Advisor” here in SA.)

We asked our own independent financial advisors, Consequence, what they thought on the matter:

Weissbluth absolutely hits the nail on the head in terms of understanding the crucial difference between those giving properly independent and objective advice and those selling products.

Founded in 2010, Consequence Private Wealth is a fully independent and authorised Financial Services Provider based in Cape Town.

Tried, tested and trusted by those in the know,  they are at their core an estate planning practice, ensuring that your will, trust, marriage and business contracts are part of a coherent overall estate strategy.

After that, financial items such as investments and insurance are then appropriately structured within that strategy.

And that’s you sorted.

[source:businessinsider]