What to Bring to Your First Financial Advisor Meeting

Calling ahead to learn what kind of information a financial advisor would like you to supply before meeting for the first time is always a good idea. It will save you a lot of scrambling to collect the necessary paperwork at the last minute. An understanding of what to expect at the meeting can guide you as well.

What to Expect

Your first in-person meeting may be little more than a meet-and-greet unless you’ve already had an introductory phone or Zoom conversation. It’s an opportunity for the two of you to decide whether you’re a good match.

“I usually tell potential clients they don’t need to bring anything. The point of the meeting is to get to know each other,” says Michael J. Garry, a certified financial planner (CFP) with Yardley Wealth Management in Yardley, Pennsylvania. “I start the meeting by asking what made them reach out to a financial advisor and what they’re hoping to get from the relationship. One exception to that is if in the initial call they express some need to make a financial decision that is pressing.”

Don’t be bashful about asking how much the advisor charges someone in your situation if you haven’t already worked it out beforehand. Some advisors charge by the hour. Others have flat fees for preparing a financial plan.

What Do You Need Help With?

The advisor you choose to work with may eventually want information regarding your income, investments, other assets, your current debts, insurance, and your tax situation. Your goals and expectations can be more important than any documents, however.

Why are you seeing the advisor? What do you hope to accomplish? Are you looking ahead to retirement and want to make sure you’ll have an adequate income to support you when the time comes? Are you thinking about how you might be able to provide for your heirs someday? Maybe you’re going through a major life change such as getting married or divorced, launching a new business, or facing the prospect of big college tuition bills.  

What to Take to Your First Meeting

You might want to have a few items handy for your first or perhaps second meeting.

• Most recent federal tax return
• Pay stubs
• Information on expected income such as a year-end bonus
• Latest Social Security statement
• A list of your investments and cash accounts
• Retirement plan statements
• Documentation of mortgage and property tax payments
• Documentation of outstanding debts
• Documentation of insurance policies

Many financial planners provide online portals where you can upload your documents in advance.

Your Income 

Your most recent federal tax return or the last several years’ returns will tell the advisor a lot about your financial situation, particularly your income, investments, and deductions. Elizabeth Cox, a CFP with Merit Financial Partners in Westport, Connecticut, frequently works with divorced clients. Cox says that tax returns “often contain information that even the client isn’t aware of.” This can include investment accounts opened by their spouse.

You might want to collect some pay stubs if you work for an employer who provides you with them, especially if your income is higher or lower now than when you filed your taxes. Your pay stubs will also show how much you’re contributing to any at-work retirement plans.

Tell the advisor if your income is irregular. Make sure they know about if you usually get a big year-end bonus. Discuss how and why your income may wax and wane if you’re a self-employed freelancer.

A copy of your most recent Social Security statement will give the advisor an idea of how large a monthly benefit you can eventually expect even if retirement isn’t in your foreseeable future. Workers under aged 60 can get these on the Social Security website. Those age 60 and older also have the option of receiving paper statements annually.

Your Investments and Other Assets

Make a list of any bank accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), or other investments you own. The monthly or quarterly statements you receive from the financial institutions that hold them should show their current value.  

Gather the latest statements you’ve received from the plan administrator if you have a retirement plan at work whether it’s a traditional defined-benefit plan, a 401(k) or similar defined-contribution plan, or both. You should receive a statement at least once every three years in the case of defined-benefit plans and annually for defined-contribution plans.

Documentation of your mortgage payments if any and property taxes could be helpful if you own a home or other real estate. The lender should have provided you with a year-end statement if you have a mortgage, also known as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1098.  

Your Debts

Make sure the advisor knows how much you owe to credit card issuers, auto lenders or leasing companies, and other creditors as well as the amounts of your monthly payments. The same goes for any student loans for which you’re personally on the hook, either yours or your child’s. The advisor can help you with budgeting if you’re having trouble keeping up with your bills.

Your Insurance 

Your advisor will probably want to know how much insurance you have. They can tell you whether you have an adequate amount of life insurance depending on your stage of life. People with young children or other dependents may need a lot but those with no dependents may need little or none. Make sure the advisor knows how much insurance your employer provides, if any, in addition to any policies you’ve bought on your own.

The advisor might want to make sure you have sufficient liability coverage on your auto, homeowners, and optional umbrella policies as well in case you’re ever sued.

What If You Don’t Have These Documents?

You can usually retrieve these documents fairly quickly if you haven’t saved them or can’t easily locate them.

Your Income

You should ideally hang on to your tax returns for at least three years but you can get copies from your tax preparer if you don’t have your most recent ones or from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Cox notes that you can also request tax transcripts from the IRS. They contain much the same information as your tax returns and they’re free. Copies of tax returns were $43 each as of October 2024.

Your employer’s human resources department should be able to provide you with all the information on your pay stubs. 

Investments and Other Assets

The details regarding all your financial accounts should be readily available online. Your employer or plan administrator can provide information on your retirement accounts. Information on your mortgage and property taxes should also be available online, especially if you pay your taxes through an escrow account maintained by the lender.

You may otherwise have to consult your local tax authority or check your payment records such as canceled checks. 

Your Debts

Information on your debts should be available online at your various creditors’ websites. You can also find your monthly payment amounts there or on your bank statements if you pay these bills through a bank account.

Your Insurance

This information is often available online as well. Your agent should be able to help, too, if you purchased your policy through one.

Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor

You shouldn’t hesitate to ask some questions either at your first meeting or even before then.

How Are You Paid?

Some financial advisors receive commissions on the products they recommend in addition to whatever they charge you. You might choose to go with a fee-only financial advisor to avoid this potential conflict of interest. They’ll be working only for you, at least theoretically.

What Are Your Qualifications?

You can usually get this information from the advisor’s website but they shouldn’t be insulted if you ask them directly. Anyone can call themselves a financial advisor or financial planner but individuals who have gone through rigorous training and testing and have the credentials to prove it are usually proud of the fact.

Don’t be unduly impressed by a long string of letters after the advisor’s name. Some of those credentials are meaningful but others are of dubious value. Among the more highly regarded ones are the CFP held by both Cox and Garry and chartered financial consultant (ChFC). Fee-only financial planners will often indicate that they’re members of The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). Some advisors also have credentials as certified public accountants (CPAs).

Will I Be Working Directly With You?

Some financial advisors are one-person shops. Others have teams of associates. A junior person at the firm may be just fine for your needs but you’ll want to make sure you aren’t shuffled off to someone who isn’t right for you.

The Bottom Line

A financial advisor can help you with a lot of things but you’ll have to do some of the work yourself. Be prepared to clearly articulate the kind of help you need and round up whatever information the advisor requires to help them understand your situation and make useful recommendations.