What should I ask when shopping for a good financial advisor? Also, is this a good time to buy stocks?

How long has the financial advisor been in business? What training did he have when he got into that field? Credentials? Does he simply sell what his head office is pushing? What are his rates? Does he charge commission on each buy and each sell or does he charge an annual consulting fee? (Important if you do a lot of trades) Does he convince you to buy and sell (so that he earns more commission) Does he look at your entire portfolio and keep you diversified in bonds, gics, stocks, mutual funds, etc?

Is your risk level at your comfort level?

Word-of-mouth is still good, but you can interview them to see that they'd be a good fit. If they're doing well in this market, that's encouraging. Also go for fees not commissions so they hopefully won't sell you junk.

This market is a good time to buy stocks IF you buy the RIGHT ones because there has been an overall dampening of stocks because too many clueless folks are in the market and too many computers are triggered to sell when certain things happen in the market.

I don't know what an "expensive" stock is--Berkshire Hathaway is expensive in a way, but then again, Buffett's got a track record and if you can hold it for a couple of years, during that time you should be able to sell for a profit. A $5 stock could be expensive if the company is junk.

I'm not sure what you know about the market, but I wouldn't be in the market unless I understood enough that I was comfortable, especially when most about you are losing their heads--and that's a worldwide situation now. I think you should increase your education to the point where you don't much need an advisor (you could have tax issues or such for all I know) and then largely do it yourself.

Whatever you do, do not put money in you can't afford to lose at this time. Because I hate to say it, but you ain't seen nothing yet--this is going to be a rollercoaster unlike that which most people have ever seen before for the better part of a year at least.

Buying opportunities WILL continue to present themselves. If YOU don't really understand what's up, it's not worth the GI doc visits to hand over your affairs to someone else now.

Good luck.

A good financial advisor should not only be skilled at his own business, but you should also have similar beliefs, attitudes, and personality. If you communicate to each other well enough it can only help toward reaching your goals.

even the best Financial Advisors can not help you with your goals if they are not asking the right questions of you and vice versa.

with that being said- you should call all your friends to get names of potential Financial Advisors. Start your own interviewing process to see which one you like. COme up with a list of qualities which you need to be successful with this person.

part 2- it is no doubt a great time to buy stocks, but it all goes back to the plan with your FA. Make sure you are doing it in the realm of what works for your short and long term plans.

Make sure you choose a fee only adviser. Most financial advisers make money by selling you crappy investments. The crappier the investment, the higher the commission they get.

For your second question, it is a good time to buy SAFE stocks. Many good stocks have come down, however we do not know where the bottom is. A conservative strategy is best. Your question was about "expensive" stocks. "Expensive" stocks to any experienced investor is any stock that who's price is high RELATIVE TO EARNINGS. (P/E). I high stock price alone does not constitue an expensive stock. This keeps a lot of newbies from investing in the best companies. Its better to have 10 shares of a good company at $300 each, than to have 100 shares of a $30 stock of a not so good company.

To find financial planner is to help you with your investments. Just try to listen and learn from others, and don't be afraid to ask questions about investing. Try also to get a background check on the advisor or independent advisor and see if they has been sued or has any client complaints against them. Find out their key information including how long they've been in the business and how long have they've been an advisor specializing in their area of expertise and lastly ask what they can do for you.

I regret that I can not answer your 1st question. I am sure there must be some good ones out there somewhere. Only problem is the good ones gravitate towards the clients with multi-million dollar accounts.

As for the 2nd question. It is a better time than it was. It might be even better 6 months from now and better still 2 years from now.

My preferred strategy is to use the nibble approach. Take off a little bite every month or so. Watch out you don't get indigestion.

A good reputation is the best thing to look for in a CFA. I might recommend someone who works with a larger company because they have more heat on them to do a good job.

As for the second question, anytime is a good time to buy stocks. In fact, when the market is down, that is the best time. "Buy low, sell high; not buy high, sell low."

No one needs a financial adviser. I heard the average person who invest by themselves make more % return than the average fnancial advisor will get you.

(especially with how much they take).

I would advise learning to trade stock yourself. This is a good website that will give you some good tips. It will help get you started.

The stock market is down right now. World markets are down in general. I suggest that you follow the market and the sectors more closely, day by day. One good resource is http://www.federalreserve.ws/ which contains a lot of information about markets, economics, and finance.

http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/invadvisers.htm