Can Financial Planners sell me a financial product, like life insurance or mutual funds, and do they offer other related services?
Services offered by financial planners vary. Their approach and the types of services they offer should be discussed at the beginning of the engagement. (See Ten Questions to Ask Your Planner). Most financial planners are licensed by provincial authorities to sell one or many types of financial products and, depending on their credentials and the organization for which they work, they may offer advice on a range of topics. Others may provide financial planning advice only or specialize in offering advice in specific areas such as estate planning or taxation. Those who offer investment advice must be registered with provincial regulatory authorities and may have other designations (see Acronyms and Designations) that denote specialized areas of expertise.
