After making the decision to consult a professional, the next step is to determine your investment style so you can determine the type of professional that best suits your needs. There are three basic investment styles:

* Independent or Self-directed: This person is comfortable making their own investment decisions; they can look at stocks,real estate or bonds and other investment opportunities and are confident making decisions.

* Validate: A person with this investment style wants ongoing guidance from a financial professional but also wants to remain in control of their investment choices, as well as the implementation and execution of the advice.

* Delegate: This style prefers to entrust the decision-making process to an adviser and be kept current on the status of the account

There are several different types of financial advisors including financial planners, stockbrokers and Registered Investment Advisors (RIA).

A RIA works well with a “Delegator" style of investor. Typically, “Delegates" have reached a point in their life where they want an advisor to manage their assets based on their lifestyle and financial goals. People who have left a job to become an entrepreneur frequently fall into this category, as they want assistance determining how to manage their company 401Ks, for example.

Sometimes, “Self-Directed" and “Validates" investors might change their investment style after a change in market conditions,change in financial position or for a host of other reasons and require assistance.

RIAs are professional financial advisers who specialize in managing financial securities portfolios. Typically, RIAs require a minimum account size of $250,000 to $1,000,000 of instable assets to create an effective portfolio. Some AIRs have a primary focus on mutual funds, pension plans and institutional clients. Others are in private practice and provide personalized investment services to individuals, trusts, and small business clients.

An AIR offers an investor the following benefits:

* Full time asset management including the selection, purchase, sale monitoring, review, and performance tracking of securities.

* Experienced and objective financial advice.

* Focus on high quality securities

* Design, construction and implementation of a strategy to meet your goals

* Coordination of managed assets in taxable, retirement,trust and business accounts for diversification without redundancy.

* Frequent communication regarding account and market information

* Regular performance reports that measure asset progress against market indices.

Advisers work on either commission only, fee only or a combination of fee and commission. Fee only investment advisors do not accept commissions and are not associated with products or investment banking relationships. The firm’s compensation is based solely on fair market value of the portfolio they are managing and not on the number of transactions or type of investments. This type of compensation system ensures that the adviser’s interests align with its clients.

AIR firms are highly regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission [“SEC"]. Advisers who “continuously" and regularly manage assets of $25 million or more are mandated by the “SEC".

Regardless of whether you choose to manage your own investments or entrust management to a financial company, it’s imperative that you have a consistent method for building your nest egg. You also should do your own due diligence and research on all financial institutions, products and professionals that you are considering for your team.