Jacqueline Oprean With Edward Jones

1) Informal meeting or meetings for us to get to know each other on a personal level in order to establish needs and goals.

2) Set another, more formal meeting, where I begin working through my established process of planning and strategiezing for the most effective and efficient model of working together.

3) Open accounts and find investment vehicles that are most appropriate for your individual situation.

4) After a couple of months, review the strategy that has been executed to be sure there is a comfort level with what has been put into place.

5) Establish next meeting for another check-in

6) Establish timeline for ongoing meetings (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually)

I have been working as a Financial Advisor for eight years while also serving in a management role with my prior firm. With that management role, a large part of my responsibilities included aiding the Advisors at all levels in my territory with improving their own practices and aiding them with keeping up with the multitude of changes that are taking place in the industry.

However, what I enjoy most is working as an Advisor with my own clients so I pulled back to work solely as an Advisor once again. Since that time I have been able to build my practice once again and seek to work with individuals and business decision makers who are in need of a partner who will work strategically and efficiently.  

I seek to keep all clients at approximately 1% regardless of the way in which we decide to work together.

I began working at Morgan Stanley in 2012 based on a recommendation from a friend who was retired from the financial services industry. Not long after beginning with Morgan Stanley I develped a partnership with two other senior advisors who mentored me and helped me learn the business and how to most effectively service clients.

I have worked with clients who are both individual investors as well as businesses who need guidance in terms of cash flow, retirement plan offerings for their employees, as well as Trust & Estate planning.

I have recently been very humbled to be working with new clients through the quarantine situation -- even during the strictest lockdown period. I have had a few very dedicated clients who wanted to work with me so much that they were willing to go through the added challenges of getting established with me in spite of the inability to meet face to face. 

Be sure to look for someone who is more concerned with doing the right thing for you, with cost and fees and sales being the last piece for them. You should have the opportunity to have options and the ability to make choices of your own with the guidance of the professional you are working with. A fiduciary will make the vast world of investments work for their clients in the most efficient and cost effective way possible.

Ask about the Advisor's process, first and foremost. Also, make sure you have some clarity on the professional's approach to investing. You do not need to know everything immediately, but the Advisor should be willing to educate you along the way based on your personal level of knowledge.