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What are investment advisers?

(Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)  

What is an investment adviser?
What is the difference between an investment adviser and a financial planner?
What questions should I ask when choosing an investment adviser or financial planner?
How do investment advisers get paid? (Member section)
Do investment advisers have to register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission? (Member section)
How do I find out whether an investment adviser ever had problems with a government regulator or has a disciplinary history? (Member section)
Are investment advisers required to have credentials? (Member section)

What is an investment adviser?
Investment advisers are in the business of giving advice about securities to clients. For instance, if they receive compensation for giving advice to a specific person on investing in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, they are investment advisers. Some investment advisers manage portfolios of securities.

What is the difference between an investment adviser and a financial planner?
 Most financial planners are investment advisers, but not all investment advisers are financial planners. Some financial planners assess every aspect of your financial life-including saving, investments, insurance, taxes, retirement, and estate planning-and help you develop a detailed strategy or financial plan for meeting all your financial goals.

Others call themselves financial planners, but they may only be able to recommend that you invest in a narrow range of products, and sometimes products that aren't securities.

Before you hire any financial professional, you should know exactly what services you need, what services the professional can deliver, any limitations on what they can recommend, what services you're paying for, how much those services cost, and how the adviser or planner gets paid.

What questions should I ask when choosing an investment adviser or financial planner?
Here are some of the questions you should always ask when hiring any financial professional:

• What experience do you have, especially with people in my circumstances?
• Where did you go to school? What is your recent employment .............

More information is provided in the Member Area

Recommended further reading:
Trade Execution: What every investor should know 
Historical Bonds: Names you should know