What information should I give to a financial planner?
In this day and age, there are many reasons to be concerned about your personal information. Who you give your information to and what kind of information you give are important factors to consider. Identity theft is rampant, and therefore, your personal information needs to be constantly protected. However, if you want to accomplish certain things or obtain the services of certain organizations, you have to divulge certain amounts of particular information.
The amount and type of financial and personal information that you have to give a financial planner depends on the services and advice that you want to receive from your financial planner. Your social security number is probably one of the most important pieces of personal information that you possess. As such, you should not willingly hand it over unless the need for such is mandatory given the current situation. Sometimes, for tax reasons or for other reasons (such as obtaining a copy of your credit report and your credit scores) your social security number is required. Of course, you do not have to hand over this information. Just know that if you refuse to hand over this information, the services that a financial planner can provide to you may be severely limited.
As I stated, depending on the services that you want a financial planner to perform, you may not have to divulge any personal information. If, for example, you want a financial planner to review your assets and expenses situation, you probably do not have to hand over much personal information (with the exception of your monthly bill amounts and your monthly revenue).
The truth is, regardless of the amount of services that you ask of a financial planner, you are going to have to divulge some amount of personal information. The financial planner has to know what he/she is working with before he/she can help your situation. As such, personal information is required.
The good news is, you should not be too worried about handing over this information to a financial planner. If the financial planner with which you do business works for a reputable firm, you can rest assured that your personal information will be kept in the utmost confidence. This should give you some relief over the fear of identity theft.
No matter what, some information needs to be divulged. Do not worry about handing over public information, such as your name, address, and phone number. However, information of a more personal nature (such as your social security number and financial condition) will be held in confidence. Therefore, do not worry about your information when it is in the hand of a reputable financial planner.