Finding a good Financial Adviser can be hard, mainly because entering the field is easy. If you complete a few regulatory exams you can become a registered or licensed Financial Adviser and no specific skills or experience is required to become a registered or licensed Financial Adviser.

Custodian Life carefully select the Financial Advisers we are contracting with. All Financial Advisers undergo careful scrutiny before they are granted Terms of Business with Custodian Life. It is a requirement from our side to only work with licensed Financial Advisers, subject to the law on the relevant market requires.

Even though all Financial Advisers have been reviewed by us we think it is of importance that you take your time and interview the Financial Adviser before you settle with the one.

We have listed some questions we think you should ask the Financial Adviser before settlement:

1. How are you different than any other Financial Adviser?
Look for something that makes the Adviser unique, maybe they are located in your neighborhood or perhaps the Adviser meets Clients on evenings and weekends making them more accessible.

2. How many times have you changed firms and why?
Since most Advisers are commission based they often switch firms for better payout, so find out how many times they have changed firms and what the reason was. If you notice they switch often we suggest you look for another Adviser because they put their interest before client’s and chances are they will walk out on you as well.

3. Does your firm provide services other than investing such as estate planning and insurance?
Most Advisers are licensed for investments and insurance, they are not tax or estate experts. However, most firms will have an estate or tax expert available for Clients if needed. This will indicate if the firm is willing to go the extra mile for Clients, which can be a good indication of the firm’s customer satisfaction.

4. What types of services do YOU provide?
This is somewhat of a broad questions and it’s main purpose is to let the Adviser show what they are capable of doing for their Clients. Do they provide educational seminars? Are analyst reports available?

5. Can you give me some references?
Checking references is probably the best way to learn more about an Adviser and the firm. Ask if the Adviser can provide you with references. The good ones will do so gladly, just make sure they are not friends or family.

6. Ask to provide for sample portfolio
A sample portfolio of a Client can show you how much stocks, bonds and mutual funds the Advisers use as well as turnover ratio. Watch out for high mutual fund proportions and high turnovers (buy and sell of stocks), since this could indicate some conflict of interest.

7. Check background and credibility
Last but not least is to check the adviser’s and firms registration with the regulatory bodies.

• Your Financial Adviser is committed to understanding you, your financial needs, your investment objectives, your tolerance for risk, your time horizon and any other factors that may affect his or her recommendations.
• Your Financial Adviser will help you set realistic expectations about the long-term performance and associated risks of those choices.
• Your Financial Adviser will be available for regular conversations with you about the status of your investments with us and changes in your personal profile.

A strong foundation to reach your goals and help you build your success

Custodian Life works together with a numerous number of Independent Financial Advisers around the world, all with their own way of approaching and satisfying your needs.

Choose an Adviser carefully. Most financial professionals are honest and ethical, but some are not. Do not be afraid to ask questions or ask for references before hiring someone. If available, check with the relevant professional organization to see if the person has a history of complaints.

Your first step toward successful investing is building a relationship with your Financial Adviser, who is well-trained to help you succeed.

The Financial Adviser recognizes every Client is unique and he or she approaches each relationship similar to these five steps:

1. Understanding you. Your relationship starts with a frank conversation to help your Financial Adviser thoroughly understand your goals, your tolerance for risk and your particular needs.
2. Analyzing your needs. You and your Financial Adviser review and analyze your current financial situation and evaluate various strategies that could be employed to help you reach your goals.
3. Tailoring your solution. Your Financial Adviser evaluates and recommends the appropriate combination of investments for your strategy, and makes sure you understand them.
4. Carrying out your choices. Your Financial Adviser helps you implement the investment strategy that you have chosen.
5. Staying committed to you. Your Financial Adviser maintains an ongoing commitment to the relationship through regular contact, timely account information, and seeing that your questions or concerns are resolved.

• Provide your Financial Adviser with all relevant information about your financial condition, goals, risk tolerances and time horizon as well as changes to this information.
• Meet with your Financial Adviser regularly to review your financial situation and investment positions.
• Approve or decline your Financial Adviser’s recommendations on a timely basis.
• Personally review and understand your investments, investment strategy and materials provided to you.
• Understand that all investments have some degree of risk and that you may lose money on any investment.
• Ask questions if you are uncertain about any aspect of your investments with Custodian Life.
• Provide us with frank, timely feedback on how we are doing and how we can improve our service to you.

Custodian Life is your insurance provider. The Company is registered under the Insurance Act 1978 and the Segregated Account Companies Act 2000 in Bermuda as a long-term life insurance company, offering whole of life insurance policies with unit-linked characteristics.

Custodian Life does not have any employed Financial Advisers and do not give any recommendations regarding investment choices or choice of Adviser. We work together with a numerous number of Financial Advisers around the world. Your primary contact with us is through your Financial Adviser and we will put the resources of our Company behind your Financial Adviser to help you pursue your goals.

• Your primary contact with us is through your Financial Adviser. We will put the resources of our Company behind your Financial Adviser to help you pursue your goals.
• We only work with Financial Advisers who adopt our transparent view of doing business.
• We only work with licensed Financial Advisers in markets where it is compulsory to have a license according to applicable legislation.
• Where it is not compulsory for the Financial Adviser to be licensed, we will demand verification from a lawyer or equivalent that a license is not needed in the region in which the Financial Adviser works from. We will also perform an enhanced due diligence of such a Financial Adviser.
• We will help you understand your investment choices.
• We will provide timely account and transaction information that accurately reflects the investment positions you hold with our Company.
• We will disclose information related to the way we are paid by you as a Client, including commissions and fees associated with your account. We will answer questions you have about how your Financial Adviser is paid.
• We will disclose, on requests, information regarding payments we receive from third parties for the products and/or services in your account.
• We will share our policies and practices relating to the privacy of the information you provide us.
•  If you have an issue or concern, we will make it our priority to address it. Our Customer Service is available to help resolve any issues that are not promptly resolved by your Financial Adviser or his or her Manager.
• We will do our best to build and justify your trust in us

A type of security that signifies ownership in a corporation and represents a claim on part of the corporation’s assets and earnings. In other words, a shareholder is an owner of a company. Ownership is determined by the number of shares a person owns relative to the number of outstanding shares.

There are two main types of stock: common and preferred. Common stock usually entitles the owner to vote at shareholders’ meetings and to receive dividends. Preferred stock generally does not have voting rights, but has a higher claim on assets and earnings than the common shares.

Stocks are the foundation of nearly every portfolio. Historically, they have outperformed most other investments over the long run.

A debt investment in which an investor loans money to an entity (corporate or governmental) that borrows the funds for a defined period of time at a fixed interest rate. The indebted entity (issuer) issues a bond that states the interest rate (coupon) that will be paid and when the loaned funds (bond principal) are to be returned (maturity date). Interest on bonds is usually paid every six months (semi-annually).  Bonds are used by companies, governments etc to finance a variety of projects and activities. Bonds are commonly referred to as fixed-income securities and are one of the three main asset classes, along with stocks and cash equivalents.

Bonds can be used as a “core” investment to build the foundation of a balanced portfolio. They offer a wide range of maturities, varying interest payment terms and different credit quality ratings to fit most portfolio needs. Bonds and other fixed-income instruments may also provide a good counterbalance when combined with equities because bonds typically fluctuate less than stocks.

An investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and other securities, which would be quite difficult (if not impossible) to create with a small amount of capital. Mutual funds are operated by money managers, who invest the fund’s capital and attempt to produce capital gains and income for the fund’s investors. A mutual fund’s portfolio is structured and maintained to match the investment objectives stated in its prospectus. Each shareholder participates proportionally in the gain or loss of the fund. Mutual fund units, or shares, are issued and can typically be purchased or redeemed as needed at the fund’s current net asset value (NAV) per share, which sometimes expressed as NAVPS.

Custodian Life offers a wide array of mutual funds to meet a broad range of investment goals.

The latitude to diversify your cash across the world’s major currencies

In today’s global marketplace, opportunities regularly span national boundaries and employ multiple currencies. FX makes diversifying cash in your Custodian Life Policy convenient and easy. FX enables you to buy, hold and sell many of the world’s major currencies from the convenience of your Custodian Life Policy.

Flexibility based on your time horizon. Available as either Savings Deposits or Time Deposits

A variety of interest rates are available. Rates will vary by deposit size and currency. Rates for Time Deposits are fixed for the deposit term while Saving Deposit rates are variable.

An investment that is not one of the three traditional asset types (stocks, bonds and cash). Most alternative investment assets are held by institutional investors or accredited, high-net-worth individuals because of their complex nature, limited regulations and relative lack of liquidity. Alternative investments are favored mainly because their returns have a low correlation with those of standard asset classes. Because of this, many large institutional funds such as pensions and private endowments have begun to allocate to alternative investments. Many alternative investments also have high minimum investments and fee structures compared to mutual funds.

An alternative investment strategy in which professional money managers uses futures contracts as part of their overall investment strategy. These accounts can have various weights in stocks and derivative investments. A diversified managed futures account will generally have exposure to a number of markets such as commodities, energy, agriculture and currency. Introducing futures into a portfolio reduces risk because of the negative correlation between asset groups.

A structured investment will vary depending on the risk tolerance of the investor. Structured Investments typically involve various exposures to fixed income markets and various derivatives. Conservative investors will have a higher exposure to the fixed income markets, while risk averse investors will have a higher exposure to equities and derivatives.