What to look for in a financial planner.

(From The Star (Malaysia))

LEGAL truism: He who defends himself has a fool for a lawyer! While that is true of most - if not all - court proceedings, it is not a statement that applies wholesale to the realm of financial planning.

After all, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards states, 'Financial planning is the process of meeting your life goals through the proper management of your finances.'

It is, intentionally, a simple definition. But while its implementation may not be simple, I believe as many as 80 per cent of Malaysians would be better served learning to apply financial planning principles on a do-it-yourself (D-I-Y) basis rather than use a professional financial planner.

Now, since I am a professional financial planner, why on earth would I make such a statement?

Because it's true: Many of the people who should practice D-I-Y …