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Draft Y our F inancial Dream Team

• Brokers: I work with several low, or no-commission, brokerages online
to buy and sell stock and mutual fund investments, but in most cases,
I make decisions on my own. From experience, few brokers can justify

the fees charged, but if that fits your investment profile, then fi nd a
top one with confi rmed results.
• Real estate agent: I am a professional real estate investor, so I work with
quite a few real estate agents, in addition to having several agents on my
staff. The top 20 percent are worth every dollar in commissions I pay.
Again my advice is, hire a specialist. If you are renting out investment
property, get an agent who does that. If listing your own home, get an
agent who does that. And do not do business with the bottom 80 per-
cent. The commission is the same, so get a top player to represent you.

These are the advisors I work with on an ongoing basis. Should the need
arise for something not covered, I hire a specialist, not a generalist, and I
advise you to do the same.
Some of your best fi nancial advisors will be people you may never meet.
I’m talking about reading their thoughts and ideas in books and articles, and
attending events where they speak. Over the years, I have spent hundreds of
thousands of dollars on books, audio and video programs, and seminars.
In my offi ce, I have an entire room that I converted into a library. The walls

are filled from top to bottom with books, tapes, videos, CDs, and DVDs. The
information I share with my readers and students is the essence of what I have
learned from combining a quarter century of real world “street smarts” with
expertise, study, and education.
One last word as we wrap up this chapter:

Being committed to building wealth is a continuous process,
so jump in and start building your team!

For more information about searching for a Certified Financial Planner,

visit the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards ( www.cfp.com ). For
fee-only planners, visit the web sites of the National Association of Personal
Advisors ( www.napfa.org ) and the Garrett Planning Network ( www.garret
tplanningnetwork.com ). For more information, visit johnburley.com/trump .

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