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What’s the difference between a financial planner and a financial planning consultant, since the AT&T Real Yellow Pages makes a distinction between the two categories?

There is no difference, says Gary Johnson of Gary Johnson & Associates, a financial planning consultant [according to his Yellow Pages category] who specializes in wealth accumulation and retirement strategies.

So if planner versus consultant is a meaningless difference, how do you find somebody to help you with your money? Johnson has some ideas. Education is important, he says. We like our doctors to have medical degrees, so you at least want someone who’s a Certified Financial Planner.

A planner without a CFP might be perfectly qualified, but it’s a criterion Johnson prefers. There are plenty of other designations out there attached to financial advisers’ names—Chartered Financial Consultant, for instance—though many consider the CFP to be the most comprehensive. Another key point: You should like your planner.

“Credentials are credentials, but they’ve got to be compatible because you’re going to be meeting with this guy or lady at least once or twice a year,” Johnson says. “It’s got to be somebody you like and feel like you could work with.”

He also recommends talking to two or three different planners. Even if you fall in love with the first one, it’s a good idea to explore the market. Inquire as to their credentials. Size up their initial recommendations.

The big question, of course, is how to tell whether this person who wants your business truly has your best interests in mind from a planning perspective, or just wants to sell you this or that mutual fund flavor of the month. Be wary of anyone who doesn’t seem to want to talk about fees, which they should be willing to openly discuss.

Some advisers advertise themselves as “fee-only,” meaning they don’t sell anything that’s commissioned-based. Others are “fee-based,” which means they charge a fee for services but might also offer products on commission. Fee-only would seem more pure because it avoids potential conflict of interest in a planner selling you a product because that’s what he sells.

But Johnson says selling a “commissionable product” is fine as long as it’s called for and the planner discloses what’s going on. Fee versus commission should depend on what’s most appropriate for a client’s individual needs.

“I like the fee arrangement better for the simple reason once you sell somebody a commissionable product, there can be—depending on the individual—incentives two or three years down the road to move the client to a different commissionable product,” Johnson says. “Fee-for-service is an ongoing fee, so your interest and the client’s interest tends to be same, and that is to see that account grow. There’s no financial incentive to move that client around.”

Rob Hines, a finance instructor and department adviser with LSU, says commissions aren’t necessarily bad. To be safe, he recommends going with a fee-only adviser, whether it’s a flat fee or percentage-based. That way, any doubt about who’s working for who is eliminated, he says.

Of course, there are planners out there on commission doing a good job making money for their clients and doing so ethically. There’s also no guarantee a mutual fund sold to you by someone on commission won’t beat the pants off a fund recommended by a fee-only adviser. All the same, Hines is a fee-only man for philosophical reasons.

“I’m paying them to tell me what to do as opposed to another company paying to guide me into other investment fields,” he says. “I’ve always been a fan of just paying it up front.”

When shopping for mutual funds or other entities, it’s important to know how much they cost to operate, Hines says. Such information is contained in the fund prospectuses that can be found on a variety of investment Web sites. Look for something called the gross fund expense ratio. There’s no single ideal ratio, since each fund is unique. But a good financial adviser should take this data into account before recommending a particular fund.

What might seem like a miniscule difference between one fund and another can add up significantly over 15 or 20 years, Hines says. “If they’re having to pay fees to get people to invest, it’s going to increase that expense ratio,” he says. “That’s going to cut into your fund earnings. If this fund is paying out in commission, it may be influencing your return on investment.”

It’s also smart to vet an adviser you’re considering by checking complaint histories at the National Association for Securities Dealers and the Better Business Bureau, Hines says.

Margaret Ritchey, western regional manager for Whitney Bank’s wealth management division, isn’t as suspicious of planners making a commission off a product.

“I don’t have that same bias because I don’t have that same distrust,” she says. “But I have a real strong antenna when somebody’s pushing a product.”

What makes her antenna quiver is when a planner only pushes one product and doesn’t lay out any other options. If the single solution that planner is pushing is also the solution he happens to sell, walk away.

Whitney’s wealth management services are free to the bank’s more affluent clientele. That service naturally includes offering clients products and services that Whitney itself sells in cases when it’s appropriate.

Ritchey lays out the four phases of comprehensive, top-to-bottom financial planning: profiling, analysis, recommendation and implementation. The first phase is often the hardest since it requires clients to reveal a lot more than most are comfortable revealing—including family difficulties that might impact the estate.

“The only way a financial adviser can be of value is if they know everything, and that’s a huge step for people to disclose everything,” Ritchey says.

Clients won’t spill everything until trust is established, she says. Only with all relevant information in hand can the adviser do an accurate analysis, which will dictate recommendations and, ultimately, how well the client is served by the adviser. Which makes trust a fundamental feature of a successful client-planner relationship. If you don’t trust your planner, you’re unlikely to get unsatisfactory results.

“I always go in with nothing but an empty legal pad, and I always make sure I give feedback along the way,” Ritchey says. “If they see the feedback they see where this process is leading and say, ‘I want more of that.’”

Common designations

CFA: Certified Financial Analyst

CFP: Certified Financial Planner

CHFC: Chartered Financial Consultant

Resources for vetting financial advisers

Better Business Bureau: bbb.org

National Association for Securities Dealers: nasd.org

What to ask when choosing a financial planner:

1. What experience do you have?

2. What are your qualifications?

3. What services do you offer?

4. What is your approach to financial planning?

5. Will you be the only person working with me?

6. How will I pay for your services?

7. How much do you typically charge?

8. Could anyone benefit from your recommendations?

9. Have you ever been publicly disciplined for any unlawful or unethical actions in your professional career?

10. Can I have it in writing?