Although the use of financial planners is growing, most Americans still tend to take a do-it-yourself approach to building a portfolio and saving for retirement.

Forty percent of respondents in a 2015 survey by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards say they utilized financial advisors, an increase from 28 percent in 2010. And while most people are handling their own finances, there are distinct advantages to hiring a professional.

A financial advisor can give investors the discipline to resist investing or divesting reactively, says Angela Coleman, fiduciary investment advisor at Unified Trust Co., headquartered in Kentucky. "We take the emotion out of it," Coleman says.

With the Internet, the world is awash with financial advice, and professional financial advisors can act as a filter, says Andrew Barnett, relationship director at Global Financial Private Capital in Sarasota, Florida.

Financial advisors are a good option for helping clients assess their risk tolerance and then build a portfolio that actually meets what they want, says Drew Horter, founder and president of Horter Investment Management in Cincinnati. He says many people who want to be conservative with their money actually have portfolios that are riskier than they'd like.

Kimberly Foss, founder and president of Empyrion Wealth Management and author of "Wealthy by Design: A 5-Step Plan for Financial Security," recommends interviewing two or three advisors and having one to two meetings with each because this is a relationship that will last "hopefully for the rest of your life," she says.

There are hundreds of thousands of personal financial advisors in America — 249,400 in 2014 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — so how should retail investors pick an advisor, whether they are independent or work with a large brokerage, a regional bank or an insurance company?

Consider the fiduciary standard. Barnett advises people to seek advisors who are fiduciaries, which means they are legally responsible to put the clients' best interest in mind before their own.

Non-fiduciary advisors are required only to sell clients what they think is suitable for them. "Dealing with a fiduciary, I think, is critical," Coleman says.

The Department of Labor recently approved a new rule that would require all financial professionals who offer investment advice for retirement accounts to follow the fiduciary standard. But while that rule covers investments in IRAs and 401(k)s, it doesn't impact advisors who are recommending investments for a taxable brokerage account.

Know the pay structure and fees. Coleman recommends that people not pick advisors that are paid solely on commission. An alternative is fee-based advice, where clients are charged a set percentage of assets under management, she says.

Clients with fewer assets to manage may want to choose a fee-based advisor that charges by the hour or a flat annual fee, Coleman says.

Barnett notes that there are now more products such as annuities or real estate investment trusts available as fee-based products.

Opinions vary, but advisor fees could be anywhere from 1 to 2 percent of assets under management. If you have a lot with a financial advisor, that extra percent could be a tidy sum.

This fee is separate from other fees, such as those that come with mutual funds that are disclosed in the prospectus, so it's important to ask advisors if they can break down all the costs of investing, which can include trading, custodial, accounting and sales fees, Barnett says.

Do your homework. Investors should also check into an advisor's background, Coleman says. Know what certifications the advisor holds, and ask advisors for a list of current clients as references.

If an advisor won't provide references, that is a sign of a problem, she says.

In addition to references, investors should ask for an advisor's performance track record, Foss says.

Because a client may have a financial advisor for decades, it's important to find someone they like and trust.

Sometimes that can be accomplished by getting to know the advisor, Coleman says, "Find someone you've got a good rapport with."

Sparks Corporation believes in maximizing opportunities for growth. Hence, our investment approach is founded on a diversified and disciplined strategy, providing clients with the highest prospects for achieving their aspirations.

Our comprehensive approach to managing our clients’ assets transcends mere asset distribution but also applies a set of effective strategies. Hence, while taking into account the tolerance risk of every client, we adapt the following strategies in our investment approach.

Private Client Services

Sparks Corporation aims to deliver a comprehensive wealth management strategy and efficient investment services, from a team of highly-experienced financial experts with wide exposure in the disciplines of investment management, estate preparation and tax planning.

Wealth Preservation

Sparks Corporation’s primary goal is to preserve and increase your assets’ worth. Very often, we meet clients who desire to attain key milestones as they journey and develop in life, for instance, keeping a comfortable lifestyle when they retire, providing support for dependents, while assuring that the next generations will benefit from estate planning.

Every client we manage possesses a specific set of short-term and long-term aspirations. Sparks Corporation takes the responsibility to assure our clients of their capability to realize their financial aspirations.

Porpolio Review

Sparks Corporation’s non-discretionary portfolio-review services are aimed at producing a comprehensive understanding of your financial situation, investment choices and attitude with regard to risk. It is only after recognizing such factors that you can sit down with our professionals to design your portfolio around your day-to-day financial requirements and long-term goals.

Tailored Solutions

Sparks Corporation believes in satisfying its clients with the kind of service founded on a range of financial strategies that delivers their needs and objectives for the present and in the future. Moreover, we develop solutions that suit their specific circumstances in life and according to the potential they can attain given their assets and the opportunities available in the within their jurisdictions and even beyond. Sparks Corporation knows how to structure these solutions to greatly facilitate the achievement of our clients’ goals.

Committed to Satisfying Client Expectations

Our long and diversified experience in the industry has provided us the understanding of our clients’ goals, enabling us to work at delivering their investment needs and, thereby, strengthening our relationships which serve as the foundation of our company’s stability.

Customized Approach

We believe that our independence is a valuable asset which provides an investment experience that is fitted to suit the specific needs and goals of every client under our care. Our assistance has, as a result, remained unbiased as we build practical wealth solutions for our clients.

Sparks Corporation does not sell products or prescribe self-oriented advice or information. On the contrary, we objectively consider what our clients say and what they want to accomplish and appreciate their situations before coming out with a clear plan to satisfy their requirements judiciously and efficiently.

Declaration of Rights

What to Expect

We subscribe to the principle that maintaining productive relationships with our clients requires a solid foundation. To set up that foundation and to assure that each client receives a reliable and excellent service, we present a Declaration of Rights to assist clients conceive expectations of our service performance.

Quality of Service

Clients deserve and expect proactive services delivered in a timely and courteous manner.

Professionals Advisors

Our clients will retain their original right to have direct access to a committed group of experts who are individually and collectively responsible for the efficient performance and management of our investment services. As individuals, each professional is chosen on his or her qualifications as an expert in one’s particular financial field. As a group, they work together to deliver creative solutions to remove obstacles our clients may encounter on a day-to-day basis. Our experts are our clients’ first line of defense against challenges in their investments. Keeping a constant watch over our clients’ welfare is our secret to our dependability and our excellent services.

Our Advice, Your Decisions

Our clients have the option of selecting between discretionary management or non-discretionary management-based services. We provide unbiased advice founded on our in-house current research output, present suggestions that we feel are highly appropriate to the prevailing conditions of every client, and then execute the strategy upon the clients’ approval.

Transparency

Trust and transparency go together as one closely-linked requirement for excellent service. Our clients are certainly entitled to valuable information of the fees they expect to pay for our advisory services, deals and maintained portfolio management. We commit to divulge all rationales to our methods and explanations to issues raised without the use of confusing technical jargon.

Attentiveness

We believe our clients should not wait for us to give attention to their affairs. Unhindered communication lines are provided together with direct access to our professionals. Numerous channels of communication are open and made available to guarantee that we do attend to the client's every need. The client deserves this facility and takes extra effort to provide it constantly.

Efficient Execution

Effective financial management goes beyond sound selection of investments. Transactional execution can be maximized to exploit currency-exchange potentials, by properly timing executions and by monitoring transactional expenses.