This is the process that has been successful for thousands of families in creating a financial plan that works for them. I use this process when working with clients to help them discover what they want, then make decisions that feel right for them.
Where do I start?
When clients come in to see me at my office I generally start by getting to know them. If I am helping a couple I insist that both husband and wife are there. I have found that when it comes to the family finances that you need opinions of both spouses at the same time. I can bring out the best of their critical thinking if I can ask questions while both spouses are in the room. My job is not to coerce either one to buy into a particular strategy but to educate them to make prudent decisions that they both feel good about. In some cases that decision is to do nothing and stay on the track they are on until they feel that it isn't right for them any more.
The ABC's of Conservative Investing
After finding out what makes a person/couple feel comfortable I will begin the process of what I call the ABC's of conservative investing. This is a simple yet thorough approach to finding out how a client feels about their current investment situation and how they would comfortably make it better for themselves with my help. This process is both educational and enlightening to clients and it teaches them how to make decisions about their finances. From this meeting WE can determine what financial products might feel right to them and investigate further on how the product would work in their particular situation.
What Financial Products Do You Use?
Once the client has decided on what products feel right to them I can go to work to find the right products that they might like. It usually is not very difficult to find what they need because all of the hard work is done by the ABC process. We can now evaluate what works best for their particular situation.
Here are some examples of what a plan would look like after going through this process.
Once we determine what would work for your family and we have found the correct financial products we can blend them based on your needs for things like college funding, cash for emergencies, income needs, what is to be left to heirs, vacations, autos, health care and any other potential drain on resources.
A typical plan might consist of a guaranteed product that will provide an income stream down the road or immediately that has some guaranteed growth and coupling that with a more diverse strategy where we can take enough risk to get some long term growth. Now you have immediate income and the prospect for income in the future or something to be left to heirs. This is only an example of what could be done not a strategy that works for everyone.
When all is said and done there is no complicated and confusing plans required to succeed financially. Wealthy folks who are successful already know this and follow these same principles. Complex plans that are sometimes presented to clients by advisors are really meant to confuse the client so the advisor and his company make all of the money. Beware when you see a complex plan that you don't understand, it usually means that there are a lot of places for them to make money and not you.
If you would like some help in making the right decisions on your retirement plan don't hesitate to contact me. My number is 610-695-8748 our you can email me at roy@yourwealthadvocate.com.
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