Are you getting more from your financial advisor?
You’ve earned more than just an investment broker. You’ve earned an independent, holistic approach to growing, protecting, and sharing wealth. Consider these eight questions to assess your personal financial plan, advisor relationship, and whether it’s time to add another advisor to your team.
The right advisor will know what’s most important to you and help you make optimal decisions for your unique plan and circumstances. While it’s always prudent to pay attention to the latest trends and opportunities, a financial advisor should have the right expertise and care to match your portfolio to effective options.
A financial advisor should help you structure your portfolio to ensure you have enough to ride out a storm. They’ll work with you to figure out how much you need based on your current lifestyle, spending, income, returns, and your short-, mid-, and long-term goals.
Your advisor should help you understand your specific investments, what’s performing well (or not), and the fees associated with each, as well as any new recommendations.
Understanding your performance, especially when comparing it against the market, requires deep financial and economic expertise (and often resources not typically accessible to the average investor) — and don’t forget performance net of fees. Without objective guidance, you may not be able to accurately evaluate your portfolio performance and the associated fees, leading to missed opportunities and less-than-optimal returns.
It’s common for investors to make rash decisions based on emotions like fear, overconfidence, and intuition. A financial advisor can help you see the bigger picture and avoid bailing on a long-term strategy that hasn’t had the chance to pay off yet (or help take wins off the table in an appropriate way when it has). They can also offer alternative solutions to help you make better decisions and understand the impact of each scenario.
The right financial advisor not only reviews your estate plan with you at regular intervals, but they also stay aware of regulatory changes, new opportunities, and other events that give reason to update your plan in between and help coordinate with your legal advisors on necessary considerations.
Many advisors receive incentives influencing the guidance they provide or the products they recommend. An objective, independent advisor brings advice and solutions to your unique situation without this conflict of interest.
A financial advisor isn’t just there to help you manage what you already have, they should be bringing new ideas that help protect and grow your wealth. If you don’t feel that you have someone doing this, it may be time to add a new financial advisor to your team.
Speak with an advisor
If you’re ready to become more confident in your financial plan and investment strategy, contact us to begin the conversation. We’d be happy to serve you.
