3 Reasons Why Everyone Should Have a Financial Advisor
Money is often a stressful issue for most people. It’s complicated, confusing, emotional and most of all – important. There is no way to simply put personal finance on the backburner and let it be until another time. So some people choose to tackle it alone, personally facing all that complexity by themselves.
In my opinion that’s one of the most dangerous things someone could do. I think successful investors aren’t afraid to ask for the help of a professional advisor. Together the financial advisor and their team offer many benefits. First, they act as a financial coach to turn to, second, they offer experience and the commitment of someone who works full-time in finance, and third they are someone who challenges and encourages the investor to consider a new perspective. Taken together, these benefits can be extremely helpful to the average investor.
Even the Best Have Coaches
Think about it this way, almost all the best athletes in the world have professional coaches. From Missy Franklin to Peyton Manning, even the very best have someone to help them elevate their game. The coach serves an important role: they help keep the athlete on track, monitor their progress, provide accountability, help maintain perspective and free the athlete to focus on his or her sport, not the process. Finance is no different. A professional advisor offers many of the same services, albeit with a slightly different end in mind. Those who choose to go it alone miss out on many of the benefits of having a financial advisor by their side when things get confusing.
Avoid the Easy Mistakes
Finance is complicated. There are so many things to monitor, move, track, tweak and watch on a daily basis. Keeping everything in order is a full-time job! For successful investors, that usually means hiring someone to fill that position. Having someone to help make effective decisions regarding goal attainment or cash flow and to provide accountability is, in my experience, much better than going at it alone. With the help of a professional financial advisor and their team, investors have an incredible resource at their fingertips to help them simplify and understand their finances. For example we have a universe of financial professionals we work with on a daily basis on behalf of our clients. The average investor simply does not have that kind of access.
Planning with Perspective
Most importantly, I think a financial advisor can help create a big picture for clients. So often I see folks with such a narrow vision on one particular objective, whether it’s buying a house or increasing their quarterly return. But their future is so much larger than just last month’s statement. As financial advisors we have the ability to focus on the big picture and encourage the investor to do the same. I grew up with the saying, “A failure to plan is a plan to fail.” For professional advisors it’s about creating a plan that puts the investor on track toward his/her goals and monitoring the progress, not about one single quarter, good or bad. Yet it’s tempting for the investor to focus on the short term (which can be frustrating at times). I encourage clients to always remember, investing is a lifetime process.
Which Type Are You?
Ultimately a person has to determine which type of investor they are: a do-it-yourselfer, a collaborator, or a true delegator. The type of investor you are will determine the relationship you have with your advisor and how beneficial it will be. Remember, there’s only so many hours in a week, how do you want to spend yours? In front of the computer trying to figure out your appropriate asset allocation? Or do you want to spend time doing the things you love to do with the people you love doing them with, leaving the money management piece to someone you know and trust.
We only work with ideal clients, and our goal is to be your ideal financial advisor. We appreciate your trust and confidence in us and if you ever have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to give us a call.
