How do we add value to you?
You might well think that the Financial Planner you use adds the most value by appropriately investing your money.
This perception is accurate in that choosing the right financial product and investment funds can potentially add value. Still, there is just so much more that a Financial Planner can do for you than managing your money.
Saving you time
Time is probably one of the most valuable commodities that you have, and it is finite.
You may have the inclination and skill to do your own Financial Planning, and you might well be able to do so, but you will still need to invest your time in doing so.
Time spent on Financial Planning might instead be spent with family, friends, engaging in your favourite sports or hobbies, travelling and holidays or volunteering in your local community.
So it might make sense for you to pay someone instead to do your Financial Planning so that you can spend more time doing the things you want to do.
Cutting through the jargon
The financial world is full of jargon. It is also full of acronyms. Many of them are TLAs (three-letter acronyms).
Jargon and acronyms help to make financial planning and investments pretty tedious for the layperson.
After all, what normal person knows (or wants to know what IHT, LTA, ISA or MPAA means?)
However, it is essential to understand the jargon because it will impact heavily on your financial future.
But it is better to leave the vocabulary to the Financial Planner. Let them cut through the jargon and communicate to you in plain English.
That way, you are less likely to get tripped up and make a costly mistake in planning for your future.
Providing a clear understanding of your options
Every financial decision you make will have advantages and disadvantages. You will usually have choices and options about what you might do.
Having a clear understanding of those choices and options add value to your decision-making process.
A Financial Planner will identify and communicate the advantages and disadvantages of each of your choices and options.
By communicating well, your Financial Planner will help you to avoid expensive mistakes and potentially save you a great deal of money.
Calculating a financial target you can work towards
Formulating a number is where financial planning comes to the forefront.
Imagine you want to retire on a given date; exactly how much will you need to have to do that?
Calculating how much income you might receive from all sources (capital sums or income amounts) comparing and contrasting that with your expected expenditure results in a financial target at which you can aim.
Without that target, you may well find you are shooting in the dark. You may arrive at your desired retirement date with less financial resources than you need.
Validating a financial target you have set for yourself
You may already have worked out what your financial target looks like. In which case, a Financial Planner can add value by validating that target for you.
We may well, for example, identify that you haven’t taken inflation into account. Or perhaps you have been over-optimistic, or even pessimistic, about the growth rates of any investments you have.
You may not have considered taxation.
Validating your target for you adds value because it gives you the confidence you need about achieving the goals you have set for yourself and the chances of you achieving those goals.
Providing an expert second opinion
You may not be surprised to learn that we have helped our clients avoid making some serious financial errors over time.
They may, for example, have been seduced by the prospects of greater returns on offer from less than transparent investment schemes from unscrupulous providers.
Let’s not beat about the bush; some of the investment and savings products we see advertised are borderline or actual scams. Preventing our clients from losing their hard-earned savings is a great value add that we can provide.
Keeping you on track and aligned with your real-life goals and objectives
What does money mean to you? What do you want your money to do for you?
If your answer is “I want my money to grow” or “I want my money to generate income”, That’s not a bad start, but our role as Financial Planners is to help you achieve more precision.
We can work out how much your money needs to grow to achieve your life goals. We can calculate how much income you will need your investment capital to generate to satisfy those needs.
It is essential to link that money to your life goals, whether retirement, buying a new home, investing in a business, or selling it.
Perhaps you have plans to gift money to the next generations to help them onto the property ladder.
It’s what the money does for you that matters.
Removing any fear or pain you might have about making a financial decision
Yes, for some people, it is fear or pain.
Worrying about making the right decision, maybe even losing sleep about it, isn’t healthy.
A Financial Planner can provide the reassurance that you need that you are making the right decisions.
Helping you deal with any emotional baggage around money
We are all the products of our backgrounds, upbringing and life experiences.
Financial Planners help you to put things into perspective. Helping you to understand that the past is relevant, but the future and what you do with it is much more important and valuable
It isn’t just about the money.
It’s what that money can do for you so that you can have the life that you want.
