You pay your bills on time, manage your own investments, contribute to your retirement plan and your debt is under control. So, you might be asking “why would I need a financial planner?” You might be surprised to find out how much more a planner can do for you. Studies have shown that a financial planner can typically add between 2% to 3% value annually through regular rebalancing, avoiding behavioral mistakes and the provision of financial planning services (reference Russell Investments 2020 study).
A good planner will help you plan for the future, assist in reaching your goals, efficiently manage your assets and provide confidence in your ability to achieve the life you want to live. For these reasons, you might wish you had received financial planning assistance much sooner.
So, what services can you expect from a planner at Personal Prosperity? First and foremost, the planner will be with you throughout your journey to achieving the prosperous life you desire. More specifically, services provided by the financial planner, that add value to the relationship, include:
- The planner will begin by assisting you to identify and outline your values and life’s goals, which will be utilized as the foundation of the financial planning effort.
- Planners can help you to determine expected future education costs and assist in development of a savings plan to pay for these anticipated education expenses.
- You may want assistance in establishment of appropriate pre- and post-retirement budgets. The planner can assist in the effort and act as a backcheck on the estimates.
- A planner can help you answer the question, “Will I be able to comfortably retire at _ age?” Personal Prosperity takes a collaborative approach to develop and implement a plan for you to achieve a successful retirement lifestyle.
- Planners provide assistance in managing your assets to lessen both the current and anticipated tax burden throughout your lifetime and for the anticipated tax burden on your estate.
- Most people focus solely on returns of their invested assets. However, do you know the level of risk you undertook to achieve those returns and are you prepared for an inevitable downturn? Risk and return are directly related with higher returns typically correlated to a higher level of risk. A good planner will develop and implement an investment portfolio that seeks to achieve maximum returns for the amount of risk undertaken. The planner will work with you to determine your tolerance and capacity to undertake risk and will develop an efficient portfolio for the appropriate level of risk.
- Did you know that your cumulative tax burden can be lessened through allocation of securities amongst your various retirement and taxable investment accounts? Personal Prosperity planners will help guide you to a tax-efficient allocation of your assets between these various accounts.
- If you are nearing or in retirement, a planner can help establish a plan for income generation and distributions during retirement.
- Is your estate in order? Have you thought about efficient transfer of your assets to your estate? Although Personal Prosperity planners are not lawyers and cannot provide legal advice, we are educated on estate planning issues and can identify alternatives available for you. The planner will also introduce you to qualified estate planners and attorneys and will help you through the estate planning process, including development of estate documents.
- Do you have adequate measures in place to protect your hard-earned assets? The planner will review your financial risks and identify the appropriate mitigation measures, including identifying where insurance is appropriate and whether your existing insurance coverage is adequate. Where insurance will be utilized to protect against the identified risks, the planner will help you find the right policies. Personal Prosperity does not sell insurance products, but we have relationships with brokers and providers that work in your best interest to find adequate and competitive coverage.
- A planner can also manage your invested assets in accordance with the developed financial plan. Services include trading to establish the investment portfolio, regular rebalancing, tax-efficient allocation of holdings, performance monitoring of the portfolio and individual securities, and replacement of securities when warranted.
These value-added services allow you to keep more of your hard-earned assets, earn more on your invested assets, and have the confidence to know that you are on track to achieve your goals. The professional management of your investments can also help you “stay the course” and maintain discipline. The planner always acts as a fiduciary and will act in your best interests in an effort to achieve the optimum outcomes. If you are interested in finding out what a financial planner can do for you, please reach out to us at any time.