The First Conversation With A Financial Planner - What You Should Expect | Episode 12

The first step to getting better financial advice is to just have a conversation with a financial planner. This conversation does not mean you need to move from your current advisor or that you are going to move your accounts over. Rather this conversation is a great opportunity to sit down with a financial planner and see if there are any opportunities or risks in your overall financial plan. Whether you have a financial advisor now or you are a DIYer (Do It Yourself), just having a conversation with a financial planner can either confirm you are on the right path or uncover some opportunities or risks in your plan. 

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Transcript

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In today's episode, I want to talk about something that I believe stops people from getting better financial advice. And that is simply just having a conversation with a financial planner. Not hiring one, not moving your accounts over, not signing on to work with them, not leaving your current advisor, just having a conversation. Whether you're working with an advisor or whether you are a DIYer, which means you have an advisor and that advisor is you, just simply having a conversation with a financial planner can uncover opportunities or risks that you don't even know that you're making. As a financial planner, when I have these conversations with people, I hear a common theme. Oh, I have an advisor, I've had him or her for 15, 20 years, everything seems to be going okay. Or I'm a DIYer, I do it myself, I don't need any help. Or I don't really want to waste your time because I have an advisor and everything's going okay. I've heard that time and time again. And those are completely understandable feelings. But here's the reality. If you get a diagnosis from a doctor, you probably get a second opinion. If you're looking to refinance your mortgage, you probably shop around at different rates. When you're looking for new property and casualty insurance, you shop around. See, the reality is when it comes to your money and your personal finances, unfortunately, most people don't look for second opinions. When it comes to retirement, and we're talking about hundreds of thousands, millions or tens of millions of dollars that you've saved over your lifetime, we just take the first opinion we get and we run with it. Many people never ask for a second opinion or a second professional to look over their plan. Having another set of eyes on your plan doesn't mean that you don't like your current advisor. It just simply means that you are making sure that nothing is being overlooked. One of the biggest values of a financial planner is not confirming that you're doing everything right. It's making sure that you're asking the right questions. It's discovering what you didn't know to ask. Many people assume retirement planning is one question. Do I have enough? And while that is a very important question, there are many other questions that you should be asking. And I'm gonna read them off here. Can you actually retire when you want? How much can you safely spend every single year? Which accounts do you withdraw from first and in what order? How will taxes impact your retirement? How do you withdraw your money in a tax-efficient way? Should you be doing Roth conversions? If so, how do you do those Roth conversions? When should you claim Social Security? Will required minimum distributions become a tax problem? If so, how do I plan for them? Am I char to be inclined? Can I use qualified charitable distributions to help lower my RMDs? Could Medicare premiums increase because of my income? Is my investment allocation still appropriate as retirement gets closer? These questions won't be answered on your investment account statement. These are real financial planning questions. With those that want to sit down with me, there is not a sales pitch, there is not a hey, buy this before you leave. This is a time for me to ask questions to understand your situation. Most of my first meetings are me asking questions about this person, this couple's situation. What are their goals for their money? When do they want to retire? How much do they want to spend in retirement? What type of accounts do they have? Are they currently working with an advisor? What do they think it looks like to work with an advisor? How can I best support them? There's no sales pitch. There's no before you leave, you have to sign to work with me. In that first meeting, they can ask me questions. How do you work with your clients? Are you a fiduciary? What is your investment thesis? What is your investment style? How often do we meet? What do you charge? How do I pay you? These types of questions are what the initial meeting is. Again, it's not a sales pitch. I'm not here to sell you any products. I'm here to understand your situation so that I can figure out a plan that will best help you. Because before I can recommend anything, I have to understand your situation, your goals, and what you want out of your money. And I want to leave you with this. I talk about this many times. Investments are important, but investments alone are not a plan. If you have a financial advisor that only does investments, that is not a full financial plan. I'm going to read off what a financial plan coordinates because it's a lot of things. Your investments, your taxes, your retirement income, your social security decisions, Medicare planning, estate planning, withdrawal strategies, cash flow planning, tax planning, all of these things and much more are your financial plan. And the financial plan helps coordinate all these things together. Not just investments. Investments are one piece of the puzzle, but a financial plan coordinates all of these things together. And when all these pieces come together, your financial plan becomes clear and you become confident in the plan that you have for your money. There is no better time, if you're five to ten years until retirement, to start thinking about these things today. Not when you retire, not the month before you retire. Five to ten years away is a great time to sit down, get a second opinion, or if you haven't had a financial plan built, sit down and have the discussion of what that would look like. Because when you're five to ten years out, that gives you time for flexibility to make adjustments, to make changes, to confirm what you're doing is correct. Because if you wait until the month of or the month before you retire, can limit your options on what you can do to build a successful financial plan. So don't be afraid to have the conversation. Whether you manage your investments yourself, you have a financial advisor, having the conversation does not obligate you to make a change, but it may give you the clarity that you didn't have before. Because the value of financial planning sometimes isn't just about finding mistakes. It's also uncovering opportunities that you didn't know existed before. Thank you all for being here, and I'll see you in the next episode. The opinions voiced in this podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual to determine which strategies or investments may be suitable for you and consult the appropriate qualified professional prior to making a decision.