When you work with a great financial planner, it can feel like you’re talking to a cross between a friend, mentor, advisor and therapist for your money. Financial advisors can help you through life events ranging from starting a family to buying a home, saving for college to planning for retirement. A good advisor can save you money, time, stress and aggravation.
Here are some more ways that a financial advisor can help:
Answer the ‘how am I doing’ question:
I’ve found that, before anything else, a lot of clients want an answer to the simple question, “Am I on the right track?” A financial planner can assess your current state of affairs by looking at your financial numbers. From there, he or she can tell you what you’re doing right, and which areas could use work.
Investment management:
Especially if you don’t understand the world of investing—or don’t care to learn—a financial advisor can help you choose investments that are appropriate for your timelines and risk appetite. This includes crafting a balanced portfolio unique to your own situation.
Crisis management:
If something were to happen to you and you became unable to manage your family’s finances for some reason, your advisor could competently carry out your wishes and execute on your investment strategies in the meantime.
Setting financial goals:
Maybe you already have a sense of what you want to accomplish with your money; maybe you need some guidance to figure out where you should be focusing your attention. A financial planner can help you prioritize your goals and find the right strategy to execute them.
A second opinion:
If you feel confident in your own money skills, you might not be sure you need to hire a pro, but a trusted financial planner can fact check your strategies and coach you through achieving them. This can include serving as a voice of reason in case you’re tempted to sell your investments low during a market panic or make other emotion-driven decisions.
Something off your plate:
Even if you feel like you’re knowledgeable about money, this alleviates one more thing to think about you in your busy life, allowing you to focus on the things that you actually enjoy doing.
Financial products are seemingly becoming more complicated every day, and a qualified professional can help you navigate all your options. You’ll never feel alone on the path toward your financial goals—your advisor should be with you every step of the way, following up with you regularly to make sure you’re getting where you need to go.