The Planning Process
Data Gathering
Once you’ve established your relationship with a Financial Planner, and have discussed your wants, needs and goals, the process begins by understanding your current financial picture. This step in the financial planning process is collecting and inventorying everything financial.
Fact Review
During the Fact Review stage, your advisor will have a deeper conversation with you to ensure we have a full understanding of your financial situation, as well as develop the goals you'd like to plan for.
Plan Presentation
Based on the decisions we make together make in Step 2, we’ll document everything and provide a written plan. Although the primary goal of having a Financial Planner in your corner is usually to have real-time access to someone who can help guide you, we’ve found that our clients also like having a tangible plan.
Your financial plan will start with your goals outlined, follow by a comprehensive action plan that we’ll implement to help achieve those goals.
In addition to detailing out the tactics, account types and asset allocation we’ll employ, the plan will also include timing and milestones to hold us – and by ‘us’, we mean you as well as our team – accountable. It’s a partnership the whole way through.
Implementation
Once the plan is created, we begin to implement it.
Each of us will have things required of them as we put things in place and implement the plan.
And as we implement the plan, we need to keep in mind the words of Mike Tyson, the famous former boxer who said, and I’m paraphrasing: Plans work right up until you get punched in the face. In other words, the initial plan and preparation is important, but being prepared to respond to uncertainties through consistent planning is more important.
And that’s where the last step of the process comes in: monitoring and adjusting the plans as necessary based on changing factors.
Financial plan recommendations can be implemented with the advisor of your choosing. Implementation of specific products or services may result in commissions or fees outside of the financial planning fee.
Progress Meetings
Based on what is happening externally – macro and micro economic changes, market volatility – and what’s happening internally with you family – life events, unexpected impacts – we’ll need to stay on top of all changes that could impact you, both positively and negatively – as we implement your financial strategy.
The easiest way to do so is to ensure we meet regularly throughout the year, quarterly at least, but more frequently if needed. My best relationships are looking for proactive and thematic advice at specific times throughout the year.