With the new year around the corner, many of you are setting your financial and life goals for 2018.
You might also be in the middle of some major life changes and turning points – getting engaged or married, having a baby, or thinking about starting your own business. Or maybe you have decided that you want to retire at 50 and you want to put a plan in place to help you achieve that. These turning points are the ideal time to work with a financial planner.
But how do you even find one? What is working with a financial planner like? Can’t you continue to look after the money and finances yourself?
It’s never been easier to search for, talk to, and work with a financial planner (thanks to google, facetime and video chats!). While you may be one of those people who can handle your finances yourself, we could all benefit from the guidance of a professional – even financial planners have their own financial planners!
Why Is Working with a Financial Planner Helpful?
What a therapist does for your mental health, or a personal trainer does for your physical health, a financial planner does for your financial health. We take a wide view of your financial values and goals to help you create the life you want and put your money to work for you. We’re part coach, part teacher, part confidante, part project manager, and part progress checker.
We also connect you to other professionals, like accountants if you need tax help, and solicitors if you need to draft a Will or a Power of Attorney.
While traditionally, advisers pretty much stuck to helping clients with their investments and retirement planning, at Magenta we prefer to look at a client’s situation more holistically. There are many things that will affect your finances, and we keep them in mind as we help clients decide how their money should be allocated and any other resources properly managed.
Isn’t a Financial Planner Expensive?
A good Planner will discuss their fee structure with you so that everything is transparent and you can see what you are paying for.
We will never take on a new client unless we feel we can add significant value in terms of tax savings; investment returns; better organisation; avoiding financial mistakes; achievement of personal goals or just peace of mind.
As someone once said “if you think taking professional advice is expensive, ask many DIYers about the cost of their mistakes.”
Most of our clients come to us through personal recommendation but it is common for clients to interview a few planners until you find one who you like and importantly who you feel understands what you are trying to do. We won’t take offence if you do this! What we want is for you to find the perfect planner!
What Is the Process Like?
We will have an initial conversation by telephone to establish if we can help and discuss the reasons you’re looking for a financial planner (you don’t have to have lots of money – just a desire to sort out some proper planning.)
First we will ask you lots of questions and may as you to complete our simple client questionnaire. The questions may seem a bit personal, but we take your security very seriously and only use that information to determine if we’re a good fit for each other and what your main financial concerns may be.
The information you provide is the starting point for our Discovery Meeting where we meet face to face or by video call if you proefer.
In our Discovery meeting we get down to the details with you. What are your goals and values? What are your concerns? What major financial decisions you will need to make in the next few years? How do you want your future life to look and feel? Are there any complications we should know about?
We use all the financial details that you provide, plus what we talk about with you in our meeting, to put together your personal lifetime cashflow forecast and our initial financial planning recommendations. From there we will have a Planning meeting to show you how things look now and how they might look in the future with our help and then we go on to make and implement our recommendations.
After that we will meet regularly (again face to face or by video) to ensure everything is on track and to deal with any changes in your situation as you go through life – we are always here when you need us.
How Is Magenta Different?
We care about you and your family and what is important to you. We believe that money is just an enabler and encourage our clients to live the best possible lives with the resources they have.
We work with clients to organise their financial affairs and make a personal financial plan, for their future security and happiness.
We provide an ongoing financial planning service, priding ourselves on being friendly and approachable and developing longstanding client relationships, often with the whole family.
When Should I Fire My Financial Planner?
If you ever worry that your planner or adviser doesn’t have your best interest in mind or you feel like he or she is trying to sell you insurance products or investments that you don’t need, or you simply don’t understand what they are telling you, you don’t have to continue working with them. If your money is invested in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, then you can (and should) fire your financial planner and find a planner who will listen to you. No one cares more about your money than you do.
You should fire any financial planner who is judgemental or condescending toward you. Women and young clients should be especially aware of planners who don’t take them seriously. Start interviewing other financial planners and find someone who treats you with the respect you deserve.
Looking for a Financial Planner in 2018?
The Magenta team would love to hear from you! We work with clients who want to align their money with their values so they can live their best lives. Contact us for an initial friendly chat to see if we can help you.
In the meantime, all of us at Magenta wish you a happy, healthy, and magical Christmas and New Year!