Financial Planning Needs to Be Ongoing Instead of Episodic

Investment graphs and performance charts don’t provide the answers; Market forecasts don’t either; Life is what matters. In our work, we listen, guide, and advise clients about life. That’s why what we do matters.Without the objectivity and experience we bring to the task of helping clients plan for life events, focus can be lost and outcomes suffer. Life events always have a financial overlay. We help clients plan the financial aspects of weddings, college education for kids/grandkids, vacation homes, and ultimately retirement/legacy. We assist clients with making choices and provide counsel on pleasant things, as well as, unpleasant things. That’s life.

A Unicorn or a Real Investment Strategy?

There’s not a single mention in the preceding paragraph about setting up a perfect portfolio or finding “the best” investment manager. Usually when an investor says they want a perfect investment it actually means they want returns without risk. That’s a unicorn, not an investment strategy.Our clients want to enjoy a life where they have good choices available to them, not just a string of choices all with varying shades of bad. If you pay attention to the wrong signals (like short term portfolio performance), you end up making decisions that may not serve you well in the long term.

Techniques for a Secure Financial Life

Helping clients make decisions that are in their best interest for the life they choose is precisely what we do. Sure, investing is a part of financial life but far from the most important. Your life has different layers and the techniques necessary for a secure financial life need to take this layering into account.Related: Conquering the Pain vs. Purpose Financial ConundrumI had the pleasure of hearing author Nassim Nicholas Taleb (The Black Swan and Fooled By Randomness)speak a few years ago and he said “Financial life isn’t like a clock, it can’t be precisely engineered”. That’s so true. We want our financial life to be linear and highly predictable. We don’t want any bumps in the road. The whole point of impartial financial planning, however, is to deal with life as it actually happens.

Life Brings the Unexpected

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of our approach to personal financial planning is helping clients make changes as events of life push them off course. That’s why we believe financial planning needs to be ongoing instead of episodic. You can have a well-conceived plan but left alone, it may be taking you to a completely different destination because of both good and bad events. That’s life.You have but one life; we have provided vision and focus to hundreds of financial lives. Improve your odds of success by seeking experienced and impartial guidance. Start there. Ready for a real conversation?