Dealing with personal finances and planning is a personal relationship and an on-going continuous process. We recognize this and feel that it is important that people feel comfortable with their financial advisors. The first step in our financial planning process is to meet and establish a relationship. Our advisors will discuss your primary concerns and objectives, strive to understand your needs and expectations, and answer any questions you may have. We will also explain our experience and background, our investment philosophy and planning processes, and how we charge for our services. Both sides will assess whether they are comfortable, determine if there is an appropriate fit, and discuss the next steps.
After establishing a relationship, our next step is to gather information and documentation necessary for the investment and planning process. We provide financial data forms and a document request list in order to collect information about yourself and your finances, your investment objectives, and your risk tolerance. We understand this process may be difficult for many clients and we try to keep the process simple where possible, with the understanding that we may need to contact you for additional follow up questions and correspondence, where necessary. As always, you can be assured that all of your financial information will remain private and confidential.
With the data and financial information provided by you, our team will then analyze and evaluate your financial status. Taking into account your stated investment objectives, goals, and values as well as your investment risk tolerance, we will develop a recommended plan and any associated planning strategies, customized for your particular circumstances. Depending on your needs, your plan may include a statement of financial position, budgeting and cash flows, retirement planning, estate and/or tax planning, insurance planning (including long-term care), and education planning.
Once your initial recommended plan and strategies are developed, we will sit down with you to review the plan. Presentation topics for this meeting will certainly include investment strategies and recommendations, but may also include discussions of investment basics and history, current investment environment, expectations of the financial markets, expectations of our processes and services, examples of charges for our services, and coordination with other professionals. You will have the opportunity to take the recommendations and plan home for a more detailed review as we recognize that questions, thoughts, and concerns may arise after our meeting. Any necessary adjustments will be made based on your feedback and our discussion after the meeting. Once you feel fully comfortable with the plan and the recommendations, our team will begin the process of investing your money and managing your investments. At such time, an engagement agreement would also be signed.
We consider financial planning and investment management to be a long-term on-going process, not a one-time event. We have processes in place to review and evaluate your portfolio and financial plan not only for your particular goals and objectives, but also for changing market conditions. Also, changes occur in everyone’s life and can be a reflection of changing attitudes, goals, or life events; changes can be expected or unexpected. These changes may warrant additional adjustments to the overall financial plan. In addition to standard portfolio reviews, planning updates, and meetings, we have processes in place to make sure you are contacted on a routine basis in the event any changes arise. Our processes and systems will help assure that you keep abreast of your financial situation, whether during a time of status-quo or a time of change.