How A Good Financial Adviser Can Help You
Good, qualified financial advisers are not magicians,
but they can certainly provide assistance in many dollars and cents areas where
most folks these days tend to be largely uneducated. The main focal points are budgeting, investments,
insurance, education planning, retirement planning, and estate planning.
The first task in the process is selecting an adviser. Those who call themselves advisers greatly
outnumber those who actually are qualified advisers. Although there are dozens of alphabet soup
combinations that can be used to follow an adviser’s name (some of which can be
bought for less than the cost of an evening meal), those that are most valuable
are CFP (Certified Financial Planner) and CFA (Chartered Financial
Analyst). Both require extensive study
and testing. CFP tends to cover the
broad range of financial topics facing most people. CFA leans toward detailed analysis of
investments.
Let’s begin with investments, which despite the ongoing
media barrage from those who would have you believe they have the secret
formula for beating the market, they most certainly don’t. Nobody does.
But what your adviser can do is select low-cost index funds and
determine a reasonable mix of stocks and bonds, both domestic and international,
to suit your risk tolerance, investment experience, and need for current income. It doesn’t get any more complicated than
that.
Budgeting is another big issue. The challenge here is to properly account for
all expenditures to move toward a proper balance between what’s earned and what’s
spent. Few people are fully aware of
these key elements.
What about insurance?
Those who sell insurance would have you believe that insurance is the
answer to all financial problems. It
most definitely is not. Yes, life
insurance is a good idea, but in most cases what’s needed are term life policies
for protection when major expenditures such as education and mortgages are of
concern. Term life policies should be set
up to protect during these periods.
Whole life, in contrast, is far more costly and not, as agents would
have you believe, a good investment.
Annuities? I
don’t think so. When you buy a fixed
annuity, you say goodbye to your money and keep your fingers crossed about the
ongoing modest payments you are to receive.
When you buy a variable annuity, you are paying a hefty fee for a first
cousin of a mutual fund with few purported advantages and more than a few disadvantages.
Planning for education costs is a matter of estimating
future costs and making regular contributions to a growing investment that will
ultimately be sufficient to make ends meet.
These days, that’s a big job.
Retirement planning is akin to budgeting. Plan what’s likely to be coming in and what’s
likely to be spent during your retirement years. Then adjust to ensure a balance.
Estate planning.
A competent attorney specializing in this area will be your best choice.
N. Russell Wayne
Weston, CT
Any questions: please contact me at nrwayne@soundasset.com
203-895-8877
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