FINANCIALLY
Speaking
The Trip of a Lifetime
P
1.
Jeffrey M. Orth is a
Chartered Financial
Consultant, a Certified
Advisor in Senior Living,
and an Investment Advisor
Representative, with over
15 years of experience as
a business and personal
planning, insurance,
and wealth management
specialist. Jeff is available
for group lectures and
private consultations. Visit
ifitfinancial.com or call
408.842.2716.
The author’s opinions,
comments, information,
etc. are those solely his
own and are independent
of, and do not represent,
HTK, and should not be
considered as specific
investment or planning
advice. Please consider
your options based on your
individual circumstances.
Past performance is not
indicative of future returns.
gmhTODAY and other listed
entities are independent of
and unaffiliated with, HTK
and Integrated Financial
Benefits Network (IFit).
1975887RM-Dec19
24
lanning to travel? Well, you’ll need a
clear idea of your destination, a map,
a list of what you want to see and do,
and an itinerary. When traveling to an
unfamiliar destination, a guide who knows the
area is also a good idea. If you think about your
life as one long trip, you can apply these same
principles to planning for your financial future.
At some point, you may decide you want a
professional financial planning ‘tour guide’
who can help you map out a path and to reach
your goals.
If you are just getting started, a financial
advisor can guide you in putting together a plan
that will make the most of your assets to help you
reach your financial goals. Having an experienced
advisor is especially important in planning ahead
for the possibility of significant events or changes
in life, such as marriage, the birth of a child,
divorce, promotion or death of a family member.
These events can have an impact on current plans
and provide a catalyst to evaluate and adjust your
current strategy going forward.
Financial decisions can be difficult, but with an
experienced financial advisor you won’t have to
face them alone. Your financial ‘guide’ can help
you gather information so that you can make
a well-informed decision, and act as a coach to
encourage you to do the things you need to do
when they need to be done. An experienced
advisor will encourage you to stay with your
game plan in good times and bad. And like
a manager, your advisor can help coordinate
activities with your accountant, attorneys, and
other service professionals.
If you’ve even been on a trip with a tour guide,
you know that a knowledgeable and experienced
guide can make all the difference in the success
and enjoyment of the trip. It’s important that you
choose carefully. Here's what you should look for:
Honesty and integrity
I believe that this is such an important quality.
If you have any reason to doubt that the advisor
you’re talking to has your best interest as their
primary concern, then I would not waste any
time ascertaining if he/she has the other three
essential qualities. Trust is too important a
quality to be taken lightly.
Capability
Is the advisor well credentialed? In other
words, are they serious about developing and
maintaining the education and tools necessary to
capably serve your financial planning needs? Ask
about designations that the advisor has achieved
and maintained. Ask about ongoing education
efforts to stay current with changes in the
industry. Believe it or not, there are people out
there with few credentials and limited financial
product options to offer, who are holding them-
selves up as “advisors.” What that means to you
is that no matter what your individual needs
may be, they only have one product to sell.
Instead, look for an advisor who is serious about
education, with a variety of ‘tools in his or her
tool box’, so that you have the option of selecting
the best strategy for your unique situation.
Longevity
The financial planning business is not easy one.
Most of the advisors that get into this business
are gone within two years, and an even smaller
number make it to five years. I am approaching
two decades in this business, and I can tell you
that few advisors who started when I did are still
in the business. I would want the person who
helped me set up my plan to still be around as
the strategy plays out, and to have them there to
assist me when inevitable course corrections are
necessary.
Compatibility
In order to be effective, a financial planner is
going to need to ask you a lot of questions,
s