In my last post, we continued covering what I believe are the 5 key components of financial advice missing from many pre-retirement financial plans. So far, we have covered:
#1: A Clear Understanding of What the Advice is Costing You
#2: Enough Understandable Information to Answer Questions
Today we consider:
#3 – Strategies Beyond Investment Selection
Some relationships with a financial adviser start with an offer to provide recommendations on an investment portfolio. Certainly, your future financial health can change based on the types of investment accounts you use and the investments you hold in each, but for many people this does not adequately address their entire financial situation.
Many products and strategies exist outside of the world of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds that could help you succeed financially and address your concerns. If you only get recommendations on investments to buy without considering your “bigger picture”, then you could miss key opportunities, such as:
- Employing insurance products for tax-advantaged savings, planning for your heirs, charitable giving, and protecting the assets you own now;
- Spreading your savings properly across accounts that are treated differently by the tax code, providing you with flexible income options as you need them; and
- Considering the value of any home equity in decisions for creating income during retirement.
Today’s financial world is very different from how it was even 10 years ago. Pensions and guarantees are less common, and more of the important decisions rest on your shoulders. Luckily, the opportunities to accomplish your goals by properly using newer products and strategies continue to grow as well!
So what should you do now?
- Broaden your definition of “financial planning” to include non-investment decisions.
- Get advice on how all of your assets, insurance, and legal documents fit together and make sure they do not create conflicting outcomes.
Stay tuned next week for #4, and thanks for passing this along!
