Why Hire an Advisor?

An excellent question!

In all honesty, some people can probably do just fine “going it alone” just as there are those who prefer to do their own mechanical work on their car, do their own home improvements, or do their own taxes, etc.  This, of course, is an important decision that can only, ultimately, be made by you.  Below are some suggested considerations to assist you…

An independent advisor can develop a comprehensive plan that is uniquely tailored for you.

Such a plan can bring together separate parts of your financial life into a complete picture that greatly increases the chances of realizing your goals. A comprehensive well-designed plan can get you unstuck, get you out of "neutral," and move you forward efficiently and confidently toward your goals, minimizing unpleasant surprises in the future.

An independent advisor can be a trusted and valuable ally.

An independent advisor, since he/she is directly paid by you, is in an ideal position to assist you greatly—by listening to your ideas, offering their own, and working collaboratively with you to achieve the best solution possible for you.

You can have greater peace of mind when working with an independent advisor.

It can be a comforting feeling to know that your financial plans have been developed and maintained with a responsible, competent advisor with your best interests at heart. Many people who have their own ideas and/or plans feel much better with a “sanity check” and having a qualified second opinion without a conflict of interest.

You can benefit from the advisor’s high level of competence.

A good advisor has a great deal of interest, knowledge, and experience in the field and is interested in doing the best for you. This competence can often pay for itself. Consider how a good accountant can actually pay for his/her own services in the savings he/she helps you realize. A good investment advisor can assist you in a similar way.

An advisor can provide you with motivation and discipline to keep your plan working.

It has been said that once you, "plan to work," it's important to "work the plan." Working the plan can often be more difficult than developing the plan in the first place. It requires consistency and refinement as time passes. An advisor can benefit you greatly as a motivator, cheerleader, and/or disciplinarian to assist you in staying on track with an optimal plan so that it doesn’t drift into something less. This is where an advisor can be a “financial personal trainer” of sorts and assist you by refining the plan along the way to consistently be in your best interests as life progresses and inevitable changes occur.

You can become more independent after working with a good advisor.

You may prefer to do more things on your own, but not feel prepared to do so at this time. However, time means everything when it comes to helping money grow. Instead of waiting until you feel competent enough on your own, by choosing to work with an advisor, you can get moving right away. You may learn a lot by working with a good advisor, and then at some point decide to try to manage your investments on your own.

Just because you can go it alone, doesn’t make that the best solution.

You may be able to do a satisfactory job managing your investments, but what if an advisor can assist you to do a better job than you could have done on your own, and save you grief in the process? Might this be worth it to you, in terms of better investment performance, more peace of mind, and less hassle and stress?