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OK, not all financial advisors wear capes. But many are superheroes to their clients.
Advisors, however, do wear many hats because they play a key role in the lives of their clients as they help
align their money with life goals. A financial advisor will help you develop confidence in your finances. Here’s more from CNBC’s FA 100, the list of the top financial advisory firms in 2023. I’ve met many financial advisors and made many connections along the way. Advisors are a great first line of defense for financial security. About twenty years ago, after a three-year cancer battle, my wife died at 44. My son, then 14, and my daughter, then 10, were now living with me as a single father. I received a package a few days before the funeral of my wife. My insurance agent called me a few hours later. He explained the options and basically urged me to increase my insurance in order to protect my children since I was now a single parent. He began to describe the options, and urged me to increase my insurance coverage to protect my children since I had become a single mother.
I was in a state of confusion and told the agent that the time was not the right one to talk about this. After a bit of back-and-forth, I passed it along. After some back and forth, I gave him the information. A few days later I found out that my advisor had called the agent to tell him to leave and give me space to grieve, and take care of my children. It was a great feeling to have a financial advisor by your side when you are trying to reach your financial goals. Because let’s be honest: creating a personal financial game plan can be daunting.
The seemingly endless number of choices can make it overwhelming for many investors.
The bottom line is that there’s an overload of investment possibilities. Planning and managing these options can be difficult for many. It makes sense to seek the advice of a professional financial advisor. These investors can manage their portfolios themselves. However, other investors feel they need to hire a financial expert to create a game plan to meet their specific financial and life goals.
Basically, financial planning is the process of aligning your financial resources with your most important goals in life. Finding the right financial advisor can be challenging. There are many factors to consider when choosing an advisor. The services provided by financial advisors will vary based on the type of advisor, but overall, a financial advisor will assess your current financial situation — including your assets, debt and expenses — and identify areas for improvement.
A good financial advisor will ask you about your goals and create a plan to help you reach them. That may mean discussing your budget, retirement planning, estate planning, insurance needs or tax strategies.
Financial advisors also help invest your money, either by recommending specific investments or providing complete investment management. Financial advice varies depending on the advisor. In fact, the right guidance early in anyone’s financial life can have the biggest impact on long-term financial success.
That’s why it’s so important to find a financial advisor you trust. Doing so comes down to engaging in some research and homework, interviewing several advisors, and asking the right questions.
When you find that right advisor, you can forge a new relationship that hopefully will last for a long period of time.