What does a financial planner do?
Depending on how wealthy one is, who one’s financial planner is, and where one goes to find financial planning assistance can all affect what a financial planner does. Financial planners can include a wide range of professional, educational and experiential milieus. The advice received from different financial planners is likely to be slightly different depending on what financial products they are familiar with, their financial background, and how they perceive the client-planner relationship. The best financial planning services may include, but not be limited to all the following attributes, however this is not to say that all financial planners with such attributes may be the most suitable financial planners for all financial planning scenarios.
*Affordable costs
*Comprehensive, ethical, and well communicated advice
*Broad range of financial product recommendations
*Life stage and life goal specific assistance
*Detailed and skilled financial tactics and strategies
*Certification and/or licensed in a particular area of expertise
FINANCIAL PLANNING ILLUSTRATION:
Sometimes a financial planner can help one not make a bad financial decision. For example, before cashing out a large sum of retirement funds to invest in a condominium, consider the tax consequences of withdrawing such a large sum of money on annual income. If the retirement funds withdrew are $250,000.00 and the retiree was in the 25% tax bracket the year before, that individuals income for the year could quite possibly rise into the 35% tax bracket making the tax on the retirement funds $25,000. Good financial planners can help with decisions like these to avoid unnecessary costs and consequences of financial decisions.
In addition to assisting with costs and consequences of financial decisions, a financial planner can help one achieve one’s own financial goals. That is to say, the interest of the client should be more important than whatever financial products the financial planner may be trying to sell. Some financial planners may not sell any products and simply help one re-organize one’s finances for improved cost savings, greater income retention, wealth creation, retirement planning etc. A few of the key areas a well-rounded financial planner may be able to help with are the following:
*Retirement Planning
*Wealth Building
*Budget planning
*Cost management
*Insurance needs
*Taxation issues
TYPES OF FINANCIAL PLANNERS:
As noted above, many types of financial planners exist,