You Really Don’t Know What I Do:Brian Carden "Insights"

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02/05/2010

You Really Don’t Know What I Do

FEBRUARY 2010 E-ARTICLE

…from the desk of Brian Carden, Financial Advisor

We’ve had this conversation around our office lately, and I’ve had it with several friends as well in social settings. The reason I say this is because the stereotypes of being a Financial Advisor are, in my mind, deserved in a lot of situations. However, in the case of me and my peers here at Peachtree Planning, those stereotypes are not even close to being accurate. I hear all the time “I know what you do”…“you just want to handle my IRA rollover” or “you just want to sell me insurance”. Wrong. Way wrong. What I do see most of the time is someone, maybe like you perhaps, that thinks they’ve got a financial advisor, but what they’ve actually got is statement full of investments and/or life insurance policies and that they are OK because of it. That isn’t planning…those are products.

We all know what the word “assume” spells…do you really want to assume you and your family will be able do the things that you want to do…or do you want to really know that you will? If you were one that bought a “financial plan” (and I use that term loosely) that was in a nice notebook, full of facts, figures, percentages, etc….that book is totally useless. It might have been a nice snapshot of where you were at the time, but today, all bets are off.

Anyone can go to the Internet and find all kind of calculators to project numbers. So are you still using the assumption that you’ll get a 10-12% average yield on mutual funds, that’s what the “financial entertainers” say, right? However I will state with absolute fact that the Russell 3000, the largest index in the US, has averaged a negative -.2% for the last decade? So for all that risk in equities…for all that volatility…for all that emotional frustration because your accounts weren’t growing…you got a -.2%. If I look back over the last 30 years, you would have gotten a 10.55% average annual return in equities…but then again, with an ultra-conservative portfolio of 80% bonds/20% stocks, I would have gotten 9.30% over the same time frame…classic tortoise and hare story. (Read this paragraph again…the risk hasn’t been worth the reward, has it?) Again…that isn’t planning…THAT’S MATH!!

So what do I do? First of all, I listen…and ask a lot of questions…about what is important about you, your family, your career, your future, your dreams, desires…and oh yeah, your money. I’ll bet you a Starbucks latte that even if you are making a good income, doing your best to meet those objectives, and maybe even you’ve got a financial advisor…that there are disconnects and inefficiencies in your life that that will keep you from reaching everything you told me in that first meeting.

Next, I analyze every moving financial part in your life…everything. Then we stress test what you’re doing, and show you where those disconnects truly are. Like a conductor directing a symphony, we find out what instruments are not in tune, and we make them so…without using an extra dollar that is already in your life. Maximum efficiency of your dollars and meeting your personal dreams, wants, and desires are our optimum goals for you.

Finally, we continue to build a relationship with you that helps us stay on track…call us a “Financial GPS” as we will always know where are in relation to our plan. When was the last time your advisor did a full comprehensive review on your total financial affairs? …and I mean a complete and absolute review?

That’s what I do…and I can help you…if you will let me…the bet for the Starbucks Latte is out there. Hit reply and let’s find out who wins.

Best,

Brian
Brian_Carden@PeachtreePlanning.com
www.briancarden.com

Posted by Brian Carden at 07:49:00 AM in Financial

Technorati Tags: Brian Carden, Certified Financial Planner, Financial Adviser, Financial Advisor, Financial News, Financial Planner Nashville, Financial Planning, Peachtree Planning

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02/05/2010