Often I’m asked “when do you need a financial advisor?” Like most questions in this business the right answer is well ….. It depends.
As much as I would like to say that everyone needs a financial advisor, I am not oblivious to the fact that not everyone could or should.
There are some who enjoy researching and understand the information. Some of them can act as their own advisor. There is also another segment that is very controlling or have trust issues. If you are this type person, you probably are not going to be happy with any advisor.
There is also those that have done a poor job saving and haven’t accumulated much. There need could be limited.
Even though everyone can’t or shouldn’t have an advisor, everyone does benefit from having some sort of relationship with an advisor. Here are some reasons I feel an advisor can add value over the long-term and is well worth the time and money.
- An advisor can help you focus: If your current advisor is the internet you know that you will suffer from information overload. One advisor will say to do one thing, and another will say to do the opposite. One will have you chase bitcoin; the other gold; and the other tech stocks. Working with a single comprehensive advisor will keep you focused. It will allow you to make decisions that are beneficial to what you are trying to accomplish.
- An advisor will help you get better overall returns over time. It never fails that 9 times out of 10 we see people that take way too much risk, have little or no diversification, or worse are really scared of everything and invest in cash. By working with an advisor, you will be able to better design a portfolio that again is built to suit your risk tolerance and objectives and is usually broader and diversified than you can do on your own.
- Working with an advisor will help you better control your taxes. Most people we see have no idea how taxes work other than they know they must pay them. The right advisor will construct a plan and portfolio that could be more tax efficient over time buy using many strategies that are unknown to the typical investor or they don’t have the know how to implement them.
- Using an advisor will be cheaper over the long run. As I’ve told you several times, everyone gets paid in this business. Whether you work with someone in person or online. No one does it for free. However, if you are wise enough to implement a relationship with a trusted advisor, like myself, believe me the cost was a great investment.
Like I said earlier, not everyone needs or wants an advisor but everyone will benefit from using one.
