“Should I hire a financial advisor?” Paul Sydlansky, CFP®, explores when it might be time to hire a financial planner and the benefits it brings to individuals and families. Watch his latest video to learn about real-life scenarios that lead people to seek the help of a professional financial planner.
Topics Discussed:
- Recognizing the need for a financial planner
- Real-life reasons people sought out financial planning assistance
- Benefits of hiring a financial planner
Transcript:
Hi everybody. I’m Paul Sydlansky, the founder of Lakeroad Advisors, and welcome to episode two of the build our 24-part Planning series that takes you from start to finish our financial planning process. In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about how to, you know, when it might be time for you to start working with a planner, as well as what are the benefits to you and your family of working with a planner.
So how do you know when it’s time to start working with the planner? Whenever we start speaking with a potential client, we have them fill out a questionnaire and one of the main questions that we ask is what brought you here today? Why have you sought out the advice of a planner? Here’s a sample of seven of those answers to give you an idea of some of the issues that folks face that lead them to seek out our assistance.
Number one, I want to plan for my financial future.
Number two, I want to make sure that I can be financially independent.
Number three, I want to plan for now as well as giving my kids a chance to jumpstart their financial future.
Number four, we want to retire early. We don’t know if we can do that and spend more time doing things like charity work, and traveling the world.
Five, most of my taxable assets are held in RSUs of my current company. I’m also receiving a large amount of RSUs. As part of my future compensation, I want to understand how to best diversify these assets in a tax-efficient manner.
Number six, our financial situation has vastly improved over the last two years because of stock options and we’ve been able to purchase our dream vacation home. But this has all come with added complexity. We need a net and we now know that we need to plan better for the future, and think about things like taxes, insurance, and make sure that we’re set up investing properly, and managing our assets not only now, but for down the road.
And lastly, number seven, my favorite, which really encapsulates all the issues that someone can go through in a short period of time. In the past two years, we’ve had a child, sold a home, bought a new home, had one spouse stop working for the time being, and we’re trying to get a better sense of how we balance our lives moving forward to set ourselves up for the future. We’re looking for help with planning, factoring, and eventual elements like inheritances, college costs, retirement, and starting our own business.
These are just some of the many reasons that folks come to us and look for the assistance of a planner. But this should provide you with an idea of some of the issues if you’re thinking it’s probably time.
So now you have an idea of some of the issues that we can help with. What are some of the benefits of working with a financial planner? I personally believe there are many benefits and we could go on and on. But I’ve tried to boil it down to three main benefits.
The first is saving you time and stress. A common theme of all our clients is that they’re incredibly busy. A financial planner can help you prioritize and make decisions on some of these important actions that are often not urgent, but extremely important. And they can also help you not stress about these things that may keep you up at night.
The second benefit of working with a planner is that you can have an independent voice – an independent expert, somebody who can help you navigate the complexities and the difficulties. It’s really often hard to look in the mirror and get a good understanding of where you stand and what’s possible.
And then lastly, a planner can help you grow your wealth. The more wealth you have, the more opportunity and flexibility you have to make the decisions you want for your future.
Now that you have an idea of some of the things that a planner can do as well as the benefits, in our next episode we will help you decide how to find the right planner for you. Thanks and have a great day.
The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and it should not be relied on as such. It should not be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell a security. It does not take into account any investor’s particular investment objectives, strategies, tax status or investment horizon. You should consult your attorney or tax advisor.
Lake Road Advisors (LRA) is a virtual wealth management firm headquartered in Corning, New York, with offices in Ithaca, NY and Portland, OR, founded by Paul Sydlansky, CFP® in 2016 to provide financial planning for busy mid-career professionals with young families. LRA partners with couples long-term to build financial plans that allow them to live the life they want while preparing for the future by making smart money moves to grow their wealth. They can be reached by phone at the Corning, NY office at (607) 463-8400, Ithaca, NY office at (607) 438-2914, or Portland, OR office at (607) 292-2172 or at the firm’s website at https://www.lakeroadadvisors.com/
