Brandon Jaquis, Portfolio Manager and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner at Warburton Capital Management, was featured in the Tulsa World Business Viewpoint article below.
There is no end to the constant stream of data flooding our minds these days.
Our phone, laptop, television and tablets are always keeping us up to date, even on topics we don’t care about. One topic we all care about, at some level, is personal finance. With an abundance of resources on the topic, you may think you can DIY investing and your financial future, but before you buy up this week’s hot stock, think about these reasons to hire a financial planning professional.
Alleviating stress: Hiring an adviser allows you to outsource the critical work of establishing a comprehensive financial plan, putting it into motion, and maintaining discipline. It may also lift a burden on your time. A prudent and qualified financial adviser will track the performance of your investments and understand your unique financial goals, so you don’t have to constantly watch financial news or worry about what will happen to your assets in the event of death or disability.
Improved investor experience: Advisers help investors stay invested purposefully during times of increased market volatility. When you stay invested in accordance with your plan over the long run, you can reduce transaction costs that erode investment returns and increase the probability of capturing market upswings.
Benefit of diversification: This benefit is most often evident during market downturns, when riskier investments have the possibility of nose diving and corporate bankruptcies increase. A well-diversified portfolio prescribed by an adviser can mitigate the risks of owning only a few individual securities.
Portfolio rebalancing: Historically, thoughtful investors diversify among asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash). Over time it is common for the portfolio allocation among those asset classes to drift from the intended target. Rebalancing has the advantage of maintaining the intended asset allocation, which maintains designed portfolio risk and potentially increases returns by buying undervalued assets and selling overvalued assets. Progressive advisers often utilize technology that monitors their clients’ portfolios for rebalancing opportunities that may benefit their clients.
Knowledge on a wide range of financial matters: Advisers who have become CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioners have endured a rigorous program to study all major topic areas relevant to an individual’s financial life. First-rate financial advisors have taken the time necessary to complete advanced certifications and acquire the knowledge needed to guide clients. They can answer questions about the impact of life events on a client’s wealth or utilize their local professional network to receive a qualified answer.
In summary, expert financial advice has been shown to be accretive for almost every investor. Selecting an advisor should be done with great care. It is important to research advisors, identify an advisor who serves as a fiduciary, learn about their education, areas of expertise, and how they charge for the services they provide. Once an advisor is carefully selected, it can be a relationship that adds tremendous value to investors throughout their investment lifetime.
