Financial planner’s careers have morphed since 2008 from brokers on Wall Street who cold called and sold stocks for big commissions. Now, many financial planners are financial educators, that focus on investment education through financial planning, or acting as an investment advisor by building portfolios and selecting investments. Many times, an advisor will have to combine the two specialties, but will have a greater focus on one area over the other. I heavily focus on the financial planning process over the investment advisor side of planning.
It is easy to pay for good investment ideas and proper portfolio management. Some investment firms have elite college graduates who have mastered the art of books and math but lack the skill of human interaction. Luckily, I prefer people, so I was gifted with the opportunity to focus on financial planning. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, I have studied for years to learn all the different facets of financial products, and concepts. I was lucky to start my career in Orange County, CA where the amount of money is astronomical. It was a great place to learn about all levels of financial success, and I was able to learn from the vast number of financial situations.
Back to the point though: Why use a financial advisor? You want to work with a financial advisor because you one day will doubt your decisions when the market is dropping. You will likely need more than just stocks in the S&P500 to reach your financial goals in retirement, and if you are so wealthy that you never have to worry about your spending then you will need advice on how to give it to your children without the government taking 40% of it. A great financial advisor is your go to person who you can value because an advisor will tell you the truth, whether it be good or bad. They will show you the hard numbers of where you stand and paint the true picture with software that an excel just cannot accomplish. A financial advisor is a specialist in the art of investments. Anyone who tells you otherwise likely does everything themselves. Nothing wrong with that, but, whatever career you have done for decades, I would argue you are likely better at it then me.
A side story on how badly I wanted to become a financial advisor post Marine Corps
I was so interested in learning about becoming a financial planner that I called a college to purchase their textbooks so I could study, and pass their courses faster when I got out of the Marine Corps. Instead, they gave me a full scholarship, and I started studying from my sleeping bag. I carried a textbook across Korea, and Japan while I was deployed. I would climb into my sleeping bag and pull out a headlamp, and study for 15-30 minutes a night. I took a bus ride to an Airforce base that took 2 hours to get to and walked around searching for the testing center. There was no google maps, I just gave myself 2 extra hours and figured I would find a way, to find my way there. I passed the test that day, and threw the next textbook in my bag for our next field operation.
~ Bradley D. Thomas, CFP®, ChFC®, CEPA