Quality of advice

Most investors hire financial advisors for the wrong reasons. They believe they are paying for special talent at picking stocks, choosing winning mutual fund managers, or timing moves in & out of the markets. Almost always, investors are disappointed with the results. 

Quality of financial advice should be measured by the value one receives from it. There is a singular measure of value that we believe matters most. It is being able to achieve the things that are most important to you, including what you want to do, have, experience, & feel in your life. That is the focus of our advice. That is what we track for clients, once the important things are quantified into the financial objectives needed to achieve them.

Focus is clarity. Clarity gives power & understanding. Understanding increases certainty about achieving the important things.

Our focus is not; selling you products, appearing proactive by moving your money around continually into the hottest performing investments chasing higher returns, needlessly positioning you to experience the most risk you can tolerate, or purporting we have some type of "edge" or skills to predict the unpredictable or control the uncontrollable. 

To support the focus of our advice, we diagnose (analyze & plan) before we prescribe (choose strategies & investments). We sort out cash management & debt issues, plan for retirement or other accumulation goals, help with retirement income distribution & estate planning, educate on disciplined investing, provide tax saving ideas, advise on insurance needs, recommend & implement investment strategies, select & manage appropriate investments, & monitor progress to keep things on track. 

Even more valuable is our ability to help prioritize & quantify your goals, balancing choices & priorities to provide a sufficient level of confidence in your unique financial plan, without too much uncertainty or irrational sacrifice. You will always know where you stand in reaching your financial goals. Our advice gives you clarity in an uncertain world. This allows you to consciously design & live life on your own terms. We concentrate on controlling what's controllable & avoiding any risk that doesn't confidently "buy" the goal choices you uniquely value. 

We provide timely, objective advice & coaching to keep financial decision-making in alignment with your goals. It's usually delivered in this format: here’s what you should do, here’s why you should do it, & here’s how. Being specific is incredibly powerful. Clients find this most valuable when key life decisions need to be made, a personal crisis occurs or bear markets roar. We stand between you & unintentional, big mistakes.

Internet financial calculators, "À la carte" advice from internet sources, robo-advisors, telephone financial consultants, &  portfolio/money managers focused solely on managing investments are hard-pressed to deliver the quality of advice necessary to appropriately address these situations, especially when complexity of client circumstances, urgency or emotional intensity is high. These alternative advice options can hardly have an intimate knowledge of a client as a real person with real concerns.