Most people know how important it is to create a solid personal finance strategy, but they don’t always know how to do it themselves. As a result, many put it off for later, waiting until they feel a sense of urgency — perhaps due to a life event, like the birth of a child or a divorce, or the realization that their retirement isn’t as far along as they’d like. But procrastinating on your personal finances is a huge missed opportunity — after all, taking action today can pay off exponentially down the road.
Below, we’ve outlined a few of the top benefits of having a financial advisor. If you’re thinking of hiring a financial advisor or just wondering how a financial advisor can help you, read on.
1. Saving You Time
Between work, family, socializing, leisure, and all the little obligations that pop up daily, most people don’t have a lot of extra time. And when they do, they’d usually rather spend it on something other than personal finance. While it is possible to develop your own financial strategy, it’s a complex topic. Unless you have a deep understanding of personal finance (including tax, investment and estate strategies) and regularly stay on top of economic and market news you may not have the time needed to get up to speed and make truly informed decisions.
Working with a financial advisor allows you to take on a consultatory role, rather than owning the project yourself. With them leading the charge, you can spend less time in the weeds and more time doing what you enjoy — one of the best benefits of having a financial advisor.
Read More: Do I Need a Financial Advisor?
2. Advanced Access
Another one of the benefits of having a financial advisor is the amount of information available to them. After all, managing finances — particularly investments — can be an involved process. Of course, you’ll need to vet specific stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and other investment vehicles before initially buying or later selling them. But your accounts also need to be monitored and adjusted from time to time to ensure they’re aligned with your risk tolerance and setting you up to reach your personal financial goals.
In order to do that, though, you’ll need access to extensive information and research. In other words, more information than what you can find from publicly-available sources like the Wall Street Journal or Morningstar. Financial advisors are able to access information like this through software programs, trading platforms, third-party research, and other sources that are available to those working in the industry. And because they already use these tools on a day-to-day basis, you won’t need to pay extra for them as you would on your own— the expenses will have already been baked into your fee.
3. Expertise
Of all the benefits of having a financial advisor, perhaps the most crucial is the expertise they possess. With years of experience in financial planning and managing assets day in and day out, they’ve accumulated the knowledge needed to come up with and execute a sound financial strategy tailored to your unique needs. And because their jobs require them to stay on top of the latest news and research, you can trust that the recommendations your financial advisor makes are well-informed.
What can financial advisors help with?
So you know financial advisors assist people in building and managing wealth — but what can financial advisors help with specifically? Here are a few of the most common services they offer:
- Determining and planning for financial goals: Creating specific monetary targets for different objectives, such as college savings funds, retirement plans, and estate plans, along with a strategy to hit those targets.
- Risk profile: Evaluating a client’s finances and goals to determine their tolerance for different types of risk, like market, inflation, and longevity risk (The risk of outliving your assets).
- Investment analysis and portfolio building: Developing an investment strategy for each client based on their unique goals, timeline, and risk profile.
- Asset allocation: Creating a plan that places a specific percentage of funds in different asset categories — like stocks, bonds, and cash instruments — to balance opportunity and risk in order to reach your financial goals.
- Portfolio diversification: Spreading your assets across a number of different market sectors and industries to ensure that your eggs aren’t all in one basket.
- Expense considerations: Minimizing investment management expenses and trading fees through careful portfolio construction.
- Tax planning: Developing a strategy to minimize your tax liability, putting more money in your pocket.
- Coordinating with other professionals: Collaborating with any other professionals you may be working with — such as accountants, insurance agents, or attorneys — to ensure their efforts map back to your personal finance strategy.
- Ongoing monitoring: Tracking your portfolio to ensure it remains aligned with your goals and overall financial plan.
And beyond any one specific project, your financial advisor can offer you peace of mind. They serve as a one-stop shop for planning, adjusting, and ongoing advice — no matter what life throws your way. You can rest easy knowing that you have someone on your side looking out for your best interest who will proactively reach out with any new updates or recommendations.
Consider a Team Hewins Advisor
Now that you’ve got the answer to questions like “how can a financial advisor help you,” “what are the benefits of having a financial advisor,” and “what can financial advisors help with,” you may be wondering where to find one. At Team Hewins, we’re proud to offer fee-only financial advisors with extensive experience developing customized financial plans that empower clients to reach their personal financial objectives, whatever they may be.
With a dedicated professional in your corner with extensive access and accumulated expertise, you’ll be able to sit back, relax, and let your wealth accumulate over time — so that you can enjoy the life you build.
Reach out today to start setting yourself up for a successful financial future!
Team Hewins, LLC (“Team Hewins”) is an SEC-registered investment adviser; however, such registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training and no inference to the contrary should be made. The information contained within this letter is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any types of securities. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. It should not be assumed that diversification protects a portfolio from loss or that the diversification in a portfolio will produce profitable results. The opinions stated herein are as of the date of this letter and are subject to change. The information contained within this letter is compiled from sources Team Hewins believes to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee accuracy. We provide this information with the understanding that we are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or tax services. We recommend that all investors seek out the services of competent professionals in any of the aforementioned areas.
1 DeBarros, Anthony. “About the Wall Street Journal Economic Forecasting Survey.” WSJ, 16 Oct. 2022, www.wsj.com/articles/economic-forecasting-survey-archive-11617814998. Accessed 6 Dec. 2022.
2 “Daily Treasury Par Yield Curve Rates.” U.S. Department of The Treasury, 6 Dec. 2022, home.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/TextViewtype=daily_treasury_yield_curve. Accessed 6 Dec. 2022.
Team Hewins, LLC (“Team Hewins”) is an SEC-registered investment adviser; however, such registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training, and no inference to the contrary should be made. We provide this information with the understanding that we are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or tax services. We recommend that all investors seek out the services of competent professionals in any of the aforementioned areas. Certain information provided herein is based on third-party sources, which information, although believed to be accurate, has not been independently verified by Team Hewins. Team Hewins assumes no liability for errors and omissions in the information contained herein. Certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Team Hewins does not guarantee the achievement of long-term goals in the portfolio review process. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and a diversified portfolio does not guarantee a positive outcome. Nothing contained herein may be relied upon as a guarantee, promise, assurance, or a representation as to the future.