The role of a financial professional

You can think of financial professionals as the glue that connects your financial life. They can do much more than simply help you as you manage your investments—they take a holistic view of your life, including not just your money but also your personal goals, and help you chart a course to the future you want.

Here’s a deeper dive into the many hats that financial professionals wear on a regular basis.

Goals-based planning

You have goals and your financial professional is here to help you address them, whether you’re hoping to buy a home, save for your child or grandchild’s education, or navigate major life events. Here are just a few examples of how a financial professional might help you frame your financial efforts around the things that matter to you:

• Charting your spending and saving
• Guiding you through protection strategies, including insurance choices to help protect and provide for your family in the face of unforeseen circumstances over the long term
• Setting up accounts to help you achieve your goals, such as a 529 account for college savings
• Helping to address questions that arrive around life events such as retirement, such as Social Security, Medicare and minimum required IRA distributions
• Benchmarking where you are now and where you want to be, so you can clearly see how far you’ve come and what your path is going forward

Investment services

It is true that one of the most fundamental tasks of a financial professional is to help you build a personalized investment portfolio. They’ll consider your age, risk tolerance and personal goals to help figure out the ideal asset allocation for you. For example, if you’re in your thirties and focused on building your retirement nest egg, they might suggest you put a higher percentage of your portfolio in riskier investments than if you were hoping to retire in the next few years. 

They’ll also consider how you might be able to minimize expenses and come armed with tax-efficient investing strategies and ways to manage risks.

Collaborate with other professionals

When you’re wondering “who should I even talk to about this?” your financial professional can collaborate with the other professionals that you work with such as your CPA, tax professional, or attorney.

After all, you’ll want your team of professionals working together to help you create your holistic financial plan for reaching your short- and long-term goals.

Navigating estate planning strategies and family situations

In a way, estate planning is an act of love: It’s how we look after those we care about when we’re no longer here. This can range from a basic last will and testament to a complex legal and financial plan. It can be helpful to construct this plan with the guidance of a credible team of professionals, such as an estate attorney, financial professional, and accountant/CPA. In addition to helping you build your estate plan, together these professionals can help you adjust your plans as life brings you unexpected surprises including a change in marital status, the birth of new family members, various health situations and more.

Especially if you have a particularly large estate or a complicated family situation, a financial strategy can be an invaluable guide to help you stay focused and navigate these nuances. That might mean structuring your finances to make sure the next generation is cared for or charting out your financial life after a divorce. If you have a complicated situation such as a lifelong dependent or want to find ways to pass on your wealth to various loved ones, your financial professional and your attorney might discuss ways to address your objectives in a manner that best fits your needs. 

Personalized financial coaching

Remember, your financial professional is a human—a human who knows you well and wants to see you succeed. A financial professional can help you understand money concepts and your own financial biases. That might mean helping you understand your own decision-making processes when the market peaks or dips, and how to spend or save more effectively.

In the following video, you’ll see the human face behind the financial plan—and how financial planning can help people live the lives they seek, and even help grow their communities.