A firm’s glossy website can leave a strong first impression and when you go in to meet with a firm and its team you will likely experience a similar charm. However, sometimes these efforts to entice new clients make it hard to see beyond the veneer. So how can you tell if a firm is telling the whole story?
Janet Kim Sing
Typically, a firm will manage the assets, but not physically hold them. There is an outside party, called a custodian, who holds custody over the firm and its clients’ assets.
Fees are a natural part of paying for a service, whether you’re paying a mechanic to fix your engine problems or paying a firm to manage your money. Within our industry, however, fees have tended to be very convoluted, layered, and difficult to understand.
The loss of a spouse is a tragedy and not knowing where to start, who to turn to, what to do, is all the more overwhelming during a time of mourning. Although we cannot prevent death, we can plan for it.
We have spoken a lot about the importance of proper planning and how this can help to provide a roadmap to guide us. However, we have also spoken about the practicalities of life and how changes in circumstances can sometimes throw a wrench into the works and affect our plans.
Imagine a parent or spouse passes away and there is no will in place? This happens all too frequently and the impact can be devastating to the Estate at a time when grief is already at a peak.
A common question that we get asked when meeting with prospective clients is, “What can you do for me that my current advisor can’t?” Of course, every firm will have their own answer on what makes them stand out from the crowd.
Our objective in working closely with our clients is to craft a tailored investment strategy which operates as a dynamic blueprint designed to help them reach their financial goals.
We have established that not only is it okay to have a retirement plan in place, but that planning is in fact good and effective stewardship. So, what does someone approaching retirement need to do to be prepared?
