When clients and prospects attend one of my seminars or webcasts, they ask, why do I want to work with you? It’s not because FourStar or I have better insights or pick better stocks. We contract with some of the best fund managers whose job it is to build significant portfolios.
Our job is to put you first, and that doesn’t happen in one or two meetings. My function is to help you determine your needs and wants. This way, we build a plan that works for you, and we know the goals are ever-changing. So, I use a diagram to help people begin planning:
This diagram came to me from a fellow advisor I met at a conference, Carl Richards. He is also the author of The One-Page Financial Plan. I thought the diagrams were a great tool, and he permitted me to use them.
Another problem clients come to me with is financial paralysis, and they can’t solve it. I show them this diagram and in conjunction with “things that matter,” they begin to unwind the mystery of planning.
Building a plan helps me recommend how much risk you can take. Your money must last the rest of your life. Creating a strategy that helps ensure lifetime income gives us freedom. In retirement, we love freedom.