The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
What are some of the benefits of using a financial planner?
Working with a financial planner should be about bringing clarity to your financial future and putting plans in place that then allow you to do what you want to do in life. This can mean very different things to different people.
Peace of mind
Investing and planning for your future can be intimidating, wouldn’t it be nice to embark on that journey with someone in your corner who’s as invested in your success as you are?
A good financial planner should be someone who thoroughly knows you and your family, your dreams, hopes, goals and the future you one day hope to achieve. Not only do they know you, but they’re proactively working to bring these things to fruition.
Defining your goals
Many of us think in terms of short, medium and long-term goals when we think about our futures.
Distinguishing between
them as we go about our busy lives can be difficult, and it can be even more challenging to have the confidence you are allocating your resources to them in the right way.
So one of the main benefits of using a financial planner is that they will help you prioritise what is most important to you, whether that is a financial or a lifestyle goal. Then help you put plans in place that will allow that life goal to become a reality.
Regular reviews
One of the most important
steps with working with a financial planner is the regular annual review.
It is impossible to predict what life will throw at us, so it is important to have the flexibility to adjust your planning if required, and holding annual reviews with your financial planner is the best way of ensuring your life goals stay on track and become a reality.
Expert advice
A financial planner will guide you through and take care of the various dos and don’ts, in
particular to the tax and investment elements of your planning.
The savings in time alone will be significant, as you receive the guidance and consideration of complex topics from a trained professional, allowing you to relax knowing there are arrangements in place to help you achieve whatever your life goals are.
A cool head
Major financial decisions can be some of the most complicated and consequential we face – and there can also be a
significant emotional element.
A professional financial planner can provide objective, rational advice, free from the anxiety that stressful circumstance – whether personal or in the wider economy – can provoke.
This will help avoid the knee-jerk emotional investment decisions that many self-investors experience that can have such a negative impact on your planning.
A good financial planner will help prioritise your dreams and hopes for the future, putting plans in
place to help you get there, regularly checking that everything is on track whilst at the same time help you make smarter financial decisions and give you the peace of mind that everything is being taken care of.
There are many more reasons our clients use our services, and these will vary as much as their own goals in life.
Steven Milne is a financial planner at Acumen Financial Planning and is based at their office in Elgin. 01343 233105