We all have our own perspectives on money and how best to use it – and more people than ever are shifting their focus from merely accumulating wealth to aligning their financial goals with their values.
Even if that is something you are interested in, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. This makes sense of the fact that although many investors want their portfolio to reflect what matters most to them, there is still a gap when it comes to expressing this practically through their investments.
This is where working with a financial planning specialist could help – and especially one who is committed to putting your needs and values first, with a roadmap designed around your unique lifestyle and preferences.
The right financial planning specialist could help talk you through more environmental, social, and governmental investment options, help you allocate tax-efficient money towards philanthropic causes, or give more to your local house of worship – in other words, help you align with your values and interests in a practical way.
In this article, we will examine what a financial planning specialist is, why you might want to work with one, and the qualities to look for when choosing a financial planning specialist.
What Is a Financial Planning Specialist?
A financial planning specialist helps you manage your finances to meet your financial goals. They may also be referred to as a financial advisor, financial coach, wealth strategist, or certified financial planner (CFP®). Some serve you in several areas, but others specialize in specific areas like wealth management, retirement planning, or ethical investing.
How Can a Financial Planning Specialist Help You?
There are so many ways a financial planning specialist could help to guide your financial steps in line with what matters most to you. Some of those include:
- Budgeting: Budgeting includes reviewing your income and expenses with the objective of spending less money than you bring in each month, and aligning that spending with your priorities.
- Investing: Investing means putting your money to work for you by buying stocks, bonds, commodities, or real estate.
- Saving: Saving involves setting aside money in an account for future expenses, such as emergencies, major purchases, or education expenses.
- Retirement planning: Retirement planning entails saving for your post-work years through products like 401ks, IRAs, and health savings accounts (HSAs).
Why Work With a Financial Planning Specialist?
Everyone has a different level of financial knowledge. You may be familiar with the basics of your finances, or you may already be a skilled investor – but a financial planning specialist is just that: a specialist. Managing money is what they do.
They know various options to help you move toward your financial goals. They have witnessed people make both good and bad decisions, as well as the consequences that follow those choices. They can also examine your finances from various angles to identify your strengths and areas where you may require extra assistance.
5 Aspects That Make a Good Financial Planning Specialist
1. Education
Education begins with a degree, but it does not end there. A financial planning specialist can earn additional certifications, particularly as a Certified Financial Planner ® (CFP®). When your financial planner has the CFP® designation, that indicates they have gone through extra training, passed rigorous tests, and met specific ethical requirements. This certification communicates their goal is to serve your best interests in a fiduciary capacity, rather than to sell you a product.
According to the CFP® Institute, “Members and candidates have a duty of loyalty to their clients and must act with reasonable care and exercise prudent judgment. Members and candidates must act for the benefit of their clients and place their clients’ interests before their employer’s or their own interests.”
2. Values
If you want to align your financial planning with your values or beliefs, consider researching individuals or companies in your area. First and foremost, you would likely want your financial planning specialist to be a CFP® because everyone with this designation is held to a high standard when it comes to how they handle clients and their money.
You could do your research in a number of ways, including:
- asking friends and family for references,
- searching for the business on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website,
- doing a general online search for the business, or
- inquiring on social media for referrals.
We recommend using more than one of the methods above to gain a comprehensive understanding of your local financial planning specialists.
3. Specialities
When seeking a financial planning specialist, it can be helpful to work out your own strengths, weaknesses and potential blind spots.
For example, you may have a good budget that you are able to follow, but you might need some help with growing your money through investments.
Or, depending on your current life stage and interests, you may need guidance on saving for your child’s education, setting yourself up for retirement, or comparing ethical investment options.
The list goes on, but each financial planning specialist you check out should be able to tell you what their specialty areas are, as well as disclosing if they are not skilled in a particular area (in light of their fiduciary duty to act in your best interests).
You might want to have conversations with multiple financial planning specialists to find out if their strengths align with your weaknesses, and if they can help you identify any blind spots in your finances.
4. Transparency
A good financial planning specialist should be willing to be open and honest with you. Especially if they are a CFP®, they ought to advise you regarding:
- what their fees are upfront,
- what products they might get a commission from,
- honest assessments of risk for specific investments,
- a straightforward evaluation of your current financial state,
- notifying you of any conflicts of interest, and
- the global ESG disclosure standards for investments that have them.
Integrity is a crucial trait to consider when selecting a financial planning specialist. Remember that the person you choose will probably have considerable sway over how you manage your finances, so if the fit doesn’t feel right with one advisor, you can always look for someone else.
5. Availability
While you may not want to work with a financial planning specialist who manages a tiny handful of clients, it may also be off-putting to work with one who has way too many clients.
At Iron Point Financial, we believe your financial planning specialist should return your messages within a few days, or at least let you know when they will be able to get in touch with you. After you have signed on with them, you might also want to prioritize meeting with them as frequently as it makes sense for you, so you can keep track of the way they are helping to manage your finances.
For example, when you are just starting with your new financial planning specialist, you might meet with them quarterly to ensure you are heading in the right direction. Once your financial strategy is clear, you might then shift to meeting with them annually to review your financial situation, any new challenges you may be facing, and your future goals.
How Does Iron Point Financial Match Up?
1. Education
Our financial planners hold certifications as both Certified Financial Planners (CFP®) and Retirement Income Certified Professionals (RICP®). Our team focuses on advising people to build around their unique financial goals, rather than selling you commission-based financial products.
2. Values
We take the time to meet with you to discuss your personal vision, goals, and values, so we can use those as our starting point for a personalized financial roadmap. We do this because we believe you deserve more than just to work to make a living: you deserve to have your money put to work for you and the causes you truly care about.
3. Specialities
We provide specialist financial planning for a variety of services, including:
We would be delighted to meet with you to discuss how we can help you in any of these areas.
4. Transparency
At our first meeting, we will review all fees with you and explain how we are compensated. Additionally, we can discuss how we match you with investment opportunities that align with your interests. We understand that a long-lasting relationship requires trust, and we are committed to building that trust with you.
5. Availability
Our availability to you begins with an initial appointment where we talk through your family’s needs and how we can help. For all of the clients we serve, we make it a point to respond to your calls and emails in a timely manner.
Furthermore, as a local, independent financial firm with permanent offices in Grove City, PA, and Greenville, PA, we may be able to meet with you more regularly than larger firms, as well as seeing you out and about in the community (feel free to stop us in the street or a coffee shop to say hi!).
If you are interested in finding a financial planning specialist committed to helping you tell a financial story you are willing to invest your life in, why not schedule an appointment today to meet with an Iron Point Financial CFP® or RICP®? We would love to get to know you and to walk with you on your financial planning journey.
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Further Reading
Iron Point Financial is here to empower you to secure a brighter tomorrow. We operate physical offices in Grove City, PA and Greenville, PA.
We primarily serve residents of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Florida but we also have security registrations for 22 other states across the continental USA.
Disclosures
General Disclosures
The foregoing information is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision, and it does not constitute a recommendation.
All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of principal.
Strategies discussed, including ESG or values-based investing, may not be suitable for all investors and do not guarantee any specific outcome.
Past performance is not indicative of future results.
CFP® Disclosures
CFP® professionals are required to adhere to the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, which includes a fiduciary duty when providing financial advice. This does not eliminate all conflicts of interest; conflicts must be disclosed and managed.
