7 Reasons Why You Should Consider Using an Independent Financial Advisor
Making long-term decisions about money can be difficult and even a little scary. You may have already realized that you need financial help that goes beyond reading blogs and books or getting suggestions from your neighbor or office co-workers. During your lifetime, you’re more than likely going to encounter periods of both good and bad market performance. For those reasons and more, when planning for your retirement, it’s increasingly important to seek guidance from a fiduciary-based financial advisor who can help you structure an income strategy that reflects your risk tolerance and investment objectives.
A financial advisor can help provide you with a range of financial planning services, from investment management to budgeting guidance to legacy planning. With so much at stake, it’s important that you feel you can trust your financial advisor to consider a wide variety of possible solutions for your specific situation. You don’t want just any financial advice, you need objective, personalized financial advice. You also want to have confidence that the advice being provided to you by your financial advisor is in your best interests – not theirs.
As the demand for objective, personalized advice grows, it seems that more and more people are choosing to work with independent financial professionals who provide more comprehensive advice including legacy, retirement, investing, taxes, education funding and insurance planning. If you want a solid working relationship that helps you make smart financial decisions, it helps to know what you’re getting into.
We sat down with League City’s Roberts Wealth Management CEO, Summer A. Roberts, and her dynamic team to help break down why considering an independent financial advisor can be important. We narrowed it down to what we feel are the top seven benefits:
1. Independent Advisors are Just That, Independent
These advisors are not bound to any one company, family of funds, investment products or services. According to Summer Roberts, “This allows us to keep many tools in our tool bag and pull out the ones that could be most beneficial and effective for each individual, unique client. If the goal is to change a light bulb, we don’t only have hammers to choose from. We look at all available options and choose the tools that are most appropriate and best suited for that particular family and their specific needs.” It is for this reason that independent advisors are able to help provide you with customized guidance based on your entire financial picture.
2. The Fiduciary Duty of Care
Investment Adviser Representatives are held to a fiduciary duty of care, which means they are legally required to put the best interest of their clients first when providing investment advice. When insurance recommendations are made, the regulatory standard that applies is the suitability standard which means that the recommendations meet your needs and objectives. Coby Culpepper, Associate Financial Advisor with Roberts Wealth Management states, “This means we are legally obligated to offer investment guidance that will best serve our clients’ interests. It gives me great pride to provide our clients with the highest level of knowledge, recommendations and analysis, because my loyalty is always to them first, our clients!”
3. Accountability
In order to offer advice that is objective and closely aligns with your retirement goals, an independent financial advisor must build a strong understanding of your current financial situation. As a result, they must focus on building a deep relationship with you – a relationship that is responsive, attentive and personal. In addition, since independent financial advisors are also typically successful entrepreneurs, they hold themselves personally accountable to you directly.
4. Variety
Independent financial professionals, like Roberts and her team, are not limited, meaning they are able to work with many financial institutions providing the freedom to choose from a wide range of investment and insurance options in order to tailor their advice based on what is best for you. This increases the likelihood of being able to provide the best options for their client’s needs. In contrast, a captive advisor works with one company or financial institution, thus is only able to offer their proprietary products.
5. Client Experience
As small-business owners, independent financial advisors are likely to have fewer clients than larger companies. If a quality, high-touch client experience is important to you, then you may have better luck finding it with an independent advisor. “At Roberts Wealth Management, you have access to the entire RWM Team in which each member plays a vital role in providing you with a quality client experience. We have worked diligently to put together a detailed process to deliver high-quality and high-value services to our clients,” expresses Colleen Duncan, VP of Client Relations at Roberts Wealth Management. “Most importantly, we don’t believe in treating our clients like numbers – they become part of our family.”
6. Transparency
Typically, independent financial professionals are fee-based advisors. This fee-based compensation model allows for transparency in the guidance that is given to clients with no hidden advisory fees and no bias due to conflicts of interest to sell a certain product line or company offering. This method encourages growing the clients’ securities assets – when the client makes money, so does the advisory firm. Paul Roberts, Founder of Roberts Wealth Management, said it best; “Being a fee-based firm puts us on the same team as our clients. When the client wins, we win and when they lose, we lose.”
7. Planning, Not Selling Products
Because of benefits 1-6 listed above, independent financial advisors are able to offer detailed financial goal planning and tracking. When it comes to your financial future, it’s not only about investing. Independent advisors are better able to focus on a comprehensive approach to financial planning, which could include investment management, risk management, institutional allocation, diversification, income planning, estate and legacy planning as well as advanced tax efficient planning and optimization.
Planning for retirement today can be challenging. For this reason, you may want to consider securing objective financial advice from an independent, family-owned & operated comprehensive wealth management firm like Roberts Wealth Management to help guide you on the path toward your retirement success.
Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Roberts Wealth Management are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. Insurance products are sold based on the suitability standard at both the state and insurance carrier level; this means that product recommendations must meet the stated financial needs and objectives of the client. Investment advisory services are required to be provided in accordance with a fiduciary standard- this means that the advice must be in the best interest of the client with any conflicts of interest fully disclosed to the client. Neither the firm nor its agents or representatives may give tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult with a qualified professional for guidance before making any purchasing decisions. 00426033
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Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Roberts Wealth Management are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. Neither the firm, nor its agents or representatives may give tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult with a qualified professional for guidance before making any purchasing decisions. The firm is not affiliated with the US government or any governmental agency. 00396709
