By David Lamb CFP™ MCSI
My last work meeting before leaving for Rome to see a Bruce Springsteen concert early this summer was an investment risk analysis with a new client.
During the discussion I asked him his views on the investment industry. He responded that he thought it was a necessary evil and considered it a very manipulative boys’ club. Ouch!
A couple of days later I heard Bruce sing: “We learned more from a three-minute record than we ever learned in school.”
The Boss also wrote:
Gambling man rolls the dice
Working man pays the bill
It’s still fat and easy on banker’s hill
On banker’s hill the party’s going strong
Down here below we’re shackled and drawn.
With this reputation, perhaps the investment industry could learn a lot from a three-minute record. No wonder people are wary of financial advisers if they seem to be an old boys’ club, only interested in wanting to invest your money at no risk to them!
A good financial planner will be different because they should focus on you, your family and your lifestyle – not your money.
Many of our clients initially come to us thinking they need advice on a product (a pension or investment), but after we have explained what true financial planning is they understand that what they really want is to know how much is enough? Enough to give them the lifestyle that they want without the fear of running out of money, whatever happens.
Many think this is the big question. We think it is the second biggest question. The big question is enough for what? What is your lifestyle now and what do you want it to be in the future? The planner should then work with the client to achieve this lifestyle, using the resources that the client has available.
Have you thought about what your lifestyle looks like through the different phases of your life and how much will be ‘enough’ to fund it?
There are free resources on our website that can help you do this anonymously, including a tool to help you understand your current lifestyle and a questionnaire to help determine where you feel you are with your financial planning.
You may find the results interesting.
Visit lambfinancial.co.uk – scan the QR code for speed.
