Services Provided By A Financial Planner Part 2

For anyone not sure of what a financial adviser does – this is the article for you! In his previous article, Platinum adviser Liam Shorte outlined the 5 roles he felt he played as a financial planner. In this piece, he expands to show how he performs those roles and includes the actual services he provides to his clients. This week he identifies what he does in his roles as a “Professional Financial Planner” and a “Personal Finance Coach”. 

A Professional Financial Planner:

1. Guides you to think about areas of your financial life you may not have considered.
2. Formalises your goals and puts them in writing.
3. Helps you prioritise your financial objectives in the right order not what’s easy first.
4. Helps you determine realistic benchmarks.
5. Makes you accountable for your own strategies through regular reviews.
6. Studies possible alternatives that could meet your goals.
7. Helps you work out your best Salary Sacrifice strategy
8. Prepares a “big picture” financial plan called a Statement of Advice for you. This should be a reference document for the detailed strategy.
9. Suggests creative alternatives that you may not have considered including the best way to maximise Centrelink benefits.
10. Assists you in setting up a Superannuation plan and maybe even an SMSF when the time is right.
11. Reviews your children’s educational cost funding strategy.
12. Provides reminders about updates to key financial planning data.
13. Checks with you before the end of the year to identify any last-minute financial planning needs.
14. Guides you on ways to fund health care and other lump sum expenses in retirement.
15. Assists in preparing an estate plan for you.
16. Cares more about you and your money than anyone who doesn’t share your last name.

A PERSONAL FINANCIAL COACH:

1. Monitors changes in your life, career and family situation.
2. Proactively keeps in touch with you with news and ideas, educating you along the way.
3. Serves as a human glossary of financial terms such as alpha, P/E ratio, and franking credits.
4. Provides referrals to other professionals, such as accountants, auditors and lawyers.
5. Shares the experience of dozens of his clients who have also faced circumstances similar to yours. (I’m Irish so I love a story to relay a solution)
6. Helps with the continuity of your family’s financial plan through generations.
7. Keeps you on track with reviews to achieve your objectives.
8. Identifies your savings shortfalls and strategies to plug the gap.
9. Develops and monitors a strategy for debt reduction.
10. Is a wise sounding board for ideas you are considering.
11. I provide the necessary resources to facilitate your decisions, and explaining the opportunities and risks associated with each option.
12. Provides “the sleep factor” so you are not stressed about money
13. Is there for your spouse and family should anything happen to you.
14. Is honest with you, always, even when it means saying NO!

In the final article of this series we'll look at the last 3 roles Liam engages in - the Investment Strategist, the Insurance Adviser and the Tax Consultant (within the limits of his license!)

Liam Shorte is a Platinum adviser from Verante Financial Planning, servicing Castle Hill and Windsor in Sydney. Liam has 36 Client reviews and an average client rating of 96%.

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Liam Shorte

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