Top 6 Reasons You Need a Financial Professional

Whether you’re a confident, independent finance guru or you’re new to investing; the right type of financial advisor can offer expert insight to help you avoid common and costly mistakes.

Financial advice and financial planning mean much more than just guidance for investing. Now, more than ever, planning professionals are an essential resource to help educate you in today’s complex, technological financial marketplace so that you can maximize return on your investments.

From budgeting and planning for retirement, to saving and managing your taxes and insurance needs, financial planning by a qualified professional helps you not only prepare for your future, but also gives you peace of mind. Many people do not have the time or knowledge to invest on their own. However, with the help of a financial planner, you can outsource this task to someone who is experienced in investing. This will allow you to focus on your career and other aspects of your life while still saving for your future.

Here are the top reasons for hiring a financial professional:

1) Access to Investment Accounts

Properly trained and licensed financial professionals can offer investment accounts and strategies that are not available to you as an individual investor. This helps you gain better diversification and a more informed, expert approach. If you find the right financial expert, the investment will be small for access to exponential return.

2) Keep You on Track

An expert advisor holds you accountable for your financial goals. In fact, it’s almost like having a personal trainer for your finances. The biggest financial mistake many people make is not saving enough for retirement. A survey by GOBankingRates found that 42 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 19 percent have nothing saved. It’s the expert’s job to help you stay focused on a savings and investing plan, and keep you focused on your objectives. It’s easy to get off track with spending splurges and life happenings. Having an unbiased accountability partner is important for your investment time horizon.

A financial professional can help you make and stick to a plan. Oftentimes, we are our own worst enemy when it comes to money matters. We overspend, fail to plan and make hasty decisions without thinking about the long-term consequences. Having someone hold us accountable—and help us stay disciplined—can make all the difference when it comes to realizing our financial dreams.

They can also help in times of crisis. We all hope we’ll never face a major health scare or job loss, but the fact is that these things happen. And when they do, it can be difficult to think about anything else—let alone your finances. That’s where a financial planner comes in. He or she can help you make the important decisions about your money while you deal with whatever else is going on in your life.

3) Coordination of Your Financial Assets

One of the big problems independent investors face is money falling through the cracks because there’s no coordination between the estate, tax and financial planning areas of their life. Coordination is key to make sure investment and retirement assets are planned strategically with the right timeline so that you’re not paying more than needed. A professional advisor or fiduciary has the education to know the small print on the extra costs.

A qualified financial planner can help you create a legally binding plan that will protect your finances and your family in the event of an unexpected death or disability. This type of plan also gives you the peace of mind knowing that your family will be taken care of if something happens to you.

4.) Transition of Estate Planning

The transition of assets to family members can be cumbersome with many hidden, and costly, fees, penalties and taxes. A specialized financial professional can help you navigate the transition of wealth more seamlessly to avoid unnecessary costs. Also, having the conversation with all family members about life goals, retirement planning and transfer of wealth assets with a professional will help your family avoid headaches and financial frustration.

It’s not uncommon for people to avoid estate planning because it can be emotionally charged. It can also be difficult to find the right person to help with this type of planning. A fiduciary will work with you and your family to make sure your assets are transferred in the most efficient way possible while minimizing stress and conflict.

5.) Educated Sounding Board

Many people make emotional, uneducated investment decisions that can be costly, and sometimes catastrophic. A trusted financial expert can be a realistic sounding board to help educate you on reality in the financial marketplace. Perspective is everything when making big financial decisions and a financial professional can help navigate tricky waters.

6.) Financial Freedom and Peace of Mind

Planning for your financial future with an expert financial advisor – preferably as early in your career as possible as compound interest is the key to retirement savings – will give you the financial freedom to choose your retirement date and build a retirement income plan you won’t outlive. Making the informed switch from growth to income investing at the opportune time requires careful consideration and unique portfolio retirement strategies. It’s easy to make a mistake when managing your finances, and those mistakes can be costly. A financial professional will help you avoid making common—and often expensive—errors. Also, making sure your family is provided for financially, in case something unexpectedly happens to you, will help give you peace of mind.

How to Choose the Right Financial Professional

Hiring an advisor isn’t free, so carefully consider their fee structure; but don’t get too bogged down with the “cost” of their services without considering the value they bring to your life. When it comes to your finances, you shouldn’t take any chances. Hiring a qualified financial professional is one of the smartest things you can do to ensure your financial wellbeing.

Choosing the right financial professional is vital to ensuring your long-term financial success. Here are the top questions to ask a financial advisor before hiring to make sure you find a financial advisor who is right for your unique situation.