September 1, 2018
Dan Wolford, CFP®
As I began to contemplate the content of this first blog, my attention quickly turned to the gratitude we feel on a daily basis at Swisher Financial Concepts. Gratitude for our valued clients, who have year after year, placed their trust in our ability to help guide them through financial ups and downs. We do not claim to know everything there is to know about the markets, the financial world, or the economic and political events yet to come. What we do claim is that we will do our absolute best to always make the extra effort to place your best interests above our own interests and we will be there for you when you need us. So this leads me to the core topic of this initial blog entry:
Expectations Of A Financial Advisor?
- Does the advisor know what they’re talking about?
At Swisher Financial Concepts, we pride ourselves on a high level of competency. 75% of our advisors have achieved the CFP® designation, and all of our financial advisors are very comprehensive in their training and daily practices, so we have the expertise to cover the vast array of topics that may arise in any given planning engagement.
- What’s this going to cost?
Every engagement with a financial advisor should identify the costs associated with becoming a client and continuing on as a client. We maintain a flexible fee schedule and also from time to time we offer commission-based services and products when it makes sense for the client. For fully advised fee-based portfolio management, our fees never exceed 1.0% of assets under management, and many clients experience a reduced fee structure due to the size of their assets. We believe that clients should always realize more value from the engagement than the amount it is costing them; otherwise the engagement should not be consummated.
- Who are they looking out for?
Central to the question of whether you will engage a certain advisor or continue with them in a long-term relationship is the trust factor. Whether a client is ultimately satisfied or dissatisfied is generally traced back to the fact and feeling that an advisor was looking out for their best interests. And that doesn’t just mean best interests in terms of investment selection and performance. I’m talking about taking the time to get to know a client, their hopes and dreams, their concerns and fears; working with them constantly to provide advice and solutions that enhance their financial lives. We do not want to be passive advisors; we want clients who expect us to bring ideas and solutions to the table that perhaps they’ve never heard of or pursued.
- Family
In short, we want to use the gifts we’ve been given in the area of financial education, understanding, and planning to make the financial lives of our clients more satisfying. We want to treat you like family and be treated like family. We rejoice together in successes and roll up our sleeves together to address and tackle concerns or problems.
- Ultimate outcomes
We hope to provide advocacy to clients and their families when they need it the most. There is nothing more satisfying in our daily world than being a part of a financial plan that comes to fruition in real time, right before our eyes. To witness clients who work hard all their lives and end up retiring comfortably on the assets they’ve accumulated is one of the most rewarding experiences an advisor can have. It is this type of desirable outcome that we strive toward each day with our clients. Taking the approach of partner or teammate with our clients helps us stay on the same path in pursuing the clients’ goals.
Please feel free to email suggestions for topics you would like to have us address in future months here in our blog. We hope to make this a positive and educational experience on a consistent, periodic basis.
Thanks for your interest!