My Financial Security Home > What can a financial planner do for me?

I want to retire someday, how should I be preparing?  I want to protect my family, what kind of insurance do I need?

I am trying to make sense of my companies benefit plan, but I just don’t understand.

The check I write for taxes annoys me, and I’d like to keep my amount owed to a minimum.

I know I should be investing my money, I just don’t know where to start!

Money Manager – If you are looking for someone to buy your stocks, you might be looking for a money manager versus a financial planner.  They typically run money at the high net worth or institutional level.  If you have a pretty sophisticated background and have had money professionally managed, you might be a match.  This service might also be found at one the national brokerage firm.  They won’t be a fiduciary like the independent manager, but they certainly have experience in managing assets.

Generalist – What if you don’t have a million dollars, just your rollover IRA.  A generalist might work but you should find out how they manage your money and how much of a core function for the firm it is for them.  Are they an asset manager, hire asset managers or do they just sell product?

Asset Manager– Core asset managers might manage their own portfolios or they might not, it is really a question of scale, resources and a repeatable process.

Self Management– But what if you like managing your assets?  You like tracking the market and making your own decisions?  Do you want a second opinion or do you want ideas that you can review yourself and execute? Have you thought of investment newsletters?  There are many around that will all tell you how smart they are and give you recommendations.  There are some planners who might give you an occasional review and charge you by the hour to give your portfolio a review, they are harder to find but they do exist.There are firms that only manage 50 million that have a repeatable discipline and others that manage billions that still find other mangers to manage their clients assets.  Neither is right or wrong, but you should have a comfort level in terms of what they are doing for you.