The true value of financial advice is a topic of intense debate these days. And, to be completely fair, both sides have a reasonable basis for their arguments. With technological advances (including the advent of Robo-advisors), there are more available options for consuming financial advice than ever before.
That withstanding, forgive us if we’re a bit biased in our views.
To be clear, we adamantly believe that financial planning (by way of a Certified Financial Planner) is the most effective way to make an impact on a person’s life (monetarily speaking). More than merely providing digital advice based on algorithms, true financial planning helps individuals create (and stick to) long-term financial plans, as well as identify and overcome biases and modify unhealthy behavior.
At a minimum, this is what you should expect when soliciting advice from an experienced financial advisor. However, for many, that doesn’t equate to a value-add that would necessitate the need for a human advisor over its digital counterpart.
Maybe this will change your mind.
As a few of you may know, much of my career before founding Fox Financial Services was spent working for Kraft Foods Federal Credit Union. As a result, a large percentage of our client base is made up of current and former Kraft Foods employees.
This is great on a number of levels. My familiarity with the stock options and investment plans offered by Kraft, allow me to employ a unique perspective that most other financial advisors simply don’t have. Alternatively, it’s quite nice to catch-up and chat with old colleagues from time-to-time.
Like myself, many of my former colleagues have moved on to other companies and are beginning to look for answers to arguably the-most-popular-financial-question-on-earth, “When Can I Retire?”
Like most important questions, the answer is almost certainly “It depends”, followed by a careful analysis of their financial wherewithal.
We recently helped a prospective client who came to us for not just answers to the retirement question, but also to calculate the cost basis of her company stock. What started as General Foods stock in 1985 was now, after a slew of corporate mergers, buy outs and spinoffs, Altria (MO), Philip Morris International (PMI), Mondelez (MDLZ), and Kraft Heinz (KHC).
Our work figured out how much was spent on automatically reinvested dividends, and accounted for splits, spinoffs, and all other stock events. All told, we were able to raise the cost basis of those stocks and save her tens of thousands of dollars in taxes.
Again, I may be biased, but I don’t know that a robo-advisor would provide an equivalent level of expertise and advice. And that doesn’t look to change any time soon.
Following basic rules based on simple financial solutions or risk profiles can absolutely be accomplished by utilizing technology. But once things become more complex, including long-term tax planning, cost basis calculations, and the like, robo-advisors are no match for a human who can take an objective look at a situation and help create financial plans that address a client’s unique needs.
This is what we consider the true essence of financial planning. At Fox Financial, we take pride in finding solutions to your most complex financial worries. And saving our clients from overpaying in taxes by determining the cost basis of company stock (including automatically reinvested dividends), is just one example.
Simply put, we address the holistic financial needs of our clients and look for opportunities to go above and beyond what is generally expected of financial service providers. Our clients deserve the best, and that’s great because that’s what we specialize in.
Concerned about your transition to retirement? We should talk! Click here to schedule a meeting to discuss your situation and see if Fox Financial is a good fit.
