By Re-assessing between you relationship with your advisors is taking off the risk of having a doubt. Touch base with them to ensure their best interests are being served.
Ryan Featherston is a focused on delivering clients exceptional financial advice and guidance on a Fee-Only basis. Ryan Featherston has 14+ years of financial advisory experience and is an accomplished advisor, author, and speaker.
Performing a background check is important and make sure no complaints have been made or disciplinary action taken against your see your current or prospective advisor.
It is hard to find people with standard who can give you advice about money. Just “appropriate” is not really the best choice or in your best interests. But titles like “financial adviser” or “financial planner,” can be used to imply you’re getting good advice without any requirement.
Keep in mind that your advisors should teach and educate you throughout your working relationship with them. If the advisor is hesitant to explain his recommendations, then maybe you should give room for doubting him. The trick is to find someone who is a true teacher at heart so you will be more confident in dealing with them. You want an honest and trustworthy person. Try not to fall for marketing strategies around you. Beware if a person who spend a lot of cash in these type of “client appreciation.” They may be using your money as “free stuff” just to make you feel good.
Although it may feel good to get that “free stuff” you should put in mind that you should never forget that you’ve already paid for it when you paid the advisor’s fee. There is always an illusion that it feels great to get ripped off! As much as possible, pay for them yourself!
Normally, some advisors strive to give you the best advice possible for your situation because they know that a good advice and education can really make you keep you coming back.
Ryan Featherston is a focused on delivering clients exceptional financial advice and guidance on a Fee-Only basis. Ryan Featherston has 14+ years of financial advisory experience and is an accomplished advisor, mugshot remover,author, and speaker.
Many people are unfulfilled and trying to get unstuck in their life or career. Often they can’t pinpoint why they feel the way they do. They just know they aren’t happy, and they may have no idea how to make themselves happy. Our work together is focused on helping them figure out their passion, and their purpose in life (not just in their career) which leads them to more clarity in direction, to take specific action steps and to have a greater sense of control over their life and their career. If you are currently feeling stuck or lacking direction in your career or in your life, here are 5 life planning steps you can take:
Clarify your values – Values are what’s most important to you right now. And while values do not change in the short term, they do change throughout your life as you enter and exit various life stages. It’s good practice to regularly review your values to ensure you are aligned to what’s most important to you. I remember a time early in my corporate career, when career progression was important to me and I worked long hours, took night classes and did what I believed was necessary to get promoted. As I moved into motherhood, I found kids and family were more important to me and while my career was still important, I did forgo career moves that would have meant relocating my family. Later, I left my corporate role in favor of running my own business to create more freedom and flexibility. If you are finding yourself at odds in your career or in your life, it may be that your values have shifted and you haven’t yet aligned your life to support what’s most important to you right now, in this stage of your life.
Identify your passion and purpose – What do you most enjoy doing? Are you doing “it”? Many people believe their passion ought to be their career. But there are many ways to fulfill your passion even if it’s not your main career. I know an artist who is accumulating some amazing pieces of art he sculpts hoping to exhibit them one day. Art is his passion, and yet he earns his living as a teacher. He finds some ways to integrate his passion into his work. For example, he volunteers for set design for school productions, he teaches art during the summer months at a local art studio, and he sculpts in his spare time. If you are one of the lucky ones where you are passionate about the work you do in your career, congratulations. And if you are not, there are still many ways to feed and nurture your passion.
Define your goals – Do you have a clear set of goals for this year? And for the next 3-5 years and beyond? Life is a marathon, not a sprint and your life plan should reflect that. A methodical, disciplined approach to realizing your dreams and goals. What do you aspire to be, to have? Even if the goal seems too big or too unattainable, think about and plan for how you can move forward in the direction of what you most desire? Taking regular, baby steps will get you the results you desire eventually. Also, make sure you look at all areas of your life not just your career. Consider: money and finance, relationships, personal and professional development, health and wellness, spirituality, family, fun and recreation, and physical environment.
Organize your finances – Do you have a financial plan? Many years as a banker taught me that some goals need to be planned for financially to be achieved. Generally, people don’t adequately plan for their future and then live a life of many regrets. You may have a goal to retire at 65 or start a business at some point, but unless you have planned for it financially, it may not be attainable. I worked with a client who desired to leave his corporate job and start a business. Through our coaching work, he determined the amount of money he needed to cover his expenses until his business broke even. He continued together with his company job long enough to amass the money he would wish. While it was not easy to save, be disciplined and continue with his job, it set him up for success and took a lot of pressure off his finances in the early stages of his business. Make sure you have adequately planned for emergencies, set aside monies to realize your goals and plan for your future including your retirement. A good financial plan is an important component of your overall life plan.
Create your career plan – No matter where you are on your career path currently… at the start of your career or perhaps nearing the end and thinking about retirement – you need a career plan! A good career plan will include a review of your values, interests, passions, strengths, skills and experience as well as your career goals, options, and opportunities. A good plan will identify and address education/experience gaps, personal and professional development needs as well as available support and mentorship. Having a well thought out plan provides you with focus, direction and the confidence to take action. The better prepared you are for the future, the easier it will be for you to slide into your next career move.
To remove mugshots, you often need to know who the administrator of the site is and how to contact them. Many websites make this information intentionally hard, if not impossible to find, so getting through to the right person can be a time consuming tasks that leaves you frustrated and stressed out. When you need to remove these pictures from Mugshots.com, hiring an internet reputation company to help you is the best way to go.
Ryan Featherston has access to a wide variety of financial tools to help clients work towards their various goals. Ryan holds his Series 7 registration with LPL Financial, and his Series 66 registration with both LPL Financial and Level Four Advisory Services, also his Life and Health Licenses
If you have found yourself on the wrong side of the law, you must do everything you can to clear your name, make restitution where needed and clean up your record. If you are unable to make restitution and clear your name, finding a job, home or getting credit can be next to impossible. Sometimes, even after you have made all the necessary restitution, completed community service requirements, attended all court proceedings and have satisfied the courts, your mugshots remain active on data bases continuing the nightmare of your arrest and impacting your life much longer than necessary. You need to make sure to remove them from every searchable data base to ensure your past stays in the past and does not prevent you from securing a job, home or other opportunities. There are many mugshot data bases and to remove them from Mugshots.com and other websites can be tricky, so enlist help if you need it.
Ryan Featherston has access to a wide variety of financial tools to help clients work towards their various goals. Ryan holds his Series 7 registration with LPL Financial, and his Series 66 registration with both LPL Financial and Level Four Advisory Services, also his Life and Health Licenses
If you are currently working with a financial advisor, you’ll want to read the following scenario. Although we would all like to think that our investments are securing our financial future, that’s not always the case.
The story goes that an individual or a company hires an advisor to invest certain funds, with the idea that this money will grow over a certain time period. Although the market, as a whole, is doing well, the individual notices that his particular investments are not performing as well as he would like. Going over the monthly statement, the client has questions, so, naturally turns to his advisor for answers. The advisor, who was once helpful and personable, suddenly becomes vague and isn’t answering the questions with the same assurance he had when first hired to handle the investments.
Reality Check
Does the above scenario sound like your financial advisor? It is unfortunate, but actually occurs more often than we’d all like to think. If your ‘once helpful’ and confident financial advisor doesn’t have the answers to your basic investment questions, it may be time to jump ship. Here are a few other signs that it may be time to look for a new financial advisor.
Has your financial advisor stopped taking your calls? A reputable financial advisor should be there to explain your investments, answer questions regarding fees, and continue to be available, even after your plan is in place.
Your expert doesn’t know any more than you do. Unfortunately, many financial advisors have the title, but not the experience to back it up. If you have become more knowledgeable on your investments, financial plans, and wealth building than your current advisor, it may be time to move on.
The relationship is strained. Your financial advisor may have courted your business in the beginning. They appeared highly interested in providing the best service and information before you committed to using them for your services. Now that they have your business and a plethora of higher paying clients, you are no longer important. Their time is devoted to others and you are feeling ignored.
Pushing products. If your advisor is pushing you to purchase expensive propriety products or annuities this is a huge warning siren. They may be more interested in what amount of commission they could make instead of protecting your wealth.
They have worked for numerous companies in a short time period. You may not have thought of this, but checking out your advisor’s job history on the database for advisors, Brightscope.com, may be a necessity. An advisor that moves from one brokerage or company to another may have money or compliance problems.
Hiring a financial advisor is only the first step in the investment process. Don’t become relaxed after that initial decision. Stay in touch with your financial advisor and ask for regular performance reports on your investments. Holding your investor accountable by taking an active part in your financial future is just smart business. Don’t be afraid to step up and keep them to their word. Keep in mind that investments will increase and decrease with the natural flow of the stock market. Don’t jump ship at the first sign of losing money, but keep a watchful eye.
Ryan Featherston specializes in developing custom financial plans, implementing investment strategies, and providing ongoing support and service in order to help clients reach their financial goals.
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