A generation ago, financial advice focused on products being pitched by sharply suited salesmen.
These days, however, the primary aim of financial planning is to help you and your clients to reach your financial goals with a specially tailored, empathetic approach.
When we sit down with a new client, we begin by establishing just what it is they want to achieve. This might be to retire early, help children through education or onto the property ladder, or to sail off to Corfu with a cocktail in hand and their worries firmly behind them.
Everyone has their own personal Corfu patiently waiting in their hearts.
Once we understand our client, we set about devising a plan based on their specific goals and circumstances.
As brokers, you’ll want to see your clients and their businesses grow, and in doing so, see your own business thrive alongside them.
Financial planning can be genuinely transformative, empowering clients to make decisions about the sale of their business, their saving and investing strategy, and the way they derive income.
Read on to learn about three valuable benefits of financial planning and how you and your clients can use them to your advantage.
1. Working with a financial planner can help you and your clients maintain your “financial health”
If you picture yourself as a “financial GP” that your clients come to when they have issues, a financial planner acts like a consultant or specialist to provide expert advice.
Once you’ve diagnosed the issue, we can provide the specific advice needed to ensure the correct treatment and maintain your clients’ financial health.
One of the key benefits of financial planning is that it can boost a client’s wealth.
For example, a decade-long study by the International Longevity Centre revealed that individuals who work with a financial planner are, on average, £47,000 better off than those who don’t.
Unbiased reports that the financial benefits of receiving advice and developing a plan can outweigh the relevant costs by nearly 6,000%.
As a broker, working in a partnership with a financial planner can add real value to any clients you refer to us.
We share fees with brokers who introduce clients to us. So, a partnership will directly increase the value of your business, with each fee garnered as part of the arrangement elevating your revenue stream. This can be especially important when you decide to sell your business.
We also don’t think it’s fair that the service your client receives should be determined by how much money they have. While many financial planners work on commission or percentage-based models, that’s not the Grey Parrot philosophy.
Every client should receive the same high-quality advice, tailored to their specific needs, regardless of their individual circumstances. This is what our fixed-fee approach allows us to do.
Keep an eye out for next month’s update where you can see exactly how much our fixed-fee approach can save your clients.
2. Alleviate stress with the emotional wellbeing provided by a carefully mapped-out plan
One of the simplest ways a financial planner can help is by wrapping a comforting arm over your shoulders and telling you it’s all going to be okay.
It sounds a bit like the conclusion of a particularly heavy episode of Fresh Prince with Uncle Phil letting Will know everything will be bright and sunny in Bel-Air again the following week.
But as cheesy as it sounds, improving your or your clients’ emotional wellbeing, whether it’s by taking on some of the workload, or providing reassurance through evidence-based insights, can have significant benefits for you and your clients.
According to Money Advisor, 77% of UK residents say they are stressed by their finances, with 14% saying they worry about money on a daily basis.
Receiving professional financial advice not only helps you and your clients reap financial benefits but can also provide stress-relieving peace of mind.
A recent Royal London survey found that individuals who worked with a financial planner felt more confident about the future, less anxious about their household finances, and more financially secure and stable than those who did not.
Source: Royal London
What this research shows is that there are many intangible benefits of working with a financial planner, including helping individuals to feel in control of their finances.
3. Generate the growth needed to reach your or your client’s long-term goals
Ultimately, you or your client will have sought financial advice because you have long-term goals and want help working out the best way to reach them.
A financial planner will help you, or your clients, develop the road map needed to reach them.
On a personal level this can include:
- Taking advantage of tax-efficient investments such as pensions and ISAs
- Accounting for inflation in taking the necessary steps to limit the erosion of the real value of wealth
- Maximising tax allowances, exemptions, and opportunities
- Making sure the right protection is in place to deal with any bumps in the road
- Keeping pension contributions on track to provide the desired standard of living at retirement.
So, it’s very important that your clients find the right partner that they feel comfortable with, who understands their goals, and provides them with the reassurance needed.
Remember: working with trusted partners can reduce risk.
If you’re a broker and are thinking of selling your business to generate an income in retirement, we can help you in the lead-up to this to ensure you have a robust plan that helps you meet your goals.
If you have clients in a similar position, we can also add value to them.
Get in touch
The right financial plan allows you or your clients to reduce financial stress and build towards a comfortable retirement.
The first step is finding a financial planner that understands your goals and that you can trust to make the right decisions for you.
Contact us by email at mail@grey-parrot.co.uk or call us at 02039 871782.
Please note
This article is no substitute for financial advice and should not be treated as such. To determine the best course of action for your individual circumstances, please contact us.