Hey all, this week I interviewed Matt Salem, a financial planner in CT. Matt works at Sentinel Asset managment specializing in retirement income distribution, estate planning, risk management, and long term care planning

Read his insights!

Q. What do financial planners do?

A.

Financial planners serve individuals, families, business owners, and retirees to manage their financial affairs.  A quality financial planner develops effective and personalized strategies for budgeting, investing, retirement, tax management, insurance, and estate planning. They help clients evaluate their current financial situation and take the time to understand their aspirations, values, and desires.  With this information a quality financial planner will create a unique road map so that no matter what happens (like a bad stock market, high inflation, healthcare crisis, or death of a loved one), the client has peace of mind knowing that they won’t be derailed from accomplishing their goals.

Q. Who can benefit from a financial planner?

A.

I believe that anyone can benefit from working with a financial planner, so that they can feel educated and empowered to make the best financial decisions for themselves and their family. In my experience, the people who benefit most from working with a financial planner are people with more complex finances, such as if:

               – You receive a sudden influx of assets: possibly from an inheritance or a large bonus from work.

               – Your income changes: if you are recently retired or take a new job.

               – You are getting married: to plan for existing debt, purchase of home, future children, etc.

               – You are getting divorced: to understand child support, alimony, dividing property, and taxes

               – A new child: to understand insurance needs, and saving for your child’s future education

Q. What is the goal of financial planning?

A.

The goal of financial planning is to examine your finances and play with what I like to call the “what-if” game and see how different scenarios would affect your financial health. What if there is a bad stock market? What if you lose your job? What if inflation runs rampant? What if your spouse passes away? What if a member of your family has a health care crisis? It is important to know exactly what would happen in each of these situations so that you know you will still be able to accomplish your goals.

Q. What are some insider tips about managing finances you can share?

A.

The first tip I would give to anyone about managing finances is that it needs to be goals driven, and only goals driven.  I like to compare financial planning to exercise.  People exercise for numerous reasons, whether it be to lose weight, increase athletic performance, or to improve their health. Financial planning and managing your finances is no different.  If you have a goal or your “why”, the execution of a plan or the “how” comes easily.

The next tip I would give is that it is all about consistency.  Working with a financial planner is a long-term relationship centered around your own long -term goals.  If it were a “get rich quick scheme” everyone would be doing it. However, proper financial planning and management changes the lives of many people and families. I see it every day.

The last tip I would give is that you need to seek out a quality fee-based fiduciary financial planner who can give you access to what are known as private wealth strategies.  These are no more than money managers that have a proven track record of keeping pace or exceeding the returns of the market, all while keeping losses smaller than the overall market.  These private wealth managers keep themselves small, usually no more than 1 billion under management.  This is so they can stay nimble and adjust their proven strategies without affecting the market.  “Stay the course. Don’t sell. It will come back,” is something commonly heard throughout the financial services industry.  That narrative is the reason why the middle class and upper-middle class have the experience they with investing.  Believing that are helpless to the ever-changing tides of the market simply is not true.

Q. Who should start thinking about getting a financial planner?

A.

One of the greatest parts of being a financial planner that it can help everyone.  We all use money in one form or another.  It ranges from people or new families who need help creating a budget, to high net-worth individuals needing complex tax and estate plans, to endowments trying to preserve an asset base for the years to come.  If you have you have not worked with a financial planner, it is in your best interests to find one who is willing to meet for an initial consultation (preferably no-cost, fee, or obligation) to ensure that you are on the right track to accomplishing your goals, and for your own peace-of-mind.