建议及推荐
From Planipedia
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 | Best Practice Principle: Financial planning means different things to different people, however, as a financial professional, you must recognize that your client has needs in many areas of their financial world. Regardless of your client’s primary focus, you are missing opportunities to be of value if you let your client dictate the range of services you provide. It is better to pro-actively educate your clients on the many aspects that affect their lives and should, therefore, be considered during the financial planning process.
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The old saying . . . you snooze . . . you lose . . . is appropriate here, because by not considering everything you can do for a client, you’ll miss opportunities to create more solid relationships. More importantly, the client loses because they are not benefiting from the full range of services available to help them achieve their goals.
A best practice principle to remember is to view your client’s world in light of the various planning disciplines and be prepared to offer advice and recommendations in all of these areas to the extent that your knowledge and licencing allow.
Various Disciplines of Personal Financial Planning
When doing comprehensive financial planning for a client, there are a number of areas where attention should be focused. The primary of these are:
- Investment Planning
- Life Goals Planning (Retirement, Education, other capital goals)
- Cash and Tax Planning
- Risk Management (Death, Disability, Critical Illness, Long-Term Care)
- Estate Planning (Inter vivos and testamentary)
Most of us come to this industry from a primary back ground, e.g. insurance, investment management or other financial background such as banking, accounting, etc. As a result of this “history” we all have a natural tendency to focus on the areas where we are most comfortable. Making the transition to other disciplines is often a personal battle that we must wage constantly. However, it’s one that when fought and won, can be very rewarding for both the client and ourselves.
Often the issue is simply not knowing exactly where to start. It may also be difficult to help clients see you as more than what you’ve been in the past. You can overcome these stumbling blocks when an effective plan is in place. One technique that can help in this transition is to provide new and existing clients with an opportunity to share their interests with you. At the same time you can also make them aware of the scope of the services you provide. Here’s an example of an Effective Service Questionnaire that can be used for this purpose.
