It will become increasingly possible to buy life insurance directly online. But just as you go to a doctor for medical advice, it is wise to go to a professional for help with your financial plan.
According to Sun Life’s Brighter Life financial planning tips:
When you work with an advisor to help you develop your financial plan, you not only tap into the advisor’s knowledge and expertise, but you also establish a relationship with someone who can help you shepherd your financial future. A good advisor becomes your planning partner, your financial coach, your disciplinarian, a mediator and, in some cases, a life-long friend.
If you work with a financial professional, you can expect:
1. Help with developing a financial plan
Of course, you would expect a professional to bring expertise to the relationship, to know all the things you don’t know about matters such as mutual funds and insurance and what type is best in which situation. Those are table stakes.
An advisor brings other benefits to the relationship, as well. A good advisor will poke and prod the way a doctor does. A doctor listens to your symptoms and asks questions about symptoms you may not have known you had. Similarly, an advisor asks questions to get a clear picture of your financial health.
A professional advisor looks at everything. He or she asks questions such as: Are you a member of the ‘sandwich’ generation juggling growing children and aging parents? Do you have a child with a disability?
Those questions — answered honestly — become the groundwork for your financial plan. From there, you and your advisor can determine your goals and set your priorities. Then, the advisor can bring his or her knowledge to bear and help you develop a financial plan, which becomes your road map for reaching those goals.
2. Support to stay the course
It’s one thing to have a road map to your financial future; it’s another to stick to it. We all know it is easy to get diverted by life. And life itself can take some interesting turns.
An advisor is a neutral party, the mediator at life’s crossroads. When you have to make choices, your advisor provides perspective. A good advisor holds your hand and discusses the merits of a move.
Your advisor will generally like to meet with you at least once a year, so that he or she can stay abreast of changes in your life and make sure your financial road map reflects those changes.
3. Greater peace of mind
People who work with a professional advisor or have a written financial plan have a more positive outlook on retirement than those who don’t. In fact, 54% of those with an advisor are satisfied with how much they are saving for retirement, vs. 24% of those without an advisor. Likewise, 60% of those with a written financial plan are satisfied with their savings versus 28% of those who don’t have a plan.
4. A long-term relationship
In keeping with the role of developer of your financial strategy and coach of your financial journey, a relationship with an advisor tends to be long term. Planning, saving, protecting your wealth and moving to payout mode in retirement is a process, not a one-time event.