If you have managed to save some money, then you will probably want to know how and where to make the best sort of investments. I hear this question all the time from friends of the blog, “but where do I put my money?”. Investing your money can be very profitable and although it probably won’t allow you to get rich over night, it will on average (assuming historical trends continue) allow you to achieve a higher level of net worth. However, investing does come with certain risks. There are so many individual things to consider in each different form of investment, and certain investments are better at different times of your life. It can be like walking through a minefield making sure you understand everything and keeping up with everything. To help you, it may be worth seeking help from a financial advisor such as Prio Wealth Management, who can see you through the process. I’ve famously on this blog been against using a financial advisor, but as I continue to mature in my own financial journey, I do realize as things get more complex getting professional guidance can be helpful. Here are a few reasons why it is beneficial to speak to a financial advisor:

Creating Realistic Goals

It’s so important in life to have goals. If you don’t have goals you’ll certainly never achieve them and may find yourself wandering around aimlessly. A financial advisor will set your expectations and create realistic and achievable financial goals. Of course you can set goals without them, but a financial advisor may offer ideas or feedback on your goals to make sure they are reasonable. They can also monitor your investments to make sure that they are performing as expected. They will take a look at your current situation and prioritize your money in the best and most feasible way. They will help you make the tough decisions like securing retirement investments if you haven’t done so already and are pretty close to retirement age. With a full understanding of your circumstances, they will create for you a financial investment road map. Your portfolio will be full of diverse investments which have both long and short-term investments. 

Wider Choice of Investments 

Because of the fact that you will be seeking advice from a professional in the financial field, they will have access to more methods and better investment opportunities at the time you talk to them. They will also know how best to invest your money for your individual circumstances, so the choice of investments will be wider than anything you could come up with yourself. They are also well aware of all the tax reliefs and other allowances that you can make the most of, so the money you invest world as hard as it possibly can. My mind has been blown with the tax strategies that professionals are aware of, even for young professionals like us there are lots of little tips and tricks to help save on taxes (in a legal way of course).

Saves you Time  

To invest properly, it takes a lot of time and research to ensure you are investing correctly, and then you need to monitor and check your investments. This is clearly a time-consuming process, and if you have other responsibilities, like a full-time job and a family, you will find it difficult to keep on top of everything. Therefore a financial advisor can save you so much time. It is their job to ensure that your investments are ticking along as planned and change your investments when they need to.

Reduces Stress 

As you can imagine, investing in something can be very stressful, especially if you are a novice with no real experience. It is your life savings that you are talking about, after all. Having that peace of mind that you are benefiting from the expertise of a professional whose job it is to monitor and watch these sorts of investments can remove a lot of stress from your shoulders. This can allow you to relax and put your feet up.

My take on financial advisors

While I realize that I personally don’t feel the need to hire one, I do realize that not everyone is like me and may benefit. Having a professional comes with benefits, especially if personal finance and investing isn’t your thing or not something you have time to manage. One strong caveat – be sure any advisor you’re talking to operates as a fiduciary. A fiduciary means they will treat your money like their own and only make the best decision in your interest. If they are not a fiduciary, they can basically invest your money in whatever fund is giving them the highest kickback or whoever took them to a nicest lunch most recently. Literally anytime I’ve chatted with an advisor that’s the first thing I ask! The other red flag is if they keep pushing life insurance policies. Unfortunately in my experience a lot of ‘financial advisors’ are actually just life insurance sales reps in disguise.

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