Financial Advisor is a broad term. You want to ensure that you are getting the best to help you plan your finances for now and into the future. There are several steps that you need to take.
Ask are they a Certified Financial Advisor?
This means that they have attended and passed a degree level course in Financial Planning. Ir shows a level of commitment and professionalism that most have not achieved. Indeed, some have no qualifications and have been ”grand fathered” into the business. Ask if they have qualifications.
Being a Qualified Financial Advisor (QFA) is the entry level to the financial services business. What is quickly becoming the norm is ”Certified Financial Planner” or CFP. This is a worldwide recognised designation and gives a framework for the Financial Planner to provide advice using an integrated approach from all aspects of the client’s life.
What can I expect from a Certified Financial Advisor?
The first thing any good financial advisor will do is explain the process to you of how he/she will create a meaningful financial plan for your family. This will be an integreted approach that will encompass your lifestyle goals, your dreams aspirations, current financial situation, where you want to be and of course, how you can get there.
What are the steps that a Certified Financial Advisor will use?
Step 1: Setting goals with the client.
Getting to know your goals and aspirations. Establishing what is important to you and, more importantly, why it is important. Establishing what your lifestyle and financial goals are and, of course, prioritising those goals.
Step 2: Discovery Process.
Gathering the hard date to clearly establish where you are now. We look at and review all your existing financial arrangements i.e. debts, credit cards, loans, investments, life and pension policies, mortgages, income and expenditure. This give us a clear starting position.
Step 3: Analysing information.
Analyse all the data received. Then we complete a lot of back office work to match your goals with financial and taxation strategies. At this stage we meet again and discuss our initial thoughts with you and create a series of ‘what ifs’ to stress test them.
Step 4: Develop a financial plan.
Construct a final plan and present the plan to you for final approval. Every aspect of the plan is discussed again until you have clarity on the actions required.
Step 5: Implementing the strategies in the plan.
Every plan must have a call to action to make it effective. We create a list of action points for you. This provides direction and simple steps to follow. Sometime this may necessitate extra paperwork and the staff here atQifa Financial Planners can help you with this.
Step 6: Monitoring & Review.
Once the heavy lifting is done, the journey to financial freedom hasstarted. However, as we are all aware, life has the habit of throwing a few curve balls at us. Therefore, it is important to review your plan andadjust it on regular basis. This is to ensure that your goals remain on track. The team at Qifa Financial Planners is at your disposal to assist you in any way we can.
We have developed our own process called the ”Qifa Life Path”. The Qifa Life Path experience takes a holistic approach of your goals and objectives to help you achieve your stated goals and live your life to the maximum.
If you want more information from our Financial Advisor or a brochure, please sends us an email at info@qifa.ie or call us on 022-57444. We will be delighted to talk to you.