Financial Planner can rule out your personal financial mistakes

Due to macroeconomic changes you’re exceptionally thinking to hire a professional for legitimate guidance. In the rapid economic changing scenario, you hardly get guaranteed rate of return on your investments. Simultaneously, interest rates are deteriorating by the day. You can hardly offset inflation & income tax if you pursue traditional investments. The financial products are too complex to understand. The merits, demerits & suitability are to be analysed with due diligence. Due to your lack of financial and numerical literacy (financial management), you choose unsuitable financial products & services offered by salesman. This will lead to a financial catastrophe and there are minimal chances that you can come out smoothly.  As Certified Financial Planner in Kolkata, we highlight you both pros and cons of any decision. You can get relief from uncertainty and earn peace of mind as you arrive at perpetual solution(s).

You may hear about Financial Planner but you may have limited information about a Certified Financial Planner.

Who is your Financial Planner & why do you need to engage a Financial Planner?

A Financial Planner is like your financial coach. He accords hand-holding processes and supports till you reach your goals. Never confuse a Financial Planner with an Insurance Agent, Mutual Fund Distributor or Stock Broker, Bank Relationship Manager etc. They are not advisers but product distributors/sellers. They earn commission from manufacturers.

Nothing is free of cost and you indirectly bear the cost (hidden cost), like commission or brokerage.  A Certified Financial Planner is also different from a Chartered Accountant or a Chartered Financial Analyst. A Certified Financial Planner works with you in fiduciary capacity standard.  The fiduciary standard of care needs that a Financial Planner acts exclusively in the client’s best interest when offering unique financial advice. As SEBI Registered Investment Advisor in Kolkata, we charge fee in consideration of our advice and  services. We do not take any commission from product manufacturers. So, we will be unbiased at all times.

Guidance of a genuine Financial Planner helps you to make informed choices towards peace of mind

It’s your legitimate concern about your financial freedom. Very few people approach a Certified Financial Planner first and then implement action plans recommended in your Financial Plan.  Lack of Financial Plan means you’re riding a rudderless boat. Consequences are bad investments, buying of bad insurance products, inefficient tax planning, costly loans etc.

You can certainly do it yourself (DIY) without engaging a Financial Planner.  But sometimes you may commit damaging blunders influenced by your own emotions or because of the tendency to follow others. You mostly never get any opportunity to nullify. Why does it happen repeatedly? It’s because you don’t go through a structured processes, which are personalized.

“Self-medication is danger to your health; similarly, Do-It-Yourself (DIY) may be dangerous for your wealth creation and wealth distribution.”

You may ask yourself the following questions. The questions are self-evolutionary (self judgmental) to understand you better:

1. Do you have fair knowledge about investment vehicles?
2. Do you know about your risk profile?
3. Do you know how to determine your investment asset allocation?
4. Are you expert enough to monitor & give time to evaluate your own investments as per your risk tolerance, investment time horizon, investment objectives along with other personal as well as macroeconomic factors?
5. Can you manage your & others’ expectations and emotions?
6. Do you maintain cash flow?
7. Apart from traditional Financial Planning, do you have any idea about Scenario Planning?
8. Do you have Estate Planning & Income Tax Planning in place?
9. Do you have Debt Management Plan?
10. Have you analyzed your Insurance Needs?
11. Have you ever evaluated your existing insurance costs?
12. Do you have Contingency Planning?

If all your answers are “Yes” to the above questions, you don’t require an adviser/planner. But if most of the answers are “No”, without much thinking you may hire a Certified Financial Planner or a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser.

Be honest to yourself. As your money and time both are limited, you need proper planning.

No medicine should be consumed without a valid prescription by a doctor.  Similarly, availing financial services or owning  financial  products without owning a Financial Plan can lead to shocking consequences.

How to choose your Financial Planner?

It’s quintessential to engage a CFP^CM (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^CM ). CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^CM Certification is a mark of excellence granted to individuals who meet the stringent standards of education, examination, experience and ethics. FPSB Ltd. is the principal licensing body that awards CFP^CM Certification in India. A CFP^CM met the global benchmark for competency, ethics & professional practice standards to provide comprehensive Financial Planning services. A CFP^CM is recognized in more than 26 countries across the world.

Apart from his qualifications, a Financial Adviser must be a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser.

What is Financial Planning?

If you want to reach your destination, you must have a road-map. If you fail to do so, you may reach anywhere, where you were not supposed to reach. Financial Plan is like a road-map.

How can you start investments, take insurance coverage, maintain contingency funds, make tax and estate planning without having a Financial Plan?

You’re an unique person. Your requirements are unique too. Isn’t it true? You must be aware of what you need, how much you need, when you need and why you need. You may know when and why. But you may not know how much you need and how to get there. A Financial Planner considers both the ever changing macroeconomic factors and your personal factors while writing a plan for you. You should have clear a vision to get unbiased solutions. Unbiased solutions may never come from Insurance Agent, Mutual Fund Distributor or Stock Broker, Bank Relationship Manager, etc.

Financial Planner acts as your guide throughout your journey towards financial freedom

You have your aspirations or goals, which are observable and measurable (quantitatively). You’re naturally obsessed about your genuine aspirations/goals. Unless you quantify the amount by considering the time value of money, your goals remain unfulfilled. You have to consider your personal factors along with inflation, rate of return, time horizons, income tax, capital gains tax and time horizon etc. while you invest. Your concern is about the surplus money available today. It must be invested to offset inflation, which is as per risk profile, tax efficient and have liquidity (at the right time) to generate wealth. You are likely to generate wealth during accumulation phase & can withdraw during distribution phase. Simultaneously, you may opt for both accumulation & distribution. Right now you may be a producer & consumer both (productive consumer) or may be just a consumer. Irrespective of your status, you must set out your Financial Plan. Periodical review of your Financial Plan is  a must. As Investment Planner in Kolkata, we keep highlighting the fact that if you do not review your plan with your planner, it will not work for you.

Conclusion

Your aspirations are intangible. You can only feel and realize them.  As Financial Advisor in Kolkata,  we intend to accompany you for accomplishment of your life’s goals. We can professionally guide you by fixing & calculating (numerical calculations) the dates & amounts, analyzing your personal aspects and macroeconomic scenarios so that you can reach your destinations in time. Goals must be achievable & measurable within the time frame. A  Financial Planner always respects & considers your qualitative & quantitative inputs. Your qualitative inputs are intangible (your aspirations, your purpose of life, your troubles and blessings, your commitments & responsibilities, your emotions, etc). Only you can feel them. You can’t express them properly to give a shape without the professional guidance. Thus, here you need MOTHER’S CARE.  A Financial Planner smokes you out to get your qualitative inputs. A professional Financial Planner is a patient listener, who listens to your gut.

The role of a Financial Planner has no bounds, i.e. role is very strong and seems to have no limits.