The 3 Biggest Misconceptions About Financial Planning
Financial planning is something that everyone should do, but many find it hard to make time to come up with a detailed financial plan on their own. Turning to a professional financial planner is a reasonable alternative, especially because a good financial planner can help not only with investing but also with a host of other financial issues, such as estate planning, risk management, and tax planning. Nevertheless, there are many misconceptions about financial planning and the role of professional financial planners, and correcting those erroneous impressions is important if you want to have an unbiased view of the financial planning industry more broadly.
Wall Street has developed a reputation for being one of the most aggressive sales-oriented environments in the business world. Boiler-room tactics give the impression that every financial professional is out to take advantage of their clients by offering too-good-to-be-true investments that appeal to base instincts like greed. Countless stories of unfortunate clients who've lost everything as a result of following unscrupulous advice only support this idea.
Good financial planners are less concerned about sales tactics than they are with helping you understand all the choices that you have with your finances and guiding you toward making the best decision for your particular situation. In the end, the final decision is always up to you, and you have to assume the responsibility for the consequences of that decision. By seeing the relationship with your financial planner as a collaborative one rather than just doing whatever your planner tells you to do, you'll have a much better experience, and your financial planning will be much more effective.
Source: Fool.com
