My profession, as a financial advisor, is sometimes misunderstood. The breadth of services we provide is greater than you think—well, maybe not, if you read these posts regularly!

The following is a short accounting of aspects of my work:

  • Investment management and strategy development
  • Creating personalized financial plans based on an individual client’s goals, such as retirement, educational savings, or buying a home
  • Tax planning
  • Risk management/insurance strategies
  • Estate planning
  • Cash management and budgeting

The common thread among all these activities is education. Almost anyone contacting us about one of these capabilities needs a minicourse on the topic, and our job as financial planners is to provide that foundational information so we can decide collaboratively on the best approach for your specific needs.

Here’s an example: Mr. J has significant assets under management, and the value of his portfolio grew at approximately 7% (not including accumulating dividends). Mr. J asked about Standard & Poor’s Index performance over that time, which was also about 7%. The financial advisor’s fee of 1% is not simply to make trades that grow his portfolio. It pays for a greater service: for the time and value we spend on communication and education. Financial advisors are not just paid a fee for making the client money. It’s for communication, education, and to ensure transparency.

What is the reason we emphasize education and communication? At Isakov Planning Group, we want our clients to actively participate in their financial planning process. Working with our clients, we need to know their investment preferences, their willingness to take on risk, their long-term and short-term goals and needs. Financial advisors can offer several strategies, but the final decision should be a collaborative one: based on today’s budget and tomorrow’s expectations.

Contact us today at Isakov Planning Group for more information on how we, as your financial advisor, focus on education and communication to make the best planning decisions for you!