Are You In The 90% or The 10%

By: Gwen Garrison

An article by Mitch Anthony in the January 2020 Financial Advisor Magazine said “I know of no other profession that won’t serve 90% of the population. We can’t be that profession.”

 The vast majority of financial advisors only serve people who already are wealthy (the 10%). “In other words, I can only help you increase your wealth if you already have wealth!” says Anthony. “A great cohort must step up for financial planning to be taken seriously as a “profession” instead of a luxury service for the already entitled. The bald truth is that instead of catering to the most in need, this profession caters to those most able to pay.”

 Gwen created LifePlan Financial Advisors to serve people who consider themselves middle class, everyday working people. Almost everyone has need of a qualified fiduciary financial advisor. For example, I just spoke with a client this week who had lost track of an old 401K. She thought the account was housed at Fidelity, but it wasn’t. We helped her track it down. Another client called to ask the best way to access $50,000 for him and his wife to put a deposit on building a house they are going to downsize into. If he had pulled that money out of his retirement accounts, he’d have added $50,000 to his taxable income. Fortunately, we thought of two other options – both less costly. We serve young entrepreneurs and young families, middle-age folks, as well as pre-retirees and senior adults.

 Over time, many clients have become somewhat wealthy, although they seldom think of themselves that way. Instead, they talk about how much they have to be grateful for. They certainly would not qualify for inclusion in top 10% of wealthy people in the US. Consequently, we have a variety of services and payment methods.

 We have pro bono services for people who are trying to deal with crippling debt. We provide advice on a subscription basis for clients who want to pay that way. We provide advice and investment management for other clients who choose an asset under management fee. And we still do business on a one-time commission basis when it is in the client’s best interest to do so. When someone asks us how we get paid, we can actually say, “it depends on the client’s needs.”

 As the article advocates, “caring for humans is at the center of the proposition…. The beauty….is that its value has nothing to do with investible assets, amount of assets or rate of return on assets. It has everything to do with helping people use their money wisely, educating clients, and helping them get the best out of life with their money.” I could not have said it better myself. That is our calling and the purpose of our firm.

 If you would like a free initial visit, call Gwen Garrison or Sibyl Slade, or go online to www.LifePlanFinancialAdvisors.com. Let’s make sure your needs are served, no matter how much or how little you have in assets.

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