Creating Financial Peace of Mind
Katie Martin, CFA, CFP®
January 7, 2022
The beginning of a new year serves as a good time to pause, reflect on the past 12 months, and look forward to what we’re hoping to achieve in the year ahead. I’ve been doing this for my business over the last few weeks. As part of this process, I’ve been thinking more about what “success” means to me, as well as what kind of experience I’m striving to provide for my clients.
This got me thinking about what being a financial advisor really means to me. I’ve often wondered what people think when I tell them what I do. Do they think I “sell” investments? Do they assume I have a “hot stock tip” to share? Or do they just want to change the subject as quickly as possible because money makes them uncomfortable?
In my view, the reason I exist is to help clients achieve financial peace of mind.
So, what does this mean? Money can be a very emotional thing, and too often, it serves as a significant source of stress. If I can help my clients sleep a little better at night, then that means I’m doing my job.
- It satrts with having a plan. While the planning process might start off a bit painful for some, especially if money makes you uncomfortable, it’s a necessary part of getting you to a place of peace. Fear of the unknown is often worse than reality, so part of my goal is to just help the client have a clear picture of where she stands today. Beyond that, there is significant peace of mind that comes from knowing you have a specific plan in place to make sure your money is working toward the things that are important to you.
- The approach I use for managing my clients’ investments is also designed to help create peace of mind. I don’t want to be investing my clients’ money in a way that keeps them (or me!) up at night – I like to sleep, too! I prefer to build diversified portfolios of low-cost investments and rebalance them as necessary to ensure they stay aligned to the client’s tolerance for risk. It’s definitely not flashy, but investing doesn’t need to be. The objective is for your money to grow to help you achieve your goals.
- Most importantly, I want my clients to feel they always have a trusted resource they can turn to with any question they might have. There’s significant peace of mind that comes from knowing you don’t have to be the expert, but that you do always have someone in your corner, ready and willing to help.
The days I feel most successful in my job are when I hear the words “I feel so much better after talking to you.” Here’s to counting more of those moments in 2022!