The Value of Advice: Why We Hired a Financial Advisor

As the first part of our The Value of Advice series, we are excited to share Tara Bansal’s personal experience of hiring a financial advisor. Despite Tara’s professional expertise and leading Princeton Global’s financial planning practice, Tara found considerable value in hiring an outside professional.

Why We Hired a Financial Advisor

It all started with seeing Carl Richards speak at a conference. I am a huge Carl Richards fan, and he did not disappoint. I love his messages and valuable insights. (On a side note, Carl Richards has a new podcast that I highly recommend, “50 Fires: Money and Meaning.) At this presentation, Carl Richards talked about working with his financial advisor and how helpful it was for him and his wife. I admit, I was surprised that HE had a financial advisor, which permitted me to want one too. I liked his presentation so much that I made my husband watch the recording. I wanted us to get our own financial advisor. I have been our financial planner since we got married. I am a CFP®, and this is what I have done as my job since 2005.

I admit that part of my motivation for finding someone to be our financial advisor was because I don’t LOVE doing our planning, especially investments. I also didn’t feel like my husband “heard” what I was saying whenever we talked about our finances. I wanted my husband to be more involved and have a voice in our financial decisions, which was not happening because I was doing it. The dynamic between us and our finances was not what I wanted. After some coercing, I convinced my husband that we should find someone besides me to do our financial planning.

First, we asked a good friend of mine, a fellow financial planner, to help us. Yes, we would pay him. This friend said no. He did not think it would be fair to my husband because he and I are such good friends. My husband and I were both disappointed with this answer, but in hindsight, I respect that my friend was honest and correct.

We did what I recommend all people do – talk to and interview at least three financial advisors. I asked a few people I like and respect for some recommendations. I got the names of three financial advisors.

I wanted a good financial planner. One who would dig deeper into our values and ask, “What is the money for? What kind of life do you really want to live? What is most important to you?” Not all planners do this, yet I believe a good planner does. I wanted that for us. Choosing who you work with is an important and (hopefully) long-term relationship. I wanted to work with someone my husband and I like and respect, and we “clicked” with.

We ended up talking to more than three advisors. It took us almost a year (!) to find our financial advisor. (This is NOT normal, probably because I am a tough critic of my profession.) One planner was too intense, one felt too young, and some were too expensive. I am mentioning this because I believe you should keep looking until you find someone who feels “right” for you and your spouse. You want to find someone you both are comfortable with and who you WANT to and are excited to work with.

My objectives for finding a financial advisor/planner were:

• To help my husband and I have the deeper financial conversations we were not having.
• Be more intentional and hopefully more comfortable with our spending, commitments, plans, and savings.
• To start thinking about and planning for our next phase when my husband is not working so much. My husband hopes to “retire” (or not have to work as he currently is) in 5-10 years. Is that possible?
• To have an expert reviewing and helping us with our investments, insurance, taxes, estate planning, benefits, and planning our next phase. I don’t know my blind spots.
• We both want to be more charitable. What would that look like, and how can we best do that?

I have done a good job with our finances, yet I thought hiring someone else would bring discipline and focus, which was not happening with me doing our planning.

I am writing about this here because I believe almost everyone would benefit from a financial planner/financial advisor. I do this for a living, so yes, I am biased. I can do it, yet we are choosing to spend our money on hiring a financial advisor because we believe the value gained in working with one is worth more than the costs.

I would love to know what prevents people from getting a financial advisor. If it is the cost, what if there was proof that an advisor significantly improves the chances of achieving your financial goals over the long term? Would that be enough? Does it have to save you / benefit you more than you are spending for the advice? I believe that is true also. We hired someone to help my husband and me clarify what we want and how to accomplish it better. I also wanted the peace of mind and comfort to know that I had an objective expert on our side (and, in my particular situation, a second opinion) looking out for my husband and my financial success.

Would we have been ok without a financial advisor? Yes, most definitely. Yet, I still believe we will be better off financially emotionally, and living more intentionally because of the money we spend on our financial advisor.