What is the difference between financial advice and financial planning?
From ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ right back to Shakespeare’s ‘Merchant of Venice’, those in finance have always been portrayed as money-grabbing fat-cats, skimming the cream off your hard-earned money and pushing you into products for their own personal gain.
But is there any truth in these commission-hungry, sales-driven stereotypes? Well, frankly, yes! Financial Advisers, and the service they provide, often get a bad name - and rightly so! The traditional model of financial advice saw products being thrust upon clients, which lined the pockets of the advisers more than meeting the needs of their clients. Financial Advisers, especially those tied to just one company, rarely had your best interests at heart. How can they, when they are restricted to offering you a limited range of solutions?
"Financial advice tends to focus more on products, whereas financial planning considers your whole life situation and goals."
Sadly, prehistoric financial advice hasn’t completely gone extinct. The high charges, limited service and lack of understanding that old-school financial advice often provides is still leaving people unprepared for the future and unsure as to whether they could actually achieve the things that hold a personal importance to them.
Thankfully, into this landscape has come a new kid on the block, in the form of Financial Planning. Financial Planning has changed the face of advice and does things a little differently to others. Financial Planners, especially those who are independent, take the time to understand your unique goals and learn what matters most to you. They don’t just look at what products will pay them the most - they look at what solutions and strategies from the whole of the market will best help you to achieve your goals.
At Efficient Portfolio, we pride ourselves on taking a revolutionary stance when it comes to Financial Planning. We don’t focus on products or pigeon-hole people into strategies, we talk about individuals and their needs, so that we can build unique planning that evolves and changes throughout a lifetime.
More importantly, we’re normal people! Actually, I think we’re extraordinary, but what I mean is that we communicate on your level and explain Financial Planning in terms you can understand. We love what we do, and our enthusiasm and commitment is infectious. We want you to feel as passionately about your future as we do.
One way that we help people with this is through education. We understand that your finances can often feel like your enemy: they’re confusing, complicated and sometimes even chaotic! We all want future financial security and to lead a life full of everything we love, but where do you start? And what exactly do you need to know to get ahead?
We have a range of free webinars that can help, where we will look at a range of topics and concerns, all designed to give you more confidence and clarity with your finances. These webinars will help you to manage your money more effectively, leave a legacy, reduce your risks and structure your income so you can enjoy your ideal future.
If you are passionate about changing your tomorrow and ambitious and determined enough to start putting in place the building blocks of your future, these free webinars are the spring-board you need.
