MONEY matters

I wrote a blogpost a few months back titled 'Make Financial Integrity #1 When Choosing an Investment Advisor, where I attempted to clearly define the lay of the land in regards to the financial industry  - specifically the investment advisor role.  Today I came across a similar article written so well, I have to share it with you.

Rueters columnist Mark Miller, in his article 'Shakeup Complicates Finding a Good Financial Adviser, expresses how as a result of recent difficult financial markets and tougher regulations, it is becoming more challenging to find a financial adviser to match you and your needs. He navigates the reader through the process by explaining the differences between financial advisers from brokerage firms and (often independent) fee-only planners. He goes on to describes what an RIA is and what their responsibilities to their clients are. He discusses the future of financial advisers and explains what is going on in the industry. He talks about fraud and enforcement of rules and regulations and then ends his article with a few solid takeaways.

Back in the day, I was a spender - a big time spender actually. It was the late 1980’s, the economy was starting to really take off and President Reagan had just lowered taxes across the board.  I was in my late 20’s, earning a six figure income as a partner of a fast growing financial consulting firm. Life was good.

If you find yourself just about ready to say yes and commit to the development of a comprehensive financial plan but for some reason you keep getting stuck on making the final move, my guess is the thought of compiling the documents needed is your roadblock.

So imagine my joyful surprise when a new client just emailed me her very positive feedback after gathering all the info needed to design her financial plan...

During their working years, baby boomers have invested a significant portion of their retirement savings in stocks, boosting equity valuations above historical averages for the past 30 years. As the baby boom generation retires and begins spending from their investment portfolios, future equity returns could decrease. With that in mind, it’s crucial that boomers nearing retirement develop retirement income strategies with prudent as well as realistic expectations of future investment returns.

The Role Demographics Will Play

Yet another study - this one telling me something I've noticed in my own financial planning practice for several years. According to Prudential Financial's latest study, The Financial Experience and Behaviors Among Women, 53% of the 1,400+ women surveyed are primary breadwinners in their households. The study polled 1,410 American women and 604 American men between the ages of 25 and 68.

Women are taking on the primary breadwinner role for several reasons; because of their partners loss of employment as a result of the financial crisis, as a result of divorce and because women are marrying later in life.

Investing, managing, saving, spending and earning money - these linear, left brain aspects of our money relationship offer plenty of potential for challenges. But it’s when we delve into the other dimension of our relationship with money, our feelings, that things get really tricky and mighty interesting.

Our feelings, that messy and confusing aspect of our relationship with money will often hold us hostage to our egos and prevent us from feeling the fulfillment and peace of mind we so desire. Way too many of us live our lives with feelings of scarcity and poverty consciousness. Instead of money being our servant, it becomes our master.

And now for the bonus round - a few multiple choice questions about Americans and retirement.

Thanks to my friend and client Eddie Mac for passing on this excellent article about raising your kids with a good set of values around money.