Our Process

1. INTRODUCTION

Personal financial planning is all about communication, and this initial meeting – our “discovery process” – is where we take some time to learn about each other. We discuss what’s most important to you:family, community, hobbies or perhaps just your favorite foods. We’ll ask a lot of questions about what you’re feeling, what you’re worried about and what you’ve accomplished so far. We gather enough information at this meeting to provide you with a proposal for our services.

2. DATA GATHERING & PREPARATION 

Once you have accepted our proposal, formal data gathering for your financial begins. Based on our introductory meeting and a detailed questionnaire you complete, we gauge where you are now relative to your life goals and consider what gaps exist.

3. GOAL SETTING 

The core of our process is Goals-Based Financial Planning. A benefit of holistic planning is that it provides a comprehensive view of all areas of your financial situation. This will probably be our most important meeting. Together we identify your short-, intermediate- and long-term goals – both financial and non-financial. This, of course, is a dynamic process and will evolve over time. We continuously update your plan.

4. ANALYSIS & PLAN FORMULATION

Next, we begin recommending specific strategies to help address each of your goals. This is a quiet time for you, and we use our team’s combined experiences and knowledge to put the most appropriate financial plan forward for you and your family.

5. PRESENTATION & IMPLEMENTATION 

By now, we are ready to present your financial plan. No, we will not hand you a big binder full of paper that you’ll never read again. We believe that since financial plans are quite dynamic, an interactive meeting using technology to present your plan and modify it in real time is much more effective. You will leave this meeting with a clear picture of your personal financial situation along with a short executive summary with our recommendations. Now comes decision time for you. Once you give us the green light we begin implementation.

6. REVIEW

The monitoring stage incorporates tracking systems to keep your plan on target. We help you plan for the unexpected or anticipated changes on the horizon and adjust your plan as necessary in real time. Our commitment to you all comes back to communication. We update you on your plan if we see changes coming, but you will need to do the same. Following this process helps cement our relationship going forward for a very long time.