It can be a balancing act at times to look at pursuing a return you are happy with while still feeling comfortable with the risk you are taking. These cross-roads are sometimes based upon our emotions and logic. Having a team of professionals who evaluate and manage risk is not assured of success, but certainly can be a strong advantage in financial management.
We offer using actively managed portfolios in accounts where appropriate. There are also choices in other types of investment portfolios if active management does not fit into your objectives. We do manage investment portfolios and can monitor positions for price changes and news information.
FINANCIAL PLANNING AND APPLICATION OF THE PRACTICE STANDARDS FOR THE FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS
1. Financial Planning Definition. Financial Planning is a collaborative process that helps maximize a Client’s potential for meeting life goals through Financial Advice that integrates relevant elements of the Client’s personal and financial circumstances.
2. Examples of Relevant Elements of the Client’s Personal and Financial Circumstances. Relevant elements of personal and financial circumstances vary from Client to Client, and may include the Client’s need for or desire to: develop goals, manage assets and liabilities, manage cash flow, identify and manage risks, identify and manage the financial effect of health considerations, provide for educational needs, achieve financial security, preserve or increase wealth, identify tax considerations, prepare for retirement, pursue philanthropic interests, and address estate and legacy matters.
3. Application of Practice Standards. The Practice Standards set forth the Financial Planning Process.
A CFP® professional must comply with the Practice Standards when:
a. The CFP® professional agrees to provide or provides:
i. Financial Planning; or
ii. Financial Advice that requires integration of relevant elements of the Client’s personal and/or financial circumstances in order to act in the Client’s best interests (“Financial Advice that Requires Financial Planning”); or
b. The Client has a reasonable basis to believe the CFP® professional will provide or has provided Financial Planning.
4. Integration Factors. Among the factors that CFP Board will weigh in determining whether a CFP® professional has agreed to provide or provided Financial Advice that Requires Financial Planning are:
a. The number of relevant elements of the Client’s personal and financial circumstances that the Financial Advice may affect;
b. The portion and amount of the Client’s Financial Assets that the Financial Advice may affect;
c. The length of time the Client’s personal and financial circumstances may be affected by the Financial Advice;
d. The effect on the Client’s overall exposure to risk if the Client implements the Financial Advice; and
e. The barriers to modifying the actions taken to implement the Financial Advice.
5. CFP Board Evaluation. In a disciplinary proceeding in which a CFP® professional denies CFP Board’s allegation that the CFP® professional was required to comply with the Practice Standards, the CFP® professional must demonstrate that compliance with the Practice Standards was not required.
6. No Client Agreement to Engage for Financial Planning. If a CFP® professional otherwise must comply with the Practice Standards, but the Client does not agree to engage the CFP® professional to provide Financial Planning, the CFP® professional must either:
a. Not enter into the Engagement;
b. Limit the Scope of Engagement to services that do not require application of the Practice Standards, and describe to the Client the services the Client requests that the CFP® professional will not be performing;
c. Provide the requested services after informing the Client how Financial Planning would benefit the Client and how the decision not to engage the CFP® professional to provide Financial Planning may limit the CFP® professional’s Financial Advice, in which case the CFP® professional is not required to comply with the Practice Standards; or
d. Terminate the Engagement.