We see the financial planning process as a dynamic cycle because the financial phases of life are constantly changing. Whether you are in the younger accumulation phase or fully retired and living off your life’s savings, your financial plan must be adaptive. Our process begins with a deep dive into understanding where you are in the moment. We follow this understanding with the development of a plan and maintaining the policies and strategies within them. But change will happen. And when it does, the process starts all over again.

 

 

LEARNING ABOUT YOU: Understanding YOU is one of the most critical steps in the financial planning process. Where are you today? Where do you want to go? And how you want to get there? Whether you are in the early stages, retiring from your job, or selling your business, the answers to these questions are the foundation of your plan. It’s not just quantitative, however. The psychology behind these questions runs deep and the answers aren’t always clear at first read. It takes experienced professionals to weave through the nuance and we’ve found that our client’s feelings about money and goals are more difficult to ascertain than simply a questionnaire. Having a financial planner aware of this complexity and changing reality can significantly improve your financial planning experience.

CREATING YOUR PLAN: Creating your financial plan is the first opportunity to see how well your house is in order. It tells you where you are today and what is needed to meet your goals. It helps you understand what factors contribute most to your success and helps give you a plan of action. We see your initial plan as one of many to come. It's the "getting started" point and that alone has significant value. It’s important to see and create a viable plan to work towards. But financial plans, particularly in the early stages of savings, require the need for significant assumptions, variables and projections, all of which possess potentially consequential uncertainty. For this reason, we tend to scale back the expectations of our clients with regard to long-term projections so that they see their plan in a clear light. Financial markets have inherent risk and uncertainty and we take seriously the temptation of your financial planner to portray a sense of comfort and security that may not be realistic. Our approach is to honest and open about what your financial plan actually means. We have found this approach to be paramount to maintaining a trusted financial planning relationship.

WORKING YOUR PLAN: The execution of your plan is primarily focused on the management of your investments along with strategies to most efficiently navigate government policies. Your financial planner is responsible for day-to-day asset management, staying attuned to the global economic landscape, monitoring progress and maintaining communication with you. During challenging markets, this is the phase that requires the greatest skill, diligence and experience from your financial planner. Sometimes it's talking through risks and concerns. Sometimes it's revisiting choices and goals. But often times, it’s simply a commitment by your advisor to simply, listen. It is during these times where your financial planner learns the most about you and often is some of the most fruitful times in your relationship with them. It is in this phase during these times where it is in your best interest to stay in close contact with your advisor. We at Carter Capital Management understand this fertile ground and see these times as prime opportunities to better serve our clients.

 

EVOLVING AS YOU EVOLVE: A good financial planner understands that everything that contributes to financial planning is in flux. You evolve. Your goals and expectations change. Your life circumstances change. The financial markets swing from second-to-second, day-to-day and year-to-year. And the financial planning process you are a part of must be equipped to evolve with you. At Carter Capital Management, we’ve spend over two decades developing a process that maintains an open door to your life-changes and we enjoy being there to walk with you through them.