My gramma – yes, that’s how I spell it – was an amazing baker. My mom was an amazing baker. Me? Well, I do my best to pay homage to that pedigree.
In preparation for our wedding, my wife and I decided we would make “Gramma’s Shortbread” as a truly personal bomboniere for our guests. But try as we might, our results were more granular and chewy than the melt-in-your-mouth memories I had from my childhood. So I called my mom for advice.
“Dear,” she began, “a mixer is a wonderful appliance, but my mom only had the strength of her fingers and the warmth of her touch. Put away the beaters and use your hands.” It turned out great, though I’ll concede that it wasn’t quite as good as mom’s or gramma’s.
Financial advice is personal
In our high-tech world, it is tempting to believe that tools can replace people, even in something as personal as your family’s financial future. But like the electric mixer, tools are only as useful as the skilled hands operating them, and often the most important part of the exercise is the human aspect.
Despite having the ingredients and recipe in hand, we needed guidance to fix our shortbread. A phone call to my mom sufficed to rescue our five-ingredient foray, but with all due respect to bakers, there are far more inputs and far greater implications in the field of personal finance.
It is asking much more, and arguably too much, for mere phone, web or email contact to be an adequate connection between you and your financial advisor. If it’s about your personal needs, shouldn’t that professional relationship have a personal element to it?
Why the relationship matters
A financial advisor works with you, not on you. At a minimum your advisor must have the training, licensing, financial tools and access to products and services that can fit your financial needs.
Beyond that, you need to connect with the person.
This will give you the comfort to be candid about yourself and your desires, so that you obtain advice appropriate to your circumstances. Equally important, you will then have confidence in the recommendations you are provided, while remaining conscious of the need to evaluate them on their technical merits.
From recipe to results
Once you have come to a decision, it can still be an anxious moment to get going. Remember though, that like a recipe on an index card, a plan is only paper until you put it to work.
One character trait that is critical for a financial advisor to be effective is the ability to motivate people to take action. It is a skill that builds through professional experience, and the more you can observe and appreciate it, the more inclined you will be to trust and act on it.
After that, the continuing human contact you have with your advisor will allow you both to monitor developments and make any required adjustments, so that you remain on track.