Financial Planner in Stark County, Ohio
What Is a Financial Planner?
TTG Financial Inc. is a Financial Planner in Stark County, OH. A financial planner is an individual or company that is an investment professional that helps other individuals and even corporations meet their long-term financial goals. Financial planners may also specialize in retirement and/or estate planning, risk management, asset allocation, and tax planning. By consulting with clients concerning their risk tolerance, objectives, and what stage of their life they are in, a financial planner can identify the proper class of investments for them. A program is set up to help the client reach their goals by allocating their available savings into a collection of diversified investments intended to expand or produce income.
Key Points to Understand
- Financial planners work closely with both corporations and individuals to help them achieve their financial objectives.
- The CFP credential is a professional designation that is an indicator of a Financial Planners’ knowledge and qualifications.
- Financial planning includes help with investing, retirement, saving for retirement, budgeting, insurance coverage, tax planning, and more.
The Role of a Financial Planner in Stark County, Ohio
A financial planner at TTG Financial must first have the requisite education, training, and experience before clients will place trust in their recommendations. In order to provide evidence of their qualifications, a financial planner may earn one or more professional designations.
Financial planners explicitly provide financial advice and manage money for clients. If they are Registered Investment Advisors then they are legally obligated to act in a client’s best interests. They are expected to manage assets for the client’s advantage and not their own.
Financial Planners May Also Be Registered Investment Advisors
Registered investment advisors (RIA), are fiduciaries registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. They often advise high-net-worth people on investments but there is no upper or lower limit to the people they help. Registered Investment advisors are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and/or state securities regulators.
Many RIAs are fee-only advisors, suggesting that they do not work off commission or sell clients financial investment products such as annuities. They must always work in the client’s best interest. Financial planners do not have to be RIAs to function under this business model, but those at TTG Financial are. Fee-only financial planners usually earn money by means of an hourly rate, a yearly fixed retainer, or as a percent of the investment assets they manage on behalf of their clients, and most importantly, have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients as opposed to any commission based approach.
Financial planners who work on commission have potential incentives to direct clients to investment products from which they get paid regardless of the product’s suitability to the client’s needs, while a fee-only financial planner has no such temptation.
Certified Financial Planner (CFP) – Stark County, Ohio.
One of the more commonly held expert designations is the Certified Financial Planner (CFP), which is issued by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which is a nonprofit organization that handles certifying and setting standards that administers the CFP examination. A certified financial planner is a formal credential of proficiency in the areas of financial planning, taxes, insurance, estate planning, as well as retirement. The designation is awarded to individuals that efficiently complete the CFP Board’s preliminary exams, and after that, take part in ongoing yearly education and learning programs to maintain their skills and qualification.
What is the Financial Planners Endgame?
A financial plan is a map of where you are trying to go. It looks at where you are today, your goals, resources, and where you would like to be in the future. If the financial plan is a map, then the role of the financial planner is to be the guide.
Once a financial plan is created, the only thing we know for certain is that the plan will change. A financial planner is aware of this. Changes to your goals, your family, your career, health, and the markets will most certainly happen. The only way to address this uncertainty is to regularly meet with clients to review, update and adjust the plan as needed.
The initial work of building the financial plan still matters. We can still make informed guesses about the future; however, we must acknowledge that they are still just guesses. So are all the other assumptions we have to make to build a plan. As you age and your life changes, so will your values and goals. Planning is not an event, but a never-ending process.
Some Questions to Ask A Financial Planner
Before choosing a financial planner, you should interview at least three. During each interview, get answers to the questions listed below:
- What are your credentials?
- Are you able to provide references?
- What do you charge, and how do you charge?
- Do you have an area of expertise?
- Will you be acting as my fiduciary?
- What type of services should I expect?