When I'm talking to a client about their lifelong goals, once we find that we're on the same page. And we know where they want to go, what we'll do is we'll develop a plan that helps them get from point A to point B. Often times, for people to think about how to get from beginning to end is overwhelming and so we kind of create bite-sized chunks for them to take a look at. It's important very, very important as a CFP professional that my clients know, what they're doing well. And where they might be able to do some things differently to reach those goals that are most important to them. Together, we create this plan as time goes on, so it's a living breathing thing. When I became a CFP professional, what was so intriguing to me was this idea of developing life-long relationships with clients around what's most important to them. And so, the goal-setting piece of my job is fantastic because it creates this foundation and this framework for us to continue this relationship of planning. And client interaction for years to come, throughout generations even that's often what happens. So the plan itself often includes things like how do they manage their investments because a lot of times that's the primary concern, but also what do they do about their tax situation? And their retirement planning, and estates planning and insurances and some people are very charitably inclined. So, how do they accomplish those goals? So, while we might not be the expert, we're not maybe an attorney we make sure that we bring all the right people around the table. To help a client achieve that which is most important to them and so we're in regular communication with our clients as well and that's a big part of helping them reach their life long goals. It's not a one and done kind of thing, so our primary focus, above all else, is to ensure that our clients have money for life. And that life, be it longevity or in the lifestyles that they live so that they can live the life they want to. And I have personally found this incredibly overwhelmingly impactful. I have cried in front of clients sometimes [LAUGH] listening to their stories because they're so heartfelt. And it's this beautiful marriage between the analytical side of my brain and the emotional, intuitive side of my brain. And I don't know many other professions where there's such a great marriage between the two. And being a CFP professional and having been in practice for awhile and hearing tons of different stories and all these different life goals. And seeing clients actually to get from point A to point Z and be happy and celebrate with them, is something that has brought me incredible joy. The world is a very big place and there is a world of opportunities for investing. And as a CFP professional what I found is that what diversification really means to someone is not having all your eggs in one basket. So it's looking at the world and saying there's all these different segments of the world. And how can I invest in those areas smartly, cost effectively, efficiently so that I can get the returns for the risks that I'm taking. There's no such thing as a free lunch, really. So if you're going to take risks in an investment portfolio you want to make sure you have returns. So diversification is a way to make sure that you're taking appropriate risk and getting return for it. So for example, if you're diversified, you don't have your eggs in one basket, right? So you might have US large company stocks, you might have international stocks and you might have bonds. That's an example of diversification. And each one of those areas of the market have different returns and they have different risks. And so, when you put them all together, what you have is a portfolio that is insulated form a single company doing really great or really poorly and totally wiping out your savings. That's one benefit that you have from diversification, it helps smooth out peaks and valleys of returns, so you don't feel that anxiety when you see markets go up and down which they do. It also really helps you to avoid missing opportunities that are out there. If you're all invested in small company stocks and US large company stocks are doing great and you don't have any of that, well you've missed an opportunity. But what diversification does is it helps you capture all of that. And a lot of people will get confused about what diversification means and think, well, I just have two different managers or have two different mutual funds or ETFs or whatever exchange traded funds. And that's diversification but really that's not necessarily what we’re talking about here. What we’re talking about is what the investments themselves are. So if you have Large company stocks, small company stocks, international large company tax, International small company tax. It doesn't matter if you have the same manager, it's what those investments themselves are that insure you don't have all your eggs in one basket. So I went to college, I got my degree, I sort of accidentally found my way into financial planning. I was more geared toward investments initially but I sort of navigated my way to this profession and it has been so meaningful for me that when I started my own firm years ago, the reason behind it was to be a beacon of light within our industry. To be some one or some firm that the community, that the people we serve can look up to and say, this is how you can do this business. And build relationships, and make a difference and not always be all about money. It's part of what we do and we hope people, advice people on it. But we're very much hidden to money to be an example of how you can do a little bit different. Being a certified financial planning professional is very rewarding but it's also very challenging and I love that about the business. Starting my own firm, it was very hard, I mean we started with nothing and we had to build it from the ground up and to gain people's trusts. And when we were able to do that, client by client basis, it became this beautiful tapestry of client relationships that I couldn't have scripted out. But it's just the way that it developed and it was hard work, you have to know a lot about a lot of different things. And then you have to know when you don't know, what you're supposed to know to bring in allied professionals that can help you figure it out on behalf of your client. And keeping your clients first and foremost in your mind has been a mantra of our firm since it's inception. [MUSIC]
