Financial Planning in its purest form encompasses (i) investment planning and management, (ii) insurance planning, (iii) retirement planning, (iv) estate planning, (v) tax planning, and (vi) estate planning. Obviously this is encompasses a broad spectrum of knowledge and skills that can, in some circumstances, require the services of more than one individual despite their education, training and experience.
At Green Tree I believe we have that balance of knowledge, education and skills that when blended with the education, training and skills of other professionals will provide the client that desires such, the full spectrum of financial planning. In the area of investment management, we do not generally select specific investments.
What we do first is assist the client in determining his/her personal goals and objectives; then, assist the client in translating their personal goals and objectives into financial goals and objectives; and then, identify for the client what must be done to meet those financial goals and objectives. This may mean developing a more aggressive investment plan, or providing more investment capital, or doing both of the former, or doing the converse because there is sufficient capital to fund the client’s financial goals and objectives. Of special concern is educating the client on the risks associated with each type of investment and whether that risk is appropriate for the client, consistent with their financial goals and objectives, and personally acceptable.
Once the financial goals and objectives have been determined along with the acceptable levels of investment risk, the next step we take is to undertake a search for money managers who are qualified to devise an investment plan to meet the client’s financial goals and objectives. Frequently we advise the client to use two or more money managers so that they get the benefit of diverse but complementary investment strategies. Our job is to assist and guide the client through the selection process and then oversee the work of the investment managers.
With respect to insurance planning, we likewise work with the client to develop their insurance goals and objectives. Then we assist the client in identifying qualified agents and seeking proposals from those agents for products that will meet the client’s goals and objectives. Once the policies are in effect we continue to monitor their performance and appropriateness.
