Heard of fitness trainers? Of course, yes!

Let's understand the role of a financial advisor to that of a fitness trainer.

We all recognize the value of being physically fit and healthy, yet we frequently break from our routine due to a lack of time, a lack of discipline, or lack of knowledge as to what to do next.

Herein lies the function of a coach. A coach's job is to make sure you work nonstop to achieve your objective - to stay fit and healthy. He closely monitors your development, manages your nutrition intake, and keeps an eye on your exercise routine.

Similarly, a financial advisor is a coach to your money.

What is a Financial Advisor?

A financial advisor offers advice on where, when, and how to make savings and/or investments. The advisor also offers suggestions for an overall financial strategy and/or for specific investments made as part of the overall financial strategy.

Financial advisors offer guidance on everything from selecting the right financial instrument to determining how much to invest, how regularly to evaluate, and, if necessary, even take the corrective action on the right time.

Importance of a Financial Advisor

When someone gets sick for a day, they typically go to the pharmacy and purchase an OTC (over-the-counter) medication. Most of the time, this medication works as intended. What if the issue lasts a long time? The next step is to see a doctor.

This is a result of individuals understanding that when it comes to health, doctors are the best source of information.

The same is true for legal matters. The experts are lawyer. When employing their services, there are no second thoughts.

However, most people are hesitant to accept assistance when it comes to managing their finances. Numerous things could be taking up one's mind, such as follows:

  • They may believe it to be a waste of money.
  • They can believe that they have the best financial management skills.
  • They are hesitant to discuss money problems with a stranger.
  • Many people are happy, if they have a solid job and are able to live peacefully and happily with the available resources. Additionally, if people are debt-free they are more than happy. They believe it is unnecessary to invest time and resources in a financial advisor.
  • The majority of individuals manage with what they have. They fumble along and manage to accomplish objectives that might not be well defined. They may even fail to achieve these objectives at times.

But what if professional financial advisor enabled them to better manage their finances? Would buying that be worthwhile? Additionally, there are so many financial instruments accessible today that choosing ones that will meet your financial objectives and provide both short- and long-term returns can be challenging – wouldn’t it be a relief to get proper assistance to help ensure that you are making the appropriate decisions and selecting the appropriate financial products.

The value of a good financial advisor can be highlighted through a number of reasons and factors. However, let us understand through the following top four reasons:

  1. Analyze Your Overall Financial Health - Just like a doctor, a financial advisor looks at a person's financial health and situation. He might identify areas that require improvement. The advisor might warn you about unnecessary spending, for instance, he might spot investments that aren't producing the best profits.
  2. Financial Goals - Your financial goals will be well-understood by a capable financial advisor, who will also assist you in accomplishing those goals. The ideal strategies for your needs will be found by him or her, and your wealth will grow.

    Moreover, you can map out your financial objectives with the help of your advisor, even the unlikely and aspirational ones. The advisor can then assist you in developing a strategy to accomplish these goals. He might advise you to divide your goals into short-, medium-, and long-term goals. This enables more effective money management.

  3. Knowledge - Financial planners and advisors have in-depth knowledge of complicated products and are skilled at understanding the fine print of various instruments. Additionally, they have solid connections with middlemen who can create custom plans for you.

    The advisor can suggest solutions to speed up the process of achieving your objectives. In doing so, the advisor would evaluate your risk tolerance, personality, and financial commitments. He would also describe the benefits of the product and offer advice on how to make the investments.

  4. Save Time - Once you work with a financial advisor, you are relieved of portfolio management duties. You may do this to save a huge amount of time, effort, and energy. It relieves you of a big task. Simply meet with your financial advisor on a regular basis to determine whether you are on the right track or not.

What does a financial advisor do?

Using a financial advisor for your investing and financial planning requirements has a number of advantages, which are listed below:

  • Analyzing Your Investment Requirements and Making a Financial Plan- Knowing the requirement and the purpose before creating a financial plan is one of the first steps. Your financial advisor learns about your needs and long-term objectives from you and then creates a sound long-term plan to meet those requirements.
  • Financial Expertise - A financial advisor carries knowledge of the financial industry with them. To obtain the title of financial advisor or investment advisor, they go through various training programmes and obtain certifications. Therefore, it could be a good idea to hire a financial advisor to assist with creating a portfolio, outlining your goals, and keeping track of them.
  • Setting up Your SMART Goals - The SMART acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound goals. You need to set realistic goals in your financial plan as well, taking into account things like your income, expected returns, and objectives. And a financial advisor would assist you in achieving these SMART Goals.
  • Guiding You to Selecting the Best Route for Financial Fitness - Your financial advisor will assist you in selecting specific investment possibilities once you have decided on your goals. Your advisor will assist you in selecting the best financial instrument based on your risk-return criteria and matching it with the right financial instrument.
  • Keeping an Eye on Your Portfolio - You may not always have all the time to track and review the success of your investments, so a financial advisor can help. To make sure that your investments are in line with your financial objective, regular portfolio supervision is essential.
  • Updating Financial Portfolio on Time to Time - Depending on the state of the market and evolving needs, an investment portfolio has to be reviewed and reallocated. A financial advisor would provide adjustment suggestions in these circumstances based on his knowledge of the markets and current conditions.

But how do you know when it’s time to hire a financial planning advisor?

When should you hire a financial advisor?

Let's explore some of the important scenarios where getting professional assistance might be the best course of action.

  • You Are Beginning to Seriously Think about Retiring

    You put in countless hours of work, usually with the single focus of saving money for a nice retirement. While there are many investment options available to you in India to help you grow your retirement corpus, it requires the knowledge of a financial advisor to assist you determine how to make the most use of the funds you already have to establish the retirement fund you require.

    For this reason, when you are beginning to think seriously about retiring in the future, is an excellent moment to consult a financial expert. At that point, you will be able to see clearly how much money you need to save and for how time.

  • You Earned a Pay Increase

    A raise at work is always an occasion to rejoice. However, after the first excitement wears off, the problem of what to do with all those extra ruppees persists. If you have loans or responsibilities to settle, your excess salary could be routed to those areas. A financial planning professional, though, can assist you if you're unsure about what to do with the additional income.

    A financial advisor could help you use the sizeable raise you received to enhance your long-term wealth rather than utilising those funds for immediate needs because they have years of experience to draw upon.

  • You Have Made a Few Unexpected Gains

    You could be unsure about what to do with large sums of money that you acquire as a result of unexpected surprise income. For instance, if you inherit money, you can find yourself holding large sums of cash without knowing where or how to invest them.

    Finding a financial planning specialist at this time will help you have your questions answered by a professional in the field. Without this kind of professional advice, you run the danger of making rash or ill-informed financial decisions that can reduce the value of the surprise earnings you have received.

  • You're about to Experience a Big Life Event

    You frequently need to examine your finances more carefully and reorganise your money if necessary as a result of significant life events. For instance, your finances may need to be reorganised to fit the event you are dealing with when you deliver a baby, launch your own business, or even lose a significant earner in your family.

    In these situations, financial advisors can be really helpful since they can provide you with the direction you need to handle these life events sensibly. You can choose the kind of support you want, which might range from helping you understand your alternatives to actually creating a financial strategy for you.

  • You Have Just Received Your First Salary

    In some situations, your first salary can be the ideal opportunity to contact a financial planning expert. This is especially true if your job pays well and you have extra cash at the end of the month than you could ever handle on your own.

    A financial advisor can assist you in understanding investments and tax planning so that you may make the best use of your earnings. When you reflect back over the years, you will realise that one of the smartest financial choices someone can make is to hire a financial planner at a early stage of life.

  • You Would Like to Lessen Your Tax Liability

    Your salary may rise into a bracket with a higher tax rate due to the change in the tax regime, a rise in your salary, or even the selling of a capital item like a house or a piece of land. If that occurs, it could be a good idea to employ a financial advisor so that you can understand how to lower your tax liability at that point.

    Even though you may be aware of the critical tax-saving techniques, such as tax deduction under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, a financial advisor can help you take advantage of all the tax benefits available for your particular taxpayer profile in order to reduce your tax bill.

How to choose your financial advisor?

Have any experts ever advised you to pay off your debt before considering investments, or to set aside money in a liquid fund or savings account for unexpected expenses? One rule that your financial adviser should adhere by is "people have one commonality: they are all different." S/He should really not try to squeeze the person into a jacket that has already been made. S/He needs to consider all aspects of the customer's financial condition. Only in this manner can advise be genuinely thorough and personalized.

Here are the eight factors you should take into account before selecting the best financial advisor for your financial journey.

  1. Experience

    When selecting a financial advisor, you should give careful thought to the potential advisor's experience and academic qualifications. It is crucial to have sufficient financial market and customer engagement experience. Since you would be entrusting the advisor with your finances, they must be well trained. To learn more about how your potential adviser interacts with clients, ask for recommendations.

    #ProTip - Seek for advisor that have experience with several economic cycles. An advisor's ability to respond to both excitement and fear significantly aids in guiding customers. It is additionally advantageous to have an expert who own a formal training degree, diploma, or the most recent financial planning certifications.

  2. Proper Licenses

    Certain financial planners are permitted to sell you a specific class of financial products because they have that license. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, for instance, issues licenses to advisors who offer insurance products.

    #ProTip - Verify the licensing of potential financial advisors to make sure you are working with qualified professionals.

  3. Profile of Clients Managed by Your Advisor

    As there is with specialisation in medicine, an advisor focuses on the types of customers for which they are most suitable. The top advisors establish a position for themselves and offer solutions that are tailored to client requirements.

    An advisor that focuses on paid professionals would be more able to comprehend their needs, have structures for counselling, and comprehend financial flows. Similar to this, a professional who focuses on caring for customers who may have retired would be aware of the importance of having a consistent cash flow inside their customer's portfolio.

    #ProTip - Check to see whether they are working with someone you know or are going through a similar stage of life as you seem to be. Referrals or word-of-mouth testimonials are one approach to be sure a financial advisor has the necessary experience. Look into the advisor's prior performance, the clients he or she has served in the past and present, and their experiences doing business with the advisor.

  4. Communication Skills

    The financial sector appears to be complex, and the use of terminology makes understanding challenging. A professional financial advisor ought to be a source of trust, thus it's crucial for them to be able to speak in a way that clearly outlines the actions and processes that must be taken. In addition to helping you overcome your existing beliefs in the most objective way possible, the advisor must be able to clearly explain your finances to you.

    A qualified advisor will take their time to comprehend your financial problems so they can suggest the best course of action.

    #ProTip - Examine a potential financial advisor's methods for handling objections in order to evaluate their communication abilities. For advisors, resolving objections is like an acid test. Half the war is won if an advisor can properly manage your objections.

  5. Trustworthy Advice

    You are assigned a fund manager by a certain fund house when you purchase a fund from them. This fund manager can serve as your financial advisor and assist you with managing your portfolio. These people, however, are employed by a financial institution and have their own goals. On the other hand, trusted financial advisors are irrespective of being hired by any brand or firm that offers investments that fit well with your needs. The only thing you require from a financial advisor is their assistance in assisting you in making wiser financial decisions. They are acting solely in your greatest advantage, so you can trust their recommendations.

    #ProTip – Always opt for services from financial advisors who are “Trusted” to offer the best as per your needs and requirements.

  6. Accountability

    It is important that advisors frequently attempt to develop a personal connection with customers in order to better serve them. They can better grasp your requirements and aspirations by doing this. Because they are business-minded and committed to enhancing your financial portfolio, they have a high level of accountability.

    #ProTip – Examine how well the potential financial advisor can understand your requirements while offering solutions that actually enhance your portfolio.

  7. Transparency

    Typically, advisors charge clients based on a fee schedule. It is transparent, easy to understand, and aids in the expansion of your assets. With this arrangement, you can be guaranteed that their company will succeed if you succeed. As a result, the two parties' dealings with money and services are transparent.

    #ProTip – Make sure each and every detail about a plan is highlighted by the financial advisor.

  8. Keep a Track of Your Portfolio

    Once you employ a financial advisor, you are relieved of the responsibility of portfolio management. When you implement their recommendations and perform activities, their investing advice will put you in an automatic transaction state. The same holds true for other financial issues. You would save a tonne of time, work, and energy by doing this. You no longer need to continually monitor your assets; instead, all you need to do is stay in touch with your advisor to make sure everything is going as planned.

    #ProTip – Having a financial advisor to manage your financial portfolio does not mean you are done. You should keep a track of your financial portfolio while staying constantly in touch with the advisor.

Suggested Read: 12 Questions You Must Ask Your Life Insurance Agent.

Conclusion

The role of a fitness coach is comparable to that of a financial advisor in that both bring expertise, guarantee a strong fitness plan—either financial or physical—and assist in tracking and insuring the plan's success over time.

Since it is crucial to manage your money because it affects your financial stability. You should make sure the person is in line with your expectations if you are entrusting them with your financial matters.

Although they give you the necessary financial competence to manage your money, financial advisors should be carefully chosen.

To help you here, our trusted financial advisors are available at your service!