Market Plunge Makes the Case for Retirement Plan Consultants

Sound financial advice can help you play leapfrog instead of stock market dodgeball. Are retirement plan consultants worth the investment? Toss a quarter in the air and it will land on the right answer. Depending on who you ask, of course. The case for hiring one might be found in the recent stock market plunge. It’s nobody’s favorite topic of discussion. But that probably means it’s an important one. Forget about what you’ve heard, that they’re a good investment or a bad one. That’s all relative. There are great consultants and advisers just as much as there are unscrupulous ones. The real question is whether you’re skilled and bold enough to manage your own investments without any guidance. Bankrate suggests that if you have to ponder whether you need one, the answer is probably “yes.” Are you really sure that you know the best way to protect your money?

Why A Retirement Financial Adviser is a Good Idea

It’s natural to want to manage your own money. It’s yours, after all, and nobody has your best interest at heart as much as you do. But wanting the best and knowing what’s best are sometimes two completely different things. A retirement plan consultant or financial adviser is paid to have your best interest at heart. But more than that, she has the skills to know good decisions from bad ones. The market plunge epitomizes everything that can go wrong when managing your own money. Most people are inspired to sell and sell fast when the bottom drops out. And then when it starts going up again, that’s when they buy. And that’s one of the worst things that you can do. With a professional adviser, you still call the shots. But you’ll have a voice of reason that can help you weather those nerve-wracking storms. When the market drops, the advice of your consultant can keep you on track. And that can help you hold steady instead of losing a lot of ground by selling low and then buying high once the market regroups. The right consultant is worth his fees in gold.

What to Look for in an Adviser

There’s a sea of financial professionals available to you, and that can be as daunting as playing the market. But a Certified Financial Planner or CFP might be the best all-around choice, according to Bankrate. A CFP credential means that the planner or consultant has passed a national exam that covers taxes, insurance, investments, retirement, estate planning, and more. The exam is given by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. Great retirement plan consultants may have a host of other acronyms after their name. There’s the CLU, which is a Chartered Life Underwriter, and a CFA or Chartered Financial Analyst. And then there’s the AICPA PFP, which denotes a CPA who has become a financial planner through the American Institute of CPAs. A CFP has all of the tools to help you make the best choices with your retirement investments. As for the fee structure, there’s a fee-only, fee-based with commission, fee offset, and commission only. If you’re uncomfortable working with someone who gets a commission on what they sell to you, you can find a consultant that doesn’t. Unless you’ve got nerves of steel and are comfortable making the hard choices with your investments, a little retirement financial help is a good idea. It’s not free, but that shouldn’t’ scare you off. One good move or the advice to avoid a bad move can pay for that. With the recent instability of the stock market, a lot of people have lost a lot of money. But those big losses are likely to be from selling when they should have held firm. That’s not easy to do when you want to prevent further damage to your portfolio, says the L.A. Times. And that’s why you need a professional’s guidance. Where you are up close and personal with your money, they have enough space between it and them to see what’s right and guide you toward it. Boldin can help you create a workable retirement plan that generates long-term wealth. Check out our retirement calculator, and you’ll see how simple it is to find your strong points and any weak spots. And from there, we can connect you with a qualified financial professional who helps you stay the course through the sunny days and the rough spots.