FAQs

What is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP)?


Anyone can call herself or himself a "financial planner," but only those who have fulfilled the certification and licensing requirements of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) can use the CFP designation. In order to be certified by the CFP Board, a candidate must complete a rigorous financial planning curriculum at a college or university, pass a 10-hour, two day national examination, provide evidence of three year's financial planning experience, and fulfill ethics requirements before earning the CFP mark.

Why do I Need a Certified Financial Planner (CFP)?


Accountants, investment advisors, stock brokers and insurance agents typically focus on only one particular area of your financial life. A certified financial planner, on the other hand, takes a holistic approach when analyzing your current financial position. The CFP licensee then identifies strengths and weaknesses before making recommendations and coordinating the implementation of your financial plan.

What is Financial Planning?


Financial planning may be defined as meeting your life goals through the proper management of your finances. It is not a single event, but rather a process that takes place over time.

By using a "Financial Road Map", we help you identify where you are today, where you want to be in the future, and the strategies to get you there. When life's unexpected events send you off course, we'll be right there with new strategies to get you back on track. If you stay the course, you will get to where you want to be.

What is Values-Based Financial Planning?


Values-Based Financial Planning is a process that helps you identify your values. Values are those qualities or principles that are most important to you. After clarifying your values, we design financial strategies to help you match your values with the actions you need to take in order to achieve your financial goals.

For example, if a client identifies "financial peace of mind" as the most important life quality for her retirement years, she then knows she must match her actions (saving and investing) with her values (financial peace of mind) to live the life she chooses. If her actions (spend, spend, spend) are not in alignment with her values (financial peace of mind), she will not achieve her financial goals.

In our experience, clients who identify their values and align their actions with those values are highly motivated to achieve their life financial goals.

What Services Do You Offer?


We are a full service financial planning firm. To assist you in reaching your financial goals, we offer the following services:

·Investments and Financial Planning
·Financial Education and Retirement Planning
·Asset Management and Portfolio Review and Analysis
·Risk Management and Corporate Benefits Education
·Investment Planning and College Planning
·Business Retirement Plans and Employee Benefits Packages
·Individual and Group Health and Disability Plans

How Do I Pay for Your Services?


We may be paid in a variety of ways. You may choose to pay us a fee based on an hourly rate, a flat rate (per project), or based on a percentage of the assets that we manage for you.

You may also choose to pay us on a commission basis. The commission is paid to the financial planner by a mutual fund company, broker-dealer or annuity company out of the client's invested assets as compensation for her services.

As a third option, you may choose a combination of both fee and commission.

You, the client, are the most important person in our organization. Some financial planners offer only fee-based services. Some offer only commissions. We offer you both because we are dedicated to meeting your needs, not ours.

Whichever Payment Option I Choose, Can I Get It in Writing?


Absolutely.


Who Can Benefit from Your Services?


Anyone who wants to enjoy what is important in one's life or who seeks financial peace of mind can benefit from our services. We welcome clients from all walks of life with varying income and net worth levels.

We specialize in the financial issues affecting women, teachers, early retirees, and non-traditional couples and families in the areas of investments, retirement planning, and long-term care issues. We also provide pension benefit education for corporations and retirement plans, employee benefits packages, and group health and disability plans for small businesses.

Some clients require extensive financial review and planning services while others engage our services for short-term projects such as portfolio review and analysis. Since one size doesn't fit all, we offer our services on an ongoing, as-needed, or one-time basis. It's your call. We believe in empowerment, your empowerment, through planning.

How Do I Get Started?


You can start by calling Sandra Reynolds, CFP at 508-636-6521 or by e-mailing us. Just click on "Contact Us" here on the web site, fill in the necessary information, and submit it to us. We will schedule a free, no obligation meeting with you where we can sit together and discuss your financial concerns.