Money Smart Life » financial advisors http://moneysmartlife.com Money Tips for a Better Life Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:39:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Financial Planner Profile – Neil Vannoy http://moneysmartlife.com/financial-planner-profile-neil-vannoy/ http://moneysmartlife.com/financial-planner-profile-neil-vannoy/#comments Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:41:49 +0000 Ben http://moneysmartlife.com/?p=2278 After putting together the financial planner websites with blogs list a few weeks ago I got a chance to meet a few of them in person at an event.  One of the planners I got to visit with was Neil Vannoy of Vannoy Advisory Group.

Getting Acquainted

Neil’s a Certified Financial Planner in Texas and apparently has a very charming wife.  As we chatted the first thing that everyone wanted to know when they stopped by to say hi was if his wife had come along.   I got a laugh out of it because it kind of reminded me of being a new dad. Everyone who comes to visit wants to see the new baby, forget about dad. Although his wife has been his constant travel companion around the U.S. and is part of the financial team, it turns out she wasn’t along for this trip so I didn’t get a chance to meet her.

Money Blogging

Neil’s an easy guy to talk to and we had an interesting conversation about sharing financial facts and information through blogging. 

He co-hosts a TV segment on his local NBC station called “Your Money Monday” where he answers viewer’s money questions. Neil tries to share a lot of the information from the show on his site, No Hidden Commissions.  Although he’s only been writing on the blog for a few months he really enjoys writing about money and investing, check out his list of the top investing myths.

Financial Planner Questions

After the event I emailed Neil some questions about being a financial planner and he was nice enough to take the time to send back the responses below.

Why did you become a financial planner?
I’ve always enjoyed doing my own financial planning – including researching investments, building portfolios, analyzing tax strategies, etc. – so it just made sense to make a career out of it. Like the saying goes, “find something you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”

What do you think is the biggest benefit that your clients gain from working with an advisor like you?
Most people don’t have the time, patience, or desire to learn everything needed to manage their finances and investments successfully. Finding the right advisor will help these people navigate the complicated world of financial planning and investing, and give them more time to focus on the things in life that are important to them.

What type of people, if any, should not hire a financial planner?
I think that everyone would benefit from looking around and seeing what types of financial planners are available. Years ago, hiring an advisor meant turning over your finances to someone. While these “full service” advisors are still around, individuals now have the option to work with an advisor on an hourly basis for a second opinion if that’s all they want.

What is the biggest challenge facing your clients today?  How do you help them with those challenges?
Without a doubt, uncertainty is the biggest challenges facing investors today. A big part of my job is helping my clients address and alleviate any uncertainty they face, whether it’s uncertainty about their jobs, changes in tax law, investment returns, or the economy as a whole.

What’s the most common mistake that people make with their money and why do they make it?
The most common mistake I see people making is waiting too long before starting to plan their financial future. In financial planning, time can be both an ally and an enemy. The earlier your start the better, because your investments will have more time to grow and compound. But if you wait too long, you’ll find yourself having to play “catch up” to reach large goals like college education for your children or retirement. That can be very stressful.

What do you do when a client has a question you don’t know the answer to?
It’s impossible for one person to have all of the answers, but that’s not a problem if you have a strong network of professionals to use as a resource. As a member of the Garrett Planning Network and NAPFA, I have an automatic network of professionals I can use for guidance. In addition to these networks, I have several CPAs, attorneys, and other professionals I can use as resources.

What don’t you like about the financial planning industry?
For far too long the focus of the financial planning industry has been on “selling” rather than “advising”. I think this has left most people feeling that advisors recommend products that are better for their pockets than their client’s pockets, and this is unfortunate.

What do you really enjoy about the financial planning industry?
Although this doesn’t apply to the financial planning industry as a whole, I really enjoy being able to earn a living and help people in the process of doing something I love.

What tips do you have for people looking to choose an advisor to work with?
Look for an advisor that is “fee-only”, meaning he or she never accepts commissions from his or her recommendations. This removes conflicts of interest and helps ensure that the focus of the advisor is on providing the best advice possible rather than selling a product for a commission.

What kinds of things should people expect to see on your blog in the future?
The stated goal of the blog is “to add a little clarity to the world of financial planning and investing”, so I plan on posting useful financial tips as well as highlighting some of the “insider secrets” that investors need to know before working with an advisor.

You can follow Neil on twitter or his blog No Hidden Commissions.

]]> 1 Financial Advisor Websites With Blogs http://moneysmartlife.com/financial-advisor-websites-with-blogs/ http://moneysmartlife.com/financial-advisor-websites-with-blogs/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:01:17 +0000 Ben http://moneysmartlife.com/?p=2109 Financial advisor websites are often little more than an online brochure explaining the qualifications and services of the financial planners that run them.  Of course these advisors are busy watching over the personal finances of their clients so it makes sense that they don’t have a lot of extra time to write articles for their website about investing, retirement, cash flow, etc.

However, there are a growing number of financial planners and advisors that are sharing their thoughts on personal finance on their websites, often in the form of a blog.  Not only does it help potential clients get to know a little more about them and their financial philosophies, it’s also useful for the rest of us since they sometimes share some valuable personal finance insights.

I’ve put together a list of the financial advisor blogs that I’ve run across over the past few years online.  When you have a few minutes check out the financial topics they’re discussing on their blogs:

You can also catch up with some of them on Twitter:

  • Carl Richards – @behaviorgap
  • Cathy Curtis – @curtisfinancial
  • Jeff Rose – @jeffrosecfp
  • Jean Keener – @JeanKeener
  • Jim Blankenship – @BlankenshipFP
  • Michael Zhuang @ @mzhuang
  • Neal Frankle @NealFrankle
  • Neil Vannoy @neilvannoy
  • Rich Feight – @RFeight
  • Rick Kahler – @RickKahler
  • Russ Thornton – @russthornton

If I’ve left anyone off the list, feel free to let me know.  You can contact me or twitter me.

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