INDUSTRY INSIGHT
FINANCE
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Isn’ t it time for a Financial Plan?
I am often surprised by the number of people I talk to that do not have a written financial plan. We began adding financial plans to our services a couple years ago and have found the clients that work with us to create one seem to have a better understanding of their goals and financial vision than those that do not.
Some people I talk to are hesitate to do a plan. I think part of that hesitate is because they don’ t understand its value. I believe written financial plans are important because they can help promote better investor behavior and expectations. How can they do that? When you create a financial plan with your Advisor, a conversation takes place.
When that happens, you’ ll talk about your hopes and aspirations and begin to form a vision of where you realistically want to be at different mileposts over the years. You’ ll discuss your investment goals, whether these include a first home, a vacation home, college and, of course, retirement. You also determine where these goals fall along your own investment timeline.
You’ ll also talk about different market scenarios and how you may react to the ups and downs that will inevitability occur over the years. Specifically, how do you think you’ d feel if that markets falls 10 %, 20 % or even more? What if one of those-or all of those- events occurred over the course of a year or two? Would you be able to stay the course? Or would you want to flee the market altogether? Perhaps, you may even want to invest more.
Your advisor needs to understand how comfortable you’ ll be with the kind of risks you may need to take to reach your investment goals. Equally important, you will need to understand that, too. While it is
one thing to talk about these possibilities, it’ s quite another to live through them. So these are the kinds of conversations you should have with your advisor.
Ultimately, the idea is to have the emotional strength to weather a market downturn. A financial plan can help you remain grounded and rational during times of market stress. We all know that markets can move up and down-seemingly without reason at times- and a financial plan can help us look beyond any short term turbulence and remain focused on our long term goals and vision. I’ m not saying these situations are easy, but having a financial plan in-hand can help.
Providing clarity and creative solutions for
• Money management
• Life insurance
• Retirement planning
• Mutual funds
• 401( k) rollovers
• College savings
• IRAs
• Annuities
This Industry Insight was written by Christopher J. Marsico, MBA.
Chris has been serving the financial needs of clients since 2004. His experience ranges from mutual fund investments to life insurance products and annuities. Over the past eight years he has helped clients plan for all aspects of their lives, including saving for retirement, paying for a child’ s college education, and leaving legacies for their estates. His dedication to his clients allowed him to be featured in the Life Insurance Selling article“ New Faces Going Places.”
Chris was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area. After he graduated from Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, he earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Katz School of Business, with a concentration in finance. He also holds a graduate certificate from University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton School of Business, in retirement planning.
In addition to serving his clients, Chris has always had a strong sense of giving back to his community. Upon graduation from Indiana University, he was commissioned as an Army officer and was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was later deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2004 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He now volunteers his time at his church and his children’ s school. He lives in the Mars area with his wife, Kristine, and their three children.
Give our knowledgeable team a call at 724-898-3555 or email cmarsico @ cambridgeresource. com to schedule a complimentary consultation.
Visit us online at www. marsicowealth. com.
1018 Pittsburgh Road Valencia, Pennsylvania 16059
Registered Representative, Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker / dealer, member FINRA / SIPC. Investment Advisor Representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Cambridge and Marsico Wealth Management are not affiliated. V. CIR. 0415
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