Courtesy to Our Clients Newsletter
“An element of our value proposition to our clients is to stand ready to help family members and friends.” So claims the section of our web-site titled “Courtesy To Our Clients.” What does this mean? How does it work? Who benefits?
The person you send us benefits. Whether or not they end up as our client, we will assist your friend or family member with their financial and planning circumstances
The first thing we strive to do is to determine if there’s a fit. We do this by creating a meeting environment conducive to having a frank, friendly and non-threatening conversation. We want our visitor to feel comfortable in discussing their aspirations, needs, fears, and previous experiences. Our job is to listen and as the story unfolds explore the details. Only by taking this approach do we believe visitors can comfortably describe their situation.
During our meetings, we strive to make sure our visitors feel that they are under no pressure to become clients or feel they have to make any decision. The goal of the meeting is to see if we get along and if can we be of service at an economically feasible cost.
During an initial meeting recently with a couple, during a fact finding discussion, we discovered very quickly that the husband, to make ends meet, was working 3 and ½ jobs. His fear was he was never there for his family. He aspired to spend more time with them. Their financial need was to be able to pay the bills, start savings towards a college education and their retirement plan.
The couple had devised a strategy to consolidate the father’s many jobs into a career. They just wanted to run their plan by someone whom they thought helped other couples with these type of life-altering decisions; they did not need a comprehensive plan, and even if they had, we found it would not have been economically feasible to contract for our services.
During another meeting with a couple that came to see us they wanted to help the husband set-up a 401(k) account: This is a set-up where the employer has a plan, but the employee has to set up their account at a financial institution of their liking. Many institutions refuse to accommodate these type of accounts because of their small size and increased administrative costs. We discovered we could provide this service.
The husband relayed their family’s goals as saving for retirement, college, and debt reduction. It turns out had owned a business that failed and ended up with a lot of debt. That, in addition to credit card and student loan debt was exhausting their monthly budget: there was no excess funds with which to save for college.
Once we discovered the amount of the debt we began exploring the details of each of their debt burdens. After we analyzed their assets, we came up with a plan to set them on track towards their goals.
We determined it was economically unfeasible for us to charge them our planning fees.
Sending us a friend or family member for wealth management services is an honor and we are extremely thankful. And, we do everything we can to meet our covenant to our clients; we’d hate to disappoint you. Courtesy to our clients means we will help your friend or family member with their financial and planning circumstances whether they become our client or not.
Carlos Dominguez, CFP® – Portfolio Manager, RJ
These case studies are for illustrative purposes only. Individual cases will vary. Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation. Prior to making any investment decision, you should consult with your financial advisor about your individual situation.
Sources are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not, authorize, or sponsor any of the listed sources. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any source or the collection or use of information regarding any source’s users and members. Past performance may not be indicative of future results Individual investor’s results will vary. Any opinions are those of Carlos Dominguez and not necessarily those of Raymond James. This material is being provided for information purposes only and is not a complete description, nor recommendation. The information has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but Raymond James does not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected. Investors should consider their financial ability to continue purchases through periods of low price levels. There is no assurance that any investment strategy will be successful. Investing involves risk and investors may incur a profit or a loss.