Advantages of Professional Investment Management We believe there are four primary areas of value added that financial advisors bring to their client relationships. 1. Investment Management Services. Implementing an investment program requires giving careful thought to a number of factors, including risk, time frame, goals, taxes, choosing a strategy, researching, and implementing and monitoring the strategy. Most people who seek out financial advisors don't want to take the time to perform these tasks, regardless of whether they believe they are capable of doing them. Hiring an advisor is a time-saver. 2. Hand-holding and Discipline. Many people seek out advisors because they are not confident about investing by themselves. While there are a growing number of sources of easy-to-follow advice, including websites, newsletters, and fund company asset-allocation services, a number of people are not certain about their ability to assess which investments are right for them. Many people really value the human connection they get from an advisor. And it is this connection that is the source of the trust and confidence they need to commit to and stick with an investment program. 3. Competitive Performance. The majority of properly educated clients are satisfied with competitive performance and don't necessarily expect their advisor to deliver consistently market-beating performance. They recognize that the advisor adds value by delivering competitive performance at appropriate risk levels, and by bringing discipline to the table, helping to avoid major mistakes, such as chasing yesterday's hot stocks. 4. Keeping Clients Focused on Long-term Goals. The achievement of a client's long-term goals is a measure of financial success. Although we expect to outperform our benchmarks over time, whether or not your portfolio outperforms those of your neighbor's should not be relevant, if you are able to achieve your long-term goals. Of course, there is some subset of the individual investor market that is very performance-oriented. This is why it is so important to us as advisors to make sure clients understand our investment philosophy, have realistic expectations, and are looking at the right benchmarks. In addition to these four areas, there are other issues potential clients should keep in mind. Fees must be reasonable to allow for competitive performance. We believe advisor fees much over 1% make it difficult to deliver competitive performance. At JLFranklin, we charge 1% on the first $2 million under management, 75 basis points on the next $3 million, and after that our fees decrease on a sliding scale down to 30 basis points. We are very confident that the combination of our fund due diligence and asset-class research can more than make up for the fee over the long run, regardless of the return environment.
We realize that clients might not easily recognize this, but nevertheless it is true. This point is about understanding the difference between what the market is providing and what the advisor is providing. In a high-return environment, the absolute returns easily cover the fees but require little work. When the market isn't handing out high returns, the value of stock picking is amplified. Obsessively thorough due diligence conducted with a high level of intellectual integrity is, we believe, even more important and can add more value. In addition, our asset allocation approach, which allows us to look at many asset classes, gives us a fairly wide array of investment opportunities to pursue. So in an environment in which we believe S&P 500 and bond market returns will be low, the ability and knowledge to pursue alternative asset classes which we believe offer better potential is a big advantage. Overall, the need to pick good managers (and fire the bad ones), to take advantage of rebalancing opportunities, to implement and monitor tactical moves, and to manage taxes is even greater now than it was during the bull market. Advantages of JLFranklin Wealth Planning for professional investment management JLFranklin Wealth Planning can effectively implement and monitor your diversified portfolio and keep you on track to achieve your long-term goals. We are tax specialists, which allows us to comprehensively coordinate your financial life. One of the biggest advantages of our firm is that we possess the dual specialties of tax preparation and financial planning. In addition, you'll be interacting directly with the owner of the company. Joyce L. Franklin, CPA, CFP® has spent nearly three decades working in finance, including five years at Big Four accounting firms. In addition to this experience, Ms. Franklin's professional certifications and two graduate educational degrees have augmented her knowledge and expertise in the area of personal financial planning. Some other features of our firm you should consider:
We prepare an investment plan for all of our clients, and we will discuss with you in detail your short- and long-term goals, your cash needs, and your tax and investment strategies. Our firm has the knowledge and discipline to implement and monitor your plan and to make strategic changes when appropriate. Monitoring your portfolio means that we are required to stay abreast of the fund managers and fund style at each company for which you hold funds. Monitoring your portfolio also means that we stay current on events or issues in your particular situation that may in turn affect your portfolio, including changes to your lifestyle, your goals, and taxes.
Back to Top
|