Creatives Required for Great Financial Planning

Like most people in work, my job involves rather more than simply the job description, which is a good thing I guess. By way of example, a typical week  tends to involve at least one training seminar and probably one or two exploratory meetings with various industry consultants.

Last week I attended yet another training session about the retail distribution review (RDR) and the changes that impact me, the firm and our clients from 2013. The morning event was held at Grocers Hall, a fairly plush venue a stones throw from the Bank of England. The speakers were all of very high calibre, but all reflected on the sad state of the changes that are in motion but by no means finalised or clear. There are now only a few months to go (15 and a bit to be precise) yet there are still significant unresolved issues. This has considerable impact on financial advisers across the country. It is my belief that very little will change for our clients or our firm, after all we have always operated on a transparent fee system, however the bulk of advisers in Britain still operate on a commission basis. The change from one to another is considerable, and one that doesn't take a couple of weeks to implement.

The new rules are probably beyond the reach of a considerable number of IFAs at present with many now taking early retirement and attempting to sell their business. There will be fewer advisers from 2013. I regularly receive emails that ask if I am seeking to sell my business (I'm not!).

Sadly, I do not believe that even with fewer and better qualified advisers to regulate, that all advice will be good. Technical knowledge is one thing, but being able to apply good financial planning principles based upon a deeper understanding of your objectives is vital. In reality, most of us have little interest in financial products or in financial services generally. What people are far more interested in is whether they will have enough money to have the life they want and guidance about what to do if not. The concept is pretty simple, the putting a great financial plan together requires thoughtful creativity as well as technical know-how.

If you have not seen the Warner Brothers film "The Bucket List" directed by Rob Reiner and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, here is the trailer, which may provide some thoughts.