Patient  “Dr everywhere I touch myself it hurts?  My arms, my head, my legs.  There must be something very seriously wrong with me”

Doctor  “You have a broken finger”.

As professional financial planners we are in the business of caring for our client’s financial wellbeing.  An analogy can be used to compare what a financial planner does to the work a doctor does in looking after his patients physical wellbeing.  Whilst the roles are markedly different and lets face it doctors help save lives we help save $ the process involved in diagnosis and recommendation of treatment is similar.

When a patient goes to see a doctor they are there because they know something just isn’t right and they want the doctor to diagnose what the problem is and then recommend a course of action.  The patient will however have likely googled their symptoms prior and will be of great assistance in suggesting the condition up front : )  Now I haven’t heard of a doctor yet who would accept this as the diagnosis and use it as the basis for their recommendations.   The doctor will do a thorough examination (cough) and may even refer to others such as radiotherapists so as to have all the relevant information on which to base his recommendations.

Likewise a financial planner will undertake a thorough discovery process so as they have all the relevant information prior to making recommendations.  When a google savvy client wants to restrict the information they provide as they deem it not relevant are they the best person to make this judgment.  Are they qualified to determine what’s relevant and what’s not?  Would the patient who is sore everywhere query why the doctor wants to X-ray his hand?

Professional financial planners give advice, they do not implement other planner’s advice or take instructions.  They also help implement the advice when appropriate.  As good as the advice may be ask yourself what its really worth if not implemented?  Would the patient take the recommended course of antibiotics?   Absolutely! (though if at all like me not till the course is finished rather the symptoms have gone away).

Are you confident that you are competent enough to achieve your financial goals without professional advice?