Page 198 - February 2021

FINANCIAL PLANNING
Needing to get your finances in order? Worried about a source of income in retirement? Picking the right financial advisor
could be the answer to both of those questions. The difficult part is believing you’ve found
the right one for you. The past few years have taught us to be careful in what we believe.
If you’re like many others, you’re caught in between the constant bickering and badgering of the news media. Who’s telling the truth? What side has my best interest at heart? Asking these questions usually means you’re not blinded by the media. Which is good. There’s so much division and selfishness in this country that
it may be difficult to find someone you can trust. Especially with an important matter such as your finances. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on the U.S. economy and its current state. Depending on who’s in office, you might hear “the economy is in shambles” or you
might hear how the U.S. economy is the best it’s ever been. One side is telling you we are doomed while the other is telling you everything is in great shape. In my opinion, it’s just a political game. In the midst of constant tension and quarrel, you may have a hard time deciding what to do with your retirement plan. You might even be nervous to involve yourself with the stock market. I’d like to give a few pointers on how to choose the right financial advisor to help mitigate these concerns.
WORKING WITH PROFESSIONALS
We all have our preferred professionals in life. Our doctors make sure we’re healthy so we can maximize longevity. Our dentists clean our teeth so we can have a confident smile. We have equine professionals to keep our horses in check. We also have an accountant who does our taxes to ensure we’re in line with the IRS.
I firmly believe that a financial advisor should be in that mix of very useful individuals. Can you plan for your own longevity instead of going to the doctor? Absolutely. Can you do your own investing to prepare for retirement? Of course, you can. People go to the doctor for the same reason they hire a financial advisor, and that’s to seek sound and professional advice to help in everyday life. As many of
you know, the horse racing industry requires
a bit of wealth in order to get involved. I
once heard my dad, Billy, say “Doctors are
to health as financial advisors are to wealth.” When hearing “financial advisor” you may have a construed mental picture of Wall
Street stock brokers yelling and screaming at each other while trying to close a sale. This
is the common way to portray an advisor on TV. What the television fails to capture is a planner helping retirees with their investments
T T H H E E R R I IG GH H T T
FINANCIAL ADVISOR by Cade Peterson, Financial Planning Associate
A quality financial advisor is someone, like a doctor or horse trainer, who cares about your unique situation and puts together a strategy to help with your long-term planning.
196 SPEEDHORSE February 2022