A quick email sometimes leaves something to be desired, don’t you think? You get the information you need, but it doesn’t always open the door for in-depth discussions about your hopes and goals for the next year. For this reason, annual reviews with your advisor are imperative to strengthen your financial strategy and your relationship with your advisor. When it’s time for a yearly review of your financial progress, you can dig deeper into your goals with these five questions.
1. What goals are we focused on?
This question may be the most important of the five. Your financial advisor should always be aware of your goals to align your strategy appropriately and help you work toward your ideal future. At a minimum, discuss your intentions annually. Your life changes quickly, and your goals likely change along with it, so let your advisor know what you’re working toward as often as you can.
To prepare for this discussion with your advisor, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- How has my life changed in the past year?
- Have I found myself worrying about a particular area of my life?
- What might make me feel more comfortable with my financial situation?
- Has anything changed for my family this year?
- When I dream of my future, what does it look like?
2. Am I on track to retire?
You’re never too young or too old to ask this question. Talk to your advisor about your retirement progress and discuss the goal you’re working toward. They can determine an estimate of how much you’ll need in your retirement accounts, how close you are to reach that goal and what you can do in the meantime to push yourself closer.
When you began working with a financial professional, were your retirement goals the same? Your retirement expectations are also important to communicate with your advisor. As you age, as your preferences change, and as your family changes, you may plan to live out your retirement years differently than you had initially intended.
3. Where are my finances as compared to last year?
Your financial advisor tracks your progress year over year to determine your overall success. These metrics are important to discuss, even at a basic level, to better understand the strides that your financial strategy is making. If the progress is minimal, or not what you expected, ask your advisor to explain the outside factors affecting your growth. Knowing this information can also help you plan your primary goals for the next year.
4. Am I prepared for tax season?
This question can open a conversation about maximizing your tax benefits and how your advisor is working to optimize your strategy. If you have plans to donate to charity or have questions surrounding annual charitable giving, this is also a great question to explore that topic with your advisor.
5. What should I be thinking about this year?
In the same way that you would set annual goals with your employer, it’s essential to set annual goals with your advisor. Of course, these goals may not be finite numbers, but general areas that you and your advisor should be particularly concentrated on throughout the year. This topic will also give you ways to measure your progress when your advisor checks in the next year for a review.
Ready to set your financial goals? Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
