Comments on: It’s for free (yeah right!) http://www.thefinancialcoach.co.za/2009/10/20/its-for-free-yeah-right/ Managing people & their emotions around money Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:42:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Gregg http://www.thefinancialcoach.co.za/2009/10/20/its-for-free-yeah-right/comment-page-1/#comment-56 Gregg Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:51:47 +0000 http://www.thefinancialcoach.co.za/?p=344#comment-56 Hi Michael I agree with you - people do need to take more responsibility and financial planning is a bit like fixing the tap at home - anyone could do it. You buy the manual, buy the tools and spend the time doing it and it might take a while and cost a bit, or you call the plumber, knowing that your time is more valuable and it is also not really an area of interest/expertise. It is also a good idea to review things on a regular basis or if/when things change (death, divorce, birth...) On your side - dont be too hasty in making changes to your RA - especially if it is a life insurance based one - the penalties are huge. You could also look at changing the portfolio of the RA - maybe it is too conservatively invested...if this is not the issue then rather start a unit trust based RA - you can get into a UT RA at no initial fees and there is no contract either. Go well Gregg Hi Michael
I agree with you – people do need to take more responsibility and financial planning is a bit like fixing the tap at home – anyone could do it. You buy the manual, buy the tools and spend the time doing it and it might take a while and cost a bit, or you call the plumber, knowing that your time is more valuable and it is also not really an area of interest/expertise.
It is also a good idea to review things on a regular basis or if/when things change (death, divorce, birth…)
On your side – dont be too hasty in making changes to your RA – especially if it is a life insurance based one – the penalties are huge. You could also look at changing the portfolio of the RA – maybe it is too conservatively invested…if this is not the issue then rather start a unit trust based RA – you can get into a UT RA at no initial fees and there is no contract either.
Go well
Gregg

]]> By: Michael http://www.thefinancialcoach.co.za/2009/10/20/its-for-free-yeah-right/comment-page-1/#comment-55 Michael Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:06:38 +0000 http://www.thefinancialcoach.co.za/?p=344#comment-55 I would like to mention, that one can not solely place your financial future on your financial advisor, I feel very strong that people /clients must take responsibly too, it is easy to to give the advisor the blame when things don't do as well as you have hoped. How can people take more responsibly, they can read up how product are structured, research on different products and their benefits, it can very easily be done via the internet these days. Another great way is to review your policies/investments/wills at lease once a year and if they are not inline with your plans adjust accordingly. My wife and I review our matters every year in Oct/Nov and we have discovered a retirement product we have is worth much less than we thought. We now have a change to correct it before it is to late. By doing a little bit of research you can make a list of questions for you advisor to answer for you when you have your yearly review. Just some thoughts from my side Michael I would like to mention, that one can not solely place your financial future on your financial advisor, I feel very strong that people /clients must take responsibly too, it is easy to to give the advisor the blame when things don’t do as well as you have hoped.

How can people take more responsibly, they can read up how product are structured, research on different products and their benefits, it can very easily be done via the internet these days. Another great way is to review your policies/investments/wills at lease once a year and if they are not inline with your plans adjust accordingly.

My wife and I review our matters every year in Oct/Nov and we have discovered a retirement product we have is worth much less than we thought. We now have a change to correct it before it is to late.

By doing a little bit of research you can make a list of questions for you advisor to answer for you when you have your yearly review.

Just some thoughts from my side

Michael

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