Our Process

Becoming a client

At Assante, we make sure you have all the information you need before making such an important decision as choosing a financial advisor. We provide all prospective clients with a detailed advisor profile, explanation of our services, and a company overview that explains the advantages we offer to our clients. We listen to your goals and dreams, evaluate your current financial situation, then formulate a plan to help you meet those goals. In the end, you will have a plan that addresses all of your needs by providing the most effective solutions for you and your family.

To learn more about the benefits of being an Assante client, take a closer look at our customized approach below, or contact me at your convenience for a private consulation.

We believe in a 6 step financial planning process:

1.    Fact Gathering and Clarifying Your Personal Goals and Values:

Here we request a lot of data.  We take a holistic view of financial planning and the more we understand your current situation, the more customized the strategies we can recommend. Most importantly, this lends to the greater likelihood of attaining your goals. 

This step is also valuable, as we will organize and make copies of your documents for you.  In addition to your own records, we are a back up source for you. 

2.    Understanding Your Present Situation:

Once we have everything, we organize it for you and put all the information together in sections.  We then create a net worth and an income/expense statement for you.  This information is extremely valuable in assessing your present situation. 

3.    Identify Financial Problems and Opportunities:

Here we outline concerns regarding your current strategies or products, as well as possible areas to improve.  Our objective is always to educate, so you are able to make a knowledgeable decision as to how to proceed and what strategies to implement.  Often there is more than one correct answer, and with our help, you are able to choose the one that makes the most sense for you - now and in the future. 

4.    Present and Educate on Alternative Strategies and Recommendations:

To build on step 3, this is where we actually make decisions as to how to proceed and begin implementing the strategies.  Often there will be a long list of things to work on, but you will, often for the first time, have a complete list and timelines as to what needs to be done. 

All our strategies are confirmed by you, with our guidance.  We don’t tell you what to do.  We lay out your options and help you decide what you should do. 

5.    Implementation of your Personal Wealth Plan:

Your Personal Financial Plan will include a list of steps to take, and timelines.  Often these steps can take several months, but having a list in itself brings tremendous peace of mind.  Our objective is to make everything easy to implement and do as much of the heavy lifting as we can.  We often work in conjunction with your professionals to do most of the work behind the scenes. 

6.    Life Management: Ongoing Updates, Reviews and Adjustments:

Often financial plans are put in a drawer never to be looked at again.  In our process, your financial plan becomes the basis for all future discussions.  With our Life-at-a-Glance Reporting, we can see if there are savings or return shortcomings.  We then look at the revised plan with the actual account values and re-evaluate.  We then make any necessary modifications.  Our goal is for you to always know what results you can expect from your actions and our strategies.

No Surprises:

This is one of our main philosophies:

• No surprises with regard to fees:  We fully disclose how we are paid, and any cost you will pay.
• No surprises with regard to investment planning:  we provide you with an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) that outlines exactly how your investments will be managed.  With our high net worth accounts we even back test to illustrate worst case performance scenarios for your portfolio over various time periods in the past.
• No surprises with regard to reporting:  we outline your personal rates of return for your accounts.
• No surprises with regard to outcomes.  With our Life-at-a-Glance Reporting you can always see where you are at and we illustrate what those values mean in the future.