Ideal Client

Our ideal client 

We are often asked what our ideal client is like.  Below is a fictitious couple who are not actual clients.

But they represent what many of our clients are like and have experienced when working with a financial advisor...

Suzy & Steve are happily married, with 3 kids, and live in St. Louis.

Steve is an executive at a publicly traded company and takes advantage of his generous, and complicated retirement package that includes company stock and options.

But Steve works a lot and does not feel like he gets to spend as much time with his family as he would like or do the things he used to do for fun and exercise.

Suzy is in Marketing at a health care firm but is more focused on her family vs. a rising career path.
While both of them are involved in their kids’ activities and socializing, when necessary, they are both more inclined to hang out at home and drink a glass of wine enjoying each other's company.
The oldest kid is in college at an SEC school with the other two still in private high school and most likely following in the footsteps of their older sibling for college.

The whole family enjoys outdoor activities, like skiing, golf, travel, and playing sports.
Steve and Suzy are worried that they won't be able to retire when they want or have enough money to last.

They are also worried about being invested in the right stuff and not sure if those investments will negatively impact their taxes.
Both will see an online video or article about something to do with retirement planning, taxes, or investments, and wonder if that applies to them.

Neither of them has a good understanding of how Steve's retirement plan should be handled since he has company stock, ISOs, RSUs, and deferred comp.

Their prior financial advisor did not provide them with a financial plan that included retirement, tax planning, investments, insurance, educational and estate planning.

Unfortunately, they did not understand exactly what was going on with their investments and why it seemed they were not making any money in their accounts while paying a lot of money in fees.
They will readily admit the "don't know what they don't know" and want to avoid any DIY mistakes.
They are looking for someone to identify and clearly articulate the potential risks that could derail them from happiness in retirement.

Feelings of anxiety stem from their belief that they should have educated themselves better on financial planning and retirement so they could have avoided some prior poor financial decisions that haunt them.
Ideally, their new financial advisor will provide a highly customized financial plan and propose guidance in an easy-to-understand manner that provides clarity and transparency of the plan, processes, and fees involved.

Someone to take on the accountability and responsibility of the financial management for them will help alleviate their anxiety and help them focus on enjoying their daily activities more.