What is a Financial Planner?

A Financial Planner or Personal Financial Planner is a practicing professional who helps people to deal with various personal financial issues through proper planning, which include but not limited to these major areas: tertiary education planning, retirement planning, investment planning, risk management and insurance planning, tax planning, estate planning and business succession planning (for business owners). The work engaged in by this professional is commonly known as personal financial planning. In carrying out the planning function, he or she is guided by the financial planning process to create a detailed strategy tailored to a client's specific situation, for meeting a client's specific goals.

Objectives
People enlist the help of a financial planner because of the complexity of knowing how to perform the following:

•Providing direction and meaning to financial decisions;
•Allowing the person to understand how each financial decision affects the other areas of finance; and
•Allowing the person to adapt more easily to life changes in order to feel more secure.

The Process
The personal financial planning process is generally accepted as a six-step process as follows:

Step 1: Setting goals with the client This step (that is usually performed in conjunction with Step 2) is meant to identify where the client wants to go in terms of his finances and life.

Step 2: Gathering relevant information on the client This would include the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the client's financial and relevant non-financial situation.

Step 3: Analyzing the information The information gathered is analyzed so that the client's situation is properly understood. This includes determining whether there are sufficient resources to reach the client's goals and what those resources are.

Step 4: Constructing a financial plan Based on the understanding of what the client wants in the future and his current financial status, a roadmap to the client goals is drawn to facilitate the achievements of those goals.

Step 5: Implementing the strategies in the plan Guided by the financial plan, the strategies outlined in the plan are implemented using the resources allocated for the purpose.

Step 6: Monitoring implementation and reviewing the plan The implementation process is closely monitored to ensure it stays in alignment to the client's goals. Periodic reviews are undertaken to check for misalignment and changes in the client's situation. If there is any deviation or significant change to the client's situation, the strategies and goals in the financial plan are revised accordingly.

What is a financial planner's job function?
A financial planner specializes in the planning aspects of finance, in particular personal finance, as contrasted with a stock broker who is only concerned with the actual investments, or with a life insurance intermediary who advises on risk products.

Financial planning is usually a six-step process, and involves considering the client's situation from all relevant angles to produce integrated solutions. Financial planners are also known by the title financial advisor in some countries, although these two terms are technically not synonymous, and their roles have some functional differences.

Although there are many types of 'financial planners', the term is used largely to describe those who consider the entire financial picture of a client and then provide a comprehensive solution. To differentiate from the other types of financial planners, some planners may be called 'comprehensive' financial planners.

Other financial planners may specialize in one or more areas, such as, insurance planning and retirement planning.

Trade got a hefty boost on the data, with tempered inflation & stumbling housing. The market was looking for softening reports, but things went softer than expected to the bonds benefit. The 10-yr rallied to kick yields back to 4.661% still trying to find its way back through Jan's best levels. The combination of an extended holiday weekend & solid bond positive reports should support prices throughout the shortened session.

One should consult with a qualified financial professional prior to implementing any financial strategies.

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