Choosing a Financial Advisor: Do You Want Experience or an Experiment?

By Jackie Heater, Director of Client Relations

 

When faced with a financial decision such as a major purchase, choosing a bank or a new financial advisor, do you want someone with experience, or do you want to be an experiment?

Personally, when I make a major purchase, I want to work with someone experienced. Realistically, no one person knows everything, but I also want them to have qualified resources to get the answers for me in a reasonable time.

I think we’ve all been guilty of choosing to do business with someone because they are a nice person, and that’s important – no one wants to work with someone if they aren’t nice – but being nice doesn’t always translate into being the most experienced or most knowledgeable.

I’ve walked away with that feeling of “buyer’s remorse” from doing business with someone I thought was nice, but later realized it was a bad experience or I’d received bad advice.

Gertsema’s Mission

At Gertsema Wealth Advisors, we discuss this a lot. Our mission is to “Empower Clients to Make Life’s Decisions on Their Terms.” That means your relationship with us is a long-term partnership with the team, not just one person.

We don’t just talk and think investing – we plan for your retirement, we plan in retirement, we are always tax planning and estate planning because we know life is always changing and we want to know about those life changes. Your financial plan should be a fluid, living piece that can change in an instant, because that’s how life is.

What does working with the GWA team mean? It means that you have eight professionals, each with a different specialty, at your fingertips when you have questions, concerns or life changes. We don’t just pick investments; we use a number of investment strategies that are chosen based on your risk tolerance.

Our partnership with Carson Partners in Omaha, Nebraska, gives us direct access to the investment strategy managers when there are questions or concerns. It also gives us access to the most current technology for financial planning, tax planning, estate planning and client management systems, along with qualified professionals to support us.

Bucket Investment Strategy

We have a proven process that makes the transition of your accounts from another firm or at retirement seamless. We use the investment strategy of bucketing your investments for 1-2 years, 3-5 years and 6 years and beyond with periodic rebalancing.

Our partnerships with Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade/Charles Schwab mean that we can choose the best custodian for your investments based on your preferences and needs.

Some of the best experiences I’ve had during some of the most stressful times in my life involved a team of professionals, experienced in different areas but each equally as important. I can’t imagine going through those times without any of them.

Your financial picture is your legacy – so, do you want experience or an experiment?

Schedule a complimentary consultation to learn more about the Gertsema Wealth Experience.

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