What does the financial services industry offer most investors?  They offer help.  Help with saving money, help with financial direction and commitment.

The main goal of a financial service professional should be YOU and YOUR financial goals.

Financial professionals should help you find ways to keep more of your money in your pocket. If they are not doing that for you, fire them and find a financial professional who knows how to help you keep more your your money.

Financial services are offered by different financial segments in the market place. Your 401k plan representative, your insurance agent, your banker and your accountant can all offer you different financial services depending upon their specialty.

Lets review each financial professional separately so that you can see the value of each.

What Has Your Financial Services Professional Done For You Lately?

Your 401k Plan Representative.

• The 401k plan representative at your work place specializes in retirement planning.
• That representative can help you make the best investment selections in your 401k retirement plan.
• The investment selections should be within your risk zone and time horizon.
• Before the 401k plan representative advises you on your investment selection, they should help you determine your risk tolerance zone, which is your comfort level with risk.
• The representative should also determine your time horizon, which is the amount of time your money will be invested before you have to use it.
• Your investment representative can tell you if you are saving enough for retirement based on your age, risk tolerance and time line.
• They should be helping you make good financial decisions centered around your retirement.

Your Insurance Agent

• Your insurance agent should always be reviewing your insurance policies.
• The agent should review your auto insurance and home insurance to make sure you are getting all the discounts you can in order to get the best premiums possible.
• When they see a way to help you lower your premiums without sacrificing insurance coverage, they should notify you.
• The agent can work with you to find ways to change your insurance coverages so you can save money on premiums.
• By saving money on insurance premiums you put more money in your pocket.
• Maybe they will advise you to increase your deductibles to save money.
• Maybe you can drop certain coverages that may not apply anymore based on the age of your auto or home.
• Have your insurance professional working for you by advising you on the best coverages for the best premiums.

Your Banking Institution

• Your banker can provide financial services by discussing with you additional ways to save money.
• Can they lower your interest rates on your loans?
• Will the interest rates on CD’s be changing, if so, they should notify you ahead of time.
• Maybe your banker has different products that may fit your personal financial needs that you were not even aware of.
• Those little notifications of change can make a difference in whether you save money or not sometimes.

Your Accountant.

• Your accountant should be  advising you on ways to save on taxes.
• Accountants know tax law; that’s their job.
• A good accountant can tell you ways to save money that you may not have thought of.
• The goal of your accounting professional is to help you have more of your money staying in your pocket; that’s their job too.

All of those financial services are available in the market place today.  Each of those financial professionals offer a different financial specialty.  By knowing the differences you can seek their help with  better understanding of what they offer.

Always remind them that the reason you work with them is so that they can help you to keep more of your money in your pocket.