Three Reasons to get a Second Opinion on Your Retirement Planning

There’s a misconception that financial advisors and investment managers are primarily there to help unsophisticated retirement savers who haven’t spent a lot of time learning about their investment options.

You might be surprised to learn that financial planners and investment managers often aren’t the sole managers of their own retirement savings. Even the most successful investors get second opinions.

Dealing With Volatile Situations

Your self-managed investments may have beat the S&P 500 in 2021 when the market was seemingly powered by jet fuel. Is your portfolio doing just as well in 2022 with inflation, interest rate hikes and economic uncertainty? It’s one thing to maintain a winning strategy when times are good. Maintaining steady growth when markets get extremely volatile is an entirely different matter.

Getting a second opinion when your investments struggle can be hugely beneficial for retirement savers.

Life Gets in the Way

Managing your own portfolio can potentially be a full-time job. The free time you use to micromanage your strategy may not always be available. For example, you may have to care for a loved one who experiences a health emergency, or you may suffer your own health scare.

Having a financial manager who already knows your strategy and your goals can help ensure there’s no disruption to your wealth generation when life events pull your attention away.

Taking the Emotion and Self-Interest Out of the Equation

Even the most stoic, competent people can make poor decisions when subjected to emotionally distressing situations. Getting a second opinion may help you avoid making a rash short-term decision that you will regret later.

Investment advisors aren’t entirely dispassionate parties in that they care about what happens to their clients. However, they’re not you. The emotional distance they have from your portfolio allows them to objectively analyze your financial situation and investment strategy.

You May Not Always Be Here or Capable of Executing Your Current Strategy

An inescapable fact of aging is cognitive decline. Dementia affects literally millions of seniors. Even those who don’t develop some form of dementia may still experience health issues or a gradual loss of mental acuity.

You may have a brilliant investment strategy today, but what happens if you reach a point where you can no longer make day-to-day trades at your current level? What happens if you pass away and can no longer make those decisions on behalf of your spouse?

Working with a financial advisor who understands what you’re doing and how you want your investments to be managed ensures your strategy can continue to grow your wealth even after cognitive decline or death.

Who Hasn’t Made a DIY Mistake?

Many homeowners find DIY home repairs or maintenance fulfilling, but who hasn’t made a mistake a professional wouldn’t have made? Maybe you’ve damaged rubber washers by overtightening pipes when making plumbing repairs, or you failed to properly prepare the subfloor when attempting to replace your own flooring. These mistakes are annoying, but you can rectify them with a trip to the hardware store and a bit of extra elbow grease.

Investment mistakes can’t be so easily undone or set right, and the consequences can be far more expensive. That doesn’t mean you should surrender all your investment decisions to a financial advisor, but it is a good reason to get a second opinion on portfolio management.   

Do Financial Advisors Prioritize Their Own Interests?

One of the benefits of working with a fiduciary is their ethical and legal obligation to put the interests of their clients first. There are serious potential consequences levied on financial advisors for breach of fiduciary duty, including cash damages, court expenses and attorney fees.

It’s understandable for people who have managed their own retirement investments for many years to have doubts about getting a second opinion.

At Fullerton Financial Planning, we take our fiduciary responsibility seriously and have a legal, professional obligation to prioritize your interests. An experienced financial advisor can play a vital role in retirement planning for families, from being there when age impacts your ability to maximize your returns to providing transparent and truthful assessments through dispassionate analysis. 

Consult with a Financial Advisor in Phoenix Today

The team at Fullerton Financial Planning work with many savvy clients who take pride in what they’ve accomplished by managing their own retirement investments. We’re always happy to learn about your strategy and investment preferences to ensure your retirement savings can continue growing should something happen to you. Our team is also ready to provide objective advice and guidance on big decisions that may impact your nest egg.

Speak with a retirement planner or investment manager today by calling us at (623) 974-0300.