Our Views and Beliefs

Today's financial planning firms are typically focused on the wrong things

Most planners are still focused on investments and, worse still, recommending the same active strategies that have been used since the middle of the last century. Active management – the belief that “a manager can select his way to outperformance.” Selecting a particular active manager then compounds the chance of error and inevitably leads to performance worse than passive solutions.

The real value of a financial planner is in the advice they give you around your life goals and your financial reality, not your investments.

Just say no! Stop paying a premium to your advisor to receive only what is best for them and not what you need – tired and broken investment management.

A self assessment would point out that most investors are their own worst enemies. Multiple studies show that over time the average investor significantly under-performs the markets due to emotional responses that all humans are susceptible to. Many investors buy high and sell low as feelings of greed and fear take control of their emotions. Advisors and traditional financial planners are often swayed by their own emotions, lose discipline and exacerbate the problem.

The average investor vastly underperforms just about every investment class.

Charted here by JP Morgan shows the 20-year annualized returns by asset class (1998-2018)

Fees should never be obscure

A sound investment strategy is the path to achieving long-term portfolio goals but over-paying for that strategy undoes it all. Most investors don’t know what they pay to access their financial solutions: financial planning, investment management and product costs.

Fees matter. Conflicts matter.

Getting value for your fees while avoiding conflicts matters more. Choose an advisor who is transparent.

What you avoid may be worth more than what you earn

Avoiding a costly mistake or paying only your fair share of taxes can have a significant impact. A great planner or advisor will keep you from buying that beachfront in Central America with a home owner’s loan at 1% over best rate, just before the coup.

For the fortunate, a carefully crafted tax or estate plan can change multi-generational use of the wealth accumulated. Furthermore, for investors looking to maximize what their beneficiaries receive — by minimizing the government’s share — proactive and creative planning is essential.

Occasionally you may need to be saved from yourself

For families building wealth, planning for retirement, or saving for a once in a lifetime expense, success requires the two virtues most investors lack: discipline and patience. Without the collaboration of a trusted advisor, a costly mistake may be only one misstep away.

A real financial planner, provides advice – full stop. They don’t just tell you what you want to hear or consider how they can benefit from your actions.

We are driven by our responsibility to assist you in doing the right thing, for you.

A word on conflicts of interest

Unavoidable conflicts of interest can get in the way of quality advice. Most lawyers do not call their clients with ideas for this very reason. If their suggestion yields an engagement and a fee, they may have manufactured a conflict, even if was a sound and good idea. The same applies for other true professionals you might be relying on. It is likely it is not because they are too busy. They wish to remain somewhat reactive.

At NextgenFP, we will not hesitate to contact you with good ideas and actions to be taken. We will remove the inherent conflict by ensuring that no fees or gains to us will ever result. We will proactively bring you good ideas because we realize that you don’t know what you don’t know. Identifying opportunities, heading off problems and preventing surprises is our responsibility to you.

Achieve your financial dreams

Get in touch or schedule a call to learn more about how we can work together.

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