On a recent road trip, I stopped at a store and saw something that I hadn’t seen in a while, a pay phone. As I slowly picked up the handle, memories of using pay phones decades ago flooded my mind. From calling high school crushes with giddy friends to ringing home collect from college to let my parents know that I was okay, pay phones consistently did one thing. They enabled people to speak directly with each other.
Why are pay phones nearly obsolete today if they did what they were designed to do? Technology and consumer demand caused pay phones to become antiquated. Now people not only speak with each other through phones, but also they carry phones with them to email, text, and video conference one another whenever they wish. A comparable radical and rapid evolution has erupted in personal financial services over time.
People’s basic need for personal finance continues today, as always. We all need to pay for life’s expenses. However, technology and consumer demand have dramatically changed the myriad ways individuals grow, enjoy, and share their wealth. Think of it this way, your grandfather’s stock broker is the pay phone. Generations ago he specialized in doing one specific job over and over, buying and selling market securities like stocks and bonds for your relatives who otherwise were unable to do this for themselves. Today, thanks to technology, more people can buy and sell market securities themselves or through companies. They no longer need to rely only on their grandfather’s stock picker to connect them with market opportunities. Additionally, more market research is available to individual investors through easily accessible media, like the Internet.
People are living longer and the prices for different items throughout their lives from groceries to education and health care, are rising at different rates. This prompts questions and uncertainty around how much savings is enough before retiring, not to mention how much spending is possible during retirement. And finally, various insurance, annuities, and other financial products are continuously being (re) launched, offering prospective clients new promises that financial risks will be minimized, and payments will be made.
As a result of all of this financial buzz, discerning financial clients realize they have an abundance of choice when it comes to their finances. Today they seek more from their advisors than the ability to purchase stocks and bonds. Strategic clients seek out Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) like myself to work with them on their finances over time. CFPs have completed additional training and professional experience in wealth management compared to other advisors, and CFPs are held to the highest ethical standards in the industry when serving their clients.
Think of CFPs as today’s smart phones. Smart phones bring an abundance of communication functionality and power to their owners, packaged in ways they can use easily. In the same way, CFPs often work with a team of professionals to organize clients’ financial lives so they make powerful and informed choices about their wealth. From mapping out goals to managing investments in tax efficient ways to providing perspective on products and solutions, CFPs assist clients in experiencing greater control, comfort, and confidence in their financial lives.
If you are seeking more than stock picks from your advisor, hang up the pay phone and make the smart phone call today to find the right CFP for you.
Caroline Wetzel was voted a 10Best Winner for Business/Life Coach by Natural Nutmeg Magazine in 2018 & 2019. Caroline is a Certified Financial PlannerTM (CFP®) and Vice President, Private Wealth Advisor with Procyon Private Wealth Partners, LLC. Procyon Private Wealth Partners, LLC and Procyon Institutional Partners, LLC (collectively “Procyon Partners”) are registered investment advisors with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). This article is provided for informational purposes only and for the intended recipient[s] only. This article may also include opinions and forward-looking statements which may not come to pass. Information is at a point in time and subject to change. Procyon Partners does not provide tax or legal advice.