1 – What is a CFP® Professional?
Information provided from: Let’s Maka a Plan.org
When you choose a CFP® professional, you can be assured that you’re working with a financial advisor who has demonstrated competency and made a commitment to ethics.
- Education: CFP® professionals have the knowledge required to deliver holistic financial planning advice, and they must fulfill continuing education requirements.
- Exam: CFP® professionals must pass the CFP® exam, which tests their ability to apply financial planning knowledge to real-life situations and ensures that they are highly qualified to help you plan for your financial future.
- Experience: CFP® Professionals must have a minimum number of years of real life experience providing financial planning services. The CFP® professionals at Baldwin Financial Advisors have a combined experience of of 45 years.
- Ethics: CFP® professionals commit to follow a code of ethics and standards. We act as a fiduciary, which means we act in the best interest of clients at all times.
2 – What kinds of questions can a CFP® Professional answer?
Here are some common questions we answer every day:
- Is a comprehensive financial plan right for me?
- What types of investments are appropriate for my financial goals and risk tolerance?
- How can I best prepare for retirement, and what strategies can you help me implement to save for it?
- Am I on track for retirement and what income can be sustained. Can this income be either increased and/or protected.
- How can I manage my debt while also saving for my other financial goals?
- What’s the best strategy for saving for my child’s college education? What accounts should I consider for this goal.
3 – Are you a Fiduciary?
Yes, and we wouldn’t work in any other way! Being a fiduciary means we are required to put your best interests first. Always.
4 – Do I work with you on an ongoing basis, or is it a one-time thing?
It is up to you! Our most successful clients meet with us regularly, usually once a year. We love to work with our clients to review performance and progress of the plan throughout time. We find that when clients check in and regroup with us annually, important financial progress is significant. We also find that key mistakes are avoided. We are here to provide our clients the ongoing support, guidance, and education required to meet their goals. Annual review meetings are integral to this process.
5 – How long does it take to complete a comprehensive financial plan?
As the client, you simply supply the necessary data and we go to work for you. It takes us approximately 6 to 8 weeks from start to delivery of your completed plan. However, urgent needs can be met upon request to the team. Normal planning includes 2 meetings (the initial discovery meeting and the plan delivery & strategy meeting), which can be virtual or in-person in our downtown Arlington Heights offices.
6 – After the Plan Delivery Meeting, how often do we meet?
We typically meet with our clients on an annual basis. Within your planning fee, we are accessible for reasonable ‘mini’ meetings and email exchanges for 12 months post plan delivery. This is so that we can guide or assist you in implementing any action items uncovered during your plan delivery. We work according to your personal priorities. We know your finances can change between meetings (new job, birth of a child, inheritance, etc), so we encourage you to reach out and avoid costly mistakes!
7 – Are you taking on new clients? Do I have to be referred to you?
We are a small, boutique, financial planning practice, so we must be selective on who we take on as new clients. We’d love to help everyone, but primarily work for those who have been referred to us by other existing clients. We have been known to make exceptions for those who are kind and motivated to make financial progress!
8 – What do people need to know in order to make an informed decision about whether to hire you, or buy your product/service?
This is a highly personal decision that should be based upon the educational background of your advisor as well as their experience. Do they have a team to aid in assisting you. Some choose to use these 10 questions to discern if an advisor is right for them. 10 Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor | CFP – Let’s Make a Plan (letsmakeaplan.org) We highly recommend taking advantage of the CFP® suggested complimentary initial meeting wherein you can ask these questions of your potential advisor.
Our firm focuses on educating and empowering our clients to make sound financial decisions. We maintain high standards of education and training for all of our client work. Our process-oriented approach assists our clients in taking the proper steps to build, protect, sustain, and pass-on their income and family wealth. We take pride in making tough topics, including the stock market, easier to navigate and understand.
9 – Tell us more about your process at Baldwin Financial
We use the financial planning process to bring all of the pieces of our clients’ financial lives together. Our systems are online and safely accessible to our clients via secure portals to provide ease in sharing with your other trusted professionals (CPA, Attorney, etc.). At the core of our planning are our rigorous ethical standards. These require that our recommendations are in the best interests of each of our clients, despite any conflicts of interest that exist. Our “ADV” or state-filed “Client Brochure” found under the “Get Started” tab. This will offer you full information on how we can work at our firm and fully discloses our backgrounds and potential conflicts of interest. You will also be able to see and review our Privacy Policy in the same area.
Our specific process
includes the initial complimentary meeting, from which our advisors will put together an estimate based upon the type, size and scope of project to be completed. This written estimate, outlining services to be rendered, is sent alongside your personalized ‘Client Engagement Agreement.’ A small fee is charged to the client to get started, with the final fee not payable until the plan has been satisfactorily received by our client. If a client wishes for us to assist them with any implementation, including an investment or insurance, we can offer this via our unrelated outside firm. More details can be found in our consumer brochure. Essentially, we are here to help you build your strongest most sustainable and most protected financial life possible.
10 – Will I be working with a CFP®, or will I be working with a staff member?
A CFP® advisor will always be the lead planner. Planning and advice will always be provided by one or both of experienced CFP®s in the firm, Kate Leipprandt and Elizabeth Grady. At times (such as meeting prep), you will be working with our talented para-planner, Katie Kennedy. We have other excellent staff members that will assist the planning team and help us serve our clients needs.
11 – What are the most often-asked questions (from prospects or clients) in your business?
Can I retire? How will I retire? What income can I sustain in retirement? What will happen to my plans if/when the market goes down? How can I pay for college? How much house can I afford? How much do I need to save to achieve my short- and long-term goals? Am I on track to meet my goals? Are my investments appropriate for me? What will happen to my family if something happens to me or my spouse–will they be taken care of? How can I make sure my assets/investments/retirement plan are invested wisely and appropriately for me? All of these can be carefully answered within our comprehensive financial planning process.
12 – Is your firm registered?
Baldwin Financial Advisors, LLC is a Registered Investment Advisory Firm in the state of IL. A copy of our Advisory Brochure (Client Brochure) is available via the “Getting Started” Link of this website. This document, filed and updated with the state, details our work and processes. You can also look us up at www.finra.org for our background and other information. You may view our Privacy Policy, essential to the trustworthy practice of financial planning for our clients in the Getting Started tab. Our CFP® advisors are all fiduciaries. This means that the clients’ needs, regardless of the impact on the advisor, come first. This is paramount in our planning process. Your success is our greatest joy.
13 – How do I pay for your services?
Our clients receive the initial Engagement Agreement, personalized to their particular planning needs, in a secure email, or by US Mail if requested. That will also include a digital link to make payment easy. Some clients prefer to mail a check. Once your plan is completed and received, a second and final bill will be sent out by our administrator, payable online or by check. You may refer to our Client Brochure for full details on how we work and typical fees that might be assessed.
We base our fee on the work hours from any and all members of the team required to complete each plan. We must also cover the various costs of doing business which include software, security, education and licenses to provide our clients with the high tech, personalized services they deserve. Statistically, a financial planner might charge 1% of net worth, but our firm focuses more on the actual hours and resources needed to complete your plan. You will find our fees refreshingly lower than this national average.
14 – Do you receive referral fees?
As a Registered Investment Advisory firm, We do not receive referral fees from attorneys, accountants, or insurance agents. Ethically, this would create a conflict of interest to us as your advisors.