Where’s the technical stuff?

I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday who had been kind enough to check out my site and blog for recent updates.  He remarked that he was surprised that none of my posts so far had included technical information or advice like he usually sees on financial pages.  While I’ve written A LOT of technical material over the years, so far I’ve chosen not to take that route on this blog for a couple of reasons:

1)  The clients who are coming to me, and those I want to work with, aren’t interested in trying to find quick tips or one-off pieces of information.  They want someone to understand their specific unique situation and then provide knowledge tailored to their needs.  They don’t have time to waste with generalized lectures nor do they want someone to dwell on standardized answers.

2)  I’m not personally interested in regurgitating statistics and general statements in a format like this.  For example, if someone wants to know the income limits for contributing to an IRA or what the capital gains tax rate is, then the IRS website (www.irs.gov) is a great repository for these facts – and there are several other information-only sites for this research too.  In my opinion, financial planning is a very personalized process, and it’s easy to get distracted by ‘facts’ and whatever everyone else says they are doing…and thereby ignore the tools and solutions that would actually be the best for your own needs.

3)  It’s my belief that unless you know what your own priorities and future vision are first, then all the latest methodologies, charts, products, and trends in the world won’t get you where you want or need to be personally or financially.  We go to professionals such as doctors, veterinarians, mechanics, and others because they know their subject matter inside and out – and even more importantly, they have the benefit of working with hundreds or thousands of clients and can more accurately assess what options could benefit the client that aren’t ‘common knowledge’ or obvious solutions.  And having the benefit of a full financial assessment is miles beyond a quick blog post.

So, if you have technical questions you’d like to ask me when you call or email, I’d be more than happy to answer those directly or point you to reliable information resources.  Meanwhile, I appreciate your comments on the posts as they are published and look forward to talking with you in person soon!