5 REASONS TO COME OUT TO YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR
Dustin Smith Senior Vice President Plymouth, MN
In order to receive the services you need, rather than a one-size-fits all solution, it’s important to be honest and upfront about your situation. This is especially true when it comes to financial matters. In order for financial planning to work to its maximum effect, you can’t section off your life; you have to consider your entire life. What are your goals, dreams and aspirations? How many kids do you want to have? When do you want to retire? How do you want to take care of your spouse, family and loved ones after you’re gone? All those things have to be considered if you want to build a proper plan. And some of those things can be subtly different for an LGBT person than they are for others, so you need to bring them to the table, or the plan won’t be as effective as it could be. There are a lot of concerns unique to the LGBT community that your advisor can help you with, but only if they know they should be planning for and helping you navigate those concerns. Reasons that it is important for the LGBT community to “come out” to their financial advisor include:
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Avoid Missing Out on Financial Opportunities In an industry that skews more socially conservative than society as a whole, being authentic as an LGBT-identifying person could be a personal risk and an act of bravery, and to have the courage to have that discussion can be challenging for people. That’s particularly true for older generations who came of age in less accepting times for the LGBT community. But you don’t want to miss out on financial opportunities by not being open with your advisor. The more open people are with their financial advisor, the better outcomes they can get. Some of the biggest missed opportunities for LGBT investors are discussions around wills, prenuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements and power of attorney documents. For example, even though marriage equality is now law, there are still some specific estate planning concerns for the LGBT community (which will be discussed more later). By being open and out about your sexuality with your financial advisor, you can avoid some of those planning pitfalls.
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Find a Financial Advisor that Follows the Fiduciary Standard It’s imperative that you choose an advisor that is held to the Fiduciary Standard, like the advisors at Wealth Enhancement Group. This means that they are obligated to put your financial best interests before their own and must offer unbiased advice. Want to know if they are working under the fiduciary standard? Just ask.
Generally speaking, you are building a relationship with your advisor that’s going to last for years, particularly if you are a younger person. In order for them to look out for your best interests, they need to know the whole story. If you omit this major part of your life, they won’t have all the information necessary to help you pursue your most important financial goals. Consider a patient going to see a doctor: When the doctor asks what is hurting, the patient could say, “Nothing’s wrong,” or “It hurts here, and I’m worried about this.” Which one would the doctor find more helpful in diagnosing? The better an advisor understands your needs, including knowing if you have unique planning considerations as a member of the LGBT community, the better they can advise you. Call today to schedule a free, no-obligation meeting | 1-888-831-4033
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