Our Process
Chuck Martino & Associates
Comprehensive Financial Planning Process:
Here at Chuck Martino & Associates we believe in engaging our clients through a proven and deliberate financial planning process. Our process contains six distinct steps and should be thought of as circular rather than linear, meaning that over time we will need to revisit each step to address the changing needs and goals of your financial well being.
- Clarify financial planning process and define the client-planner relationship
- Determine financial goals and gather client information
- Analyze and evaluate your current financial condition
- Develop financial plan and make recommendations to help meet goals/needs
- Implement recommendations
- Monitor financial plan
1. Clarify financial planning process and define the client-planner relationship.
Through the years we have had the opportunity to help many individuals, families and small businesses meet and exceed their financial goals; however, we understand that our firm is not the best fit for every client just as every client is not the best fit for our firm.
In the first step of our process we will have an opportunity to get to know one another through a candid conversation. We will explain our process and services as well as discuss the roles and responsibilities of you, your advisors and us.
In addition, we will discuss how we are compensated and by whom.
If after our first meeting we agree that developing the relationship further is in order we will continue to step two of the process.
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2. Determine financial goals and gather client information
The quality of our recommendations has a direct correlation to the quality of information provided to us concerning your current financial situation and future goals and needs. To help assist you in gathering the information we will need and to get you thinking about your personal goals and objectives we have developed our Smart Assets Planner. The Smart Assets Planner will help in determining your personal and financial goals, a time line for success and help quantify your feelings toward the priorities in your life and the solution to achieve them.
Completing the Smart Assets Planner provides the foundation for which our recommendations will be based and often stimulates conversations by clients on topics that had not been considered before.
Once all the needed information has been collected and validated it is time for us to get to work for you. Step 3 starts this process.
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3. Analyze and evaluate your current financial condition
In this step we will take the information provided through conversations as well as collected through the Smart Asset Planner process and begin developing your financial analysis.
Depending on your unique situation this may include an analysis of your assets, liabilities and cash flow; investment and retirement planning; risk analysis; tax planning; education funding; business planning; or estate planning.
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4. Develop financial plan and make recommendations to help meet financial goals / needs
In this step you will be provided with a written financial plan that outlines in detail our recommendations along with an action plan to help you implement these recommendations into your current financial situation.
Clients come to us at many different stages within their financial lives and it is not always prudent or possible to meet all your financial goals/needs immediately. Recognizing these limitations, we will provide you with a prioritized list of recommendations as well as a cost analysis of implementing each recommendation.
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Once you have had an opportunity to review your financial plan and agree on how the recommendations should be carried out, we will help you through the implementation process either by working with your established team of advisors or by tapping into our advisory relationships which includes CPA’s, Attorneys, insurance companies, investment strategists and other professionals that help you implement your plan.
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Once the plan has been implemented we will need to monitor your progress in meeting your financial goals. The process will include providing ongoing access and information on your accounts via personal appointment, paper statements and online access; continually educating you on the forces that affect your financial well being (i.e. economic changes, tax law changes, availability of new investment strategies); and periodically visiting the previous five steps to ensure we take into account any life changes that affect your personal financial goals/needs.
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