Freedom, flexibility and family. These are the most common words we hear when we talk with our clients about the WHY behind their financial goals. We spend a lot of time talking about these WHYs because we believe that we need to know our clients’ core motivations before we establish financial goals and actions. By discovering the motivation behind the pursuit of your financial goals we can have more impactful conversations about the pursuit of those goals and make sure your plan is driving to the fulfillment of your WHY.
When we don’t have the WHY of your plan front and center, we will start to be led by other factors. Take our business as an example. The WHY at Master’s is to help our clients “Manage Their Wealth for a Life of Purpose”. It doesn’t say, “Create the Best Investment Strategies Known to Man” or “Produce the Glossiest Financial Plans and Reports”. The technical aspects of our business are extremely important, but our WHY speaks to the core motivations behind the financial decisions our clients make. The best investment strategy means nothing if it doesn’t point back to the client’s most important values.
We have heard it said, “Show me your checkbook and your calendar and I will tell you what is most important to you.” We may name our WHY, verbally commit to our WHY and even set our heart on that WHY, but if we don’t plan for the actions that need to be associated with fulfilling that WHY, we will begin to drift. All the financial decisions we make should roll up to our stated WHYs. If we want to spend less time working and more time with our family, maximizing our potential earning power may not be the best action to take. If we would like to give generously to the organizations and people we care about, saving for a vacation home could be a step in the wrong direction.
We believe that we provide value to our clients through our investment management and financial planning capabilities, but we believe that the most valuable service we provide is a depth of relationship that pursues the core motivations of our clients. What a sacred privilege that is!
