top of page
Blog

Our blog features posts about a variety of personal finance topics. Sign-up for our newsletter to receive weekly blog updates.

What Do Financial Advisors Do?

Writer: Crawford UlmerCrawford Ulmer

In this series, we have already discussed a variety of different aspects of financial advisors and the financial advising industry: Types Of Firms In The Financial Advising Industry, Financial Advisor Fees, Financial Advisor Designations, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) Designation, Fiduciary Duty.

 

However, we have not talked about what financial advisors actually do. Financial advisors typically serve clients in a couple of different ways.

 

Depends a lot on firm structure

 

As we discussed in a previous post, there are different types of firms in the financial advising industry. The firm structure will greatly impact the how the advisor serves clients.

 

For example, if the advisor is just an insurance agent, employed by an insurance agency, then they will likely focus on selling insurance. They will (hopefully) still take the time to understand your financial situation and make sure that the product is a good fit for you. However, the firm structure will likely impact what exactly the advisor is doing for you.

 

As mentioned before, there is a big difference between an advisor who is really just selling a financial/insurance product and one who is giving advice. Salespeople are (typically) focused on evaluating whether or not you are good fit for the product they are selling.

 

Financial planning

 

For advisors who are giving advice, financial planning is a common service that is offered. Financial planning involves understanding your financial/life goals and developing strategies to achieve them. Financial planning can be offered as a stand-alone service, or can be auxiliary to managing investments or other services.

 

Financial planning will typically involve at least several meetings. The advisor will discuss your current situation, as well as your goals, problems, and pain points. A plan will be developed to achieve your goals, or at least move you in the right direction. It is important for the planning to be comprehensive – I have seen a number of situations where a client is focused on one problem, but they really have another (much more important) problem that we should focus on.

 

Financial planning can take different forms and can involve a lot of analysis. However, at the end of the process, it should be boiled-down to specific action steps. Here are some examples of what the action steps may look like:

  • In order to live the way you want in retirement, you need to save 18% of your income between now and when you retire.

  • In order to protect your family, you need to buy $800,000 of term life insurance.

  • In order to minimize your long-term tax burden/risk, switch from making traditional 401k contributions to Roth 401k contributions.

 

When helping clients with financial planning, a variety of financial planning areas may be covered, including: budgeting, planning for major purchases, saving for college, retirement planning, investment positioning and strategy, debt management, insurance, estate planning, tax planning, employment benefits, stock options, Roth conversions, inheritance planning, student loans.

 

Investment management

 

As mentioned above, some financial advisors dealing with investments are just selling a product or fund. However, by “investment management” I am referring to ongoing management.

 

With an investment management service, an investor will typically open up accounts at a brokerage firm, and the investment advisor is given authority to make trades within the accounts.

 

The advisor will typically want to understand your overall financial situation and plan before deciding on the best asset allocation for you – or how conservative or aggressive to be. Then they will select the best individual securities and initiate the transactions. Adjustments will be made to the portfolio as necessary.

 

Tax Preparation

 

Although it is not very common, some financial advisors will also prepare income tax returns for clients. Around tax time, the advisors will gather your tax documents and prepare and file your returns. It can be more efficient for your financial advisor to help prepare your taxes, because they are already informed about what you have going on financially.

 

If you have any comments, questions, or ideas for future posts, please let me know

 

I hope you found this post helpful and educational. If you have any comments, questions, or ideas for future posts, please let me know. You can reach me directly via email at crawford@ulmerfinancial.com.

Comentarios


Los comentarios se han desactivado.
ULMER FINANCIAL_WITHOUT BACKGROUND_WHITE_MAIN_LOGO_FILE_TRANSPARAN_edited.png
ULMER FINANCIAL_WITHOUT BACKGROUND_WHITE_MAIN_LOGO_FILE_TRANSPARAN_edited.png
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

© 2025 by Ulmer Financial LLC

 

Check the background of your financial professional on the Securities and Exchange Commission's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website.

Ulmer Financial LLC (“UF”) is a registered investment advisor offering advisory services in the State of Virginia and in other jurisdictions where exempt. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

 

The information on this site is not intended as tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as an endorsement of any company, security, fund, or other securities or non-securities offering. This information should not be relied upon as the sole factor in an investment making decision.

Past performance is no indication of future results. Investment in securities involves significant risk and has the potential for partial or complete loss of funds invested. It should not be assumed that any recommendations made will be profitable or equal any performance noted on this site. 

 

The information on this site is provided “AS IS” and without warranties of any kind either express or implied. To the fullest extent permissible pursuant to applicable laws, Ulmer Financial LLC disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, non-infringement, and suitability for a particular purpose.

UF does not warrant that the information on this site will be free from error. Your use of the information is at your sole risk. Under no circumstances shall UF be liable for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the information provided on this site, even if UF or a UF authorized representative has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Information contained on this site should not be considered a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any security in any jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation, or recommendation would be unlawful or unauthorized.

bottom of page