Frequently Asked Questions

A financial plan, in its simplest form, is your set of answers to the important questions about issues that impact you and your future. A financial plan works best when it is in a written form. This makes it easier to communicate your intentions to other advisers (CPA, Attorney, etc.) or family members. It also serves as a reminder of where you are now, where you want to go and how you plan to get there. A plan could be all-encompassing or you could have a limited plan addressing only certain areas.

That can be an easy question and a hard one all at the same time. Anyone can call himself or herself a financial planner. Some mortgage brokers, insurance salesman, stockbrokers, Registered Investment Advisors, money managers, CPA’s even some Attorneys use the term.

The field of financial planning is made up of several focused areas including: estate planning (legal), taxes and general finance (CPA/accounting), risk management (insurance) and investment (securities/real estate/banking). Historically most planners have evolved out of one of these four areas.

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

Some people decide to do their own financial planning, but you may want to seek help from a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional if you:

• Want help managing your finances, but aren't sure where to start
  
• Don't have time to do your own financial planning
  
• Want a professional opinion about the plan you've developed
  
• Don't have sufficient experience with certain areas such as investments, insurance, taxes or retirement planning
  
• Have an immediate need or unexpected life event
  

If any of the above questions apply to you, it may be time to call a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional

Yes. People who need more sophisticated financial planning or advice may find our services appealing and beneficial. When someone has a myriad of accounts in many different places we can help you simplify your portfolio and still meet your goals. If you are looking for a professional review or a second opinion, then we can provide that as well. Our clients have access to their own Timpanogos Client Center Website, where they can track and monitor their net worth on a daily basis.

As financial planners and investment consultants, we believe in the following fundamental principles with regard to designing an investment portfolio and making specific recommendations. The purpose of a client’s investment portfolio is to fund current and/or future financial objectives. The design of the portfolio must take into account the client’s financial objectives, tolerance for risk, needs for current income or liquidity, and special considerations such as income tax and estate taxes.

The important thing to remember is that no one can predict the future. Investment and economic “experts” provided with the same information often come to different conclusions. We do not suggest that we can or that any of the money managers that we recommend, will make the correct decision every time.

We do believe that studying the historic trends and relationships of investment classes can provide valuable insight. We believe that an appropriate allocation of investment assets for your goals and risk tolerance is the most important component in developing an investment portfolio.

Asset allocation or diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against loss; it is a method used to manage risk.

We believe that having a diversified, well-balanced portfolio, following long-term buy-and-hold strategies, with low costs and having patience may increase the likelihood that one will achieve their long-term financial objectives.

No. We believe it is a conflict of interest to be paid a fee by the professionals we may refer you to. Any professional we refer is completely independent of Timpanogos Financial Advisors, and is subject to client due diligence.

We believe our measure of success is based on our ability to keep our clients on track toward achieving their financial goals – regardless of what’s happening in the markets, the economy or the world. We help our clients focus on what they can control in their financial lives, rather than on outside events that can never be consistently controlled or predicted.

Yes. All of our plans, strategies and advice are clearly provided to you in writing.

The only way to find out is to have a conversation - to determine if our personalities match and if a relationship with us will add value to your life. We call this our Get Acquainted Meeting.

The majority of our client's assets are held in custody at Fidelity, National Financial Services and TD Ameritrade, which are some of the largest custodians in the United States and a financial resource for investors worldwide.

Absolutely not! All of our client's money is held at a neutral third-party custodian such as Fidelity or TD Ameritrade.

We will provide you with your Timpanogos Client Center Website login. With this website, we can help you to organize all of your personal and family information in one place. Daily updates of all of your accounts are accessible when you need them – secure, but available to you at any time from any place with an internet connection. You will be able to run reports and track your investments from your own computer. This ensures that your financial world is organized, easy to understand and always accessible to you.