We have been very humbled to receive consistent interest from families who are “kicking the tires” and looking to hire a financial advisor. The people who reach out are typically a client referral or someone who has known us from a distance through our Retirement Insider weekly emails or our Thoughts on the Market emails. Since 83% of our clients are retired, most of the families we talk to are either on the verge of retirement or already retired.
One of the first questions we get when someone is considering meeting with us is “how does the process work?” or “what should I expect if I schedule a meeting with your team?” We thought it helpful to answer those questions for you.
Initial Contact
To schedule your appointment to discuss your pending/current retirement, you can reach out directly to Matt Price at matt.price@stewardpartners.com or 281-612-3306. There is no cost or obligation to meet with us.
Pre-Meeting Preparation
As part of our commitment to understanding your retirement needs, we will ask you to bring a list of pertinent financial documents with you to the first meeting. These documents will help us gather essential information about your retirement goals, current financial situation, and desired lifestyle. These figures will include your income, expenses, giving, assets, debts, retirement accounts, and any existing pension or Social Security benefits. If easy to download, we will also request account statements for investment accounts, Social Security, pension vs lump-sum estimates, and any other retirement accounts.
First Meeting
During the first meeting, Tiffany or Melissa will meet you at our front door and show you to our conference room. Your wait will not be longer than 5 minutes, and we will introduce our team of retirement planning advisors – you will typically meet Randy, Matty, and myself during this meeting. We will also take the time to understand your retirement objectives, concerns, and expectations. This will enable us to tailor our approach to your specific retirement needs but we will make sure to leave ample time to answer all of your questions. This first meeting typically lasts 60 – 90 minutes.
We Get To Work
After our initial meeting, we start the process of creating your Live Well Plan. We joke and say that the Live Well Plan is the roadmap for the rest of your financial life.
After completing work on your Live Well Plan, we will conduct a thorough analysis of your investment portfolio. Our experienced team will develop personalized recommendations tailored to help you achieve a comfortable and secure retirement. This will include strategies for retirement savings, investment portfolio allocation, retirement account optimization, pension or Social Security maximization, tax planning, healthcare considerations, and estate planning.
In addition to this, we prepare a detailed summary of our transparent cost structure. Most are happy to find that our cost structure is easy to understand and straight forward. Since we serve as a fiduciary, we align our interest with the interest of our clients by charging a advisory fee. You will find that our cost structure is very competitive if you are interviewing multiple advisors.
Second Meeting
After we complete our work, we schedule a second meeting either in-person or by Zoom to share our findings. We provide a summary of your Live Well Plan, our investment recommendations, and our transparent cost structure.
You might be surprised but we are not high pressure sales guys. We are not going to pressure you to make a decision at this meeting. We encourage couples to take the information home with them, digest it, and come back to us with their follow-up questions. Typically, this meeting lasts between 60 and 90 minutes.
Become A Client
If you decide to move forward with The Price Group's retirement recommendations, we will guide you through the implementation process. If you feel we are not the right fit, we shake hands and part as friends. Either way – our promise is that you will leave our office a more educated consumer as it pertains to your personal financial situation.
Looking to hire a financial advisor? Give us a call. We are confident that you will find our process different than the rest!
About the Author
Matt Price serves as a Partner and Managing Director for The Price Group of Steward Partners. He resides in Houston with his wife, Emily, their four children and "Fisher" the family golden retriever. Matt studied at the University of Pennsylvania – Wharton School of Business for his Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) designation after receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville. Over the past 12 years, Matt has helped families make high quality, common sense decisions regarding their wealth and their legacy. Matt firmly believes everyone needs a wealth coach!
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