Whether it’s planning for retirement or sorting out how to pay your employees, financial consultants have the insights and experience you need. People hire financial consultants to advise them on a range of services and decisions. This can include:
- Saving for large purchases
- Trust planning
- Estate planning
- Investing
- Budgeting
- Retirement planning
These professionals help their clients manage their overall financial well-being, map out their goals that require financial planning, and help them achieve those goals. They can do this by conducting an audit of your current finances, and then tailoring a strategy just for you to meet your goals.
What Is a Financial Consultant?
A financial consultant operates similarly to a financial advisor: they work with clients to best understand their current assets and what their clients want their assets to do for them in the future. A very common example of this is planning for retirement.
In this example, say you want to save for your future retirement, but aren’t sure how to with your current situation. The financial consultant would recommend the type of retirement account for you to use, suggest specific investments, and build a savings plan for you to work with your investment accounts.
Financial Consultants Versus Financial Advisors
You’ve likely heard the terms ‘financial consultants’ and ‘financial advisors’ used interchangeably, but they aren’t exactly the same. Consultants often are more likely to provide services for their clientele for a limited time, while an advisor is best suited for long-term financial planning.
Additionally, the credentials common for a financial consultant are different from the requirements for financial advisors. Financial consultants hold a certain designation called ‘chartered financial consultant.’
When a consultant holds this designation, they typically offer more specialized financial planning than advisors. This can be business or divorce planning, specifically. Not every consultant has this designation, but when hiring a financial consultant, be sure to verify that their designation is accredited.
What They Do
A financial consultant will look at your finances from a holistic point of view. They want the full picture of your situation, including your debts, assets, expenses, and income to help you plan your goals out. Consultants with a Series 6 or Series 7 license may be able to manage your investments, as well.
Services typically provided by consultants include:
- Business strategy
- Financial strategy
- Retirement planning
- Tax planning and tax strategy
- Estate planning
- Gifts and inheritances
If you have a lower financial literacy or have entered unchartered territory for yourself regarding finances, hiring a financial consultant can help.
Benefits of Hiring a Financial Consultant
It doesn’t matter if you’re a multi-millionaire or an Average Joe, the insights from a financial consultant can be life-changing. Here are just a few reasons why you should hire a financial consultant:
Personalized Investment Planning
In this day and age, working alone isn’t enough to build foundations for your future. Americans, especially, need to invest when and where they can. When you work with a professional, you have support from a consultant who is dedicated to your success.
They can develop a documented investment plan that details your long-term goals, short-term ones, risk tolerance, and personal values. This plan will help you make decisions, document appropriate asset allocation, and can keep you on course during times of uncertainty or volatility.
Protect and Grow Your Assets
A financial consultant can help you identify opportunities to protect and grow your wealth. They can set you up with strategies that will keep your long-term goals within reach, such as:
- Health savings accounts (HSA): These accounts offer triple tax savings, where you contribute pre-tax dollars, pay no taxes on your earnings, and can withdraw the money tax-free now or in retirement to pay for possible qualified medical expenses.
- Tax-smart withdrawals: This can reduce the amount you pay in taxes to potentially extend the life of your retirement savings. It can also open up options for wealth transfer.
- Tax-loss harvesting: Investment losses can help you reduce taxes by offsetting gains or income.
- Charitable donation strategies: When you gift assets, rather than sell or donate after-tax proceeds, you can maximize your gift and provide a larger charitable deduction.
Hiring Financial Consultants On Guru
Hiring a financial consultant can cost a pretty penny, with the majority of consultants charging a fixed-rate fee between $7,500 and $55,000. On Guru, we can connect you with hundreds of qualified experts in financial consulting for a fraction of the cost!
We source our expert freelance financial consultants from all over the world, so your budget doesn’t have to limit you. You can find quality consultants starting at just $5 per hour with a $25 minimum starting rate. Simply use our search bar, input any filters (such as number of employers, invoices paid, freelancers with or without portfolios, etc.) you want, and get connected with hundreds of freelancers perfect for your needs.
Ready to get started? Search for your expert financial consultant today on Guru!
