\t\t\t\tThere once was a time when you might meet with a financial advisor for an hour or two. He or she would look over your assets, liabilities, risk tolerance, and maybe your current insurance coverage.\u00a0 The two of you might discuss the rate of return you would like to see on your investments and your risk comfort level. In a few days, your advisor would return with a financial package, full of recommendations on how you should invest your money.<\/p>\n
But how well does that advisor really know you?\u00a0 Did that one-hour conversation really tell the advisor about your deepest dreams? Did it really reveal your approach to money?\u00a0 Does your advisor now have any understanding of the responsibilities you shoulder for your family or for your employees?\u00a0 Does your advisor know anything about how you like to communicate and make decisions? \u00a0Does your advisor know your story\u2014how you got to where you are today? Does your advisor even care about any of that\u2014or \u00a0is the primary concern to offer you a\u00a0return\u00a0on your assets?<\/p>\n
If money is a tool to help you reach your larger goals, then it behooves a good advisor to know you, your values, and your goals very well. Now, a new suite of profile and assessment tools help your advisor get to know you very well. Initiated by Hugh Massie, long-time business and financial services professional from Sydney, Australia the Financial DNA program is based on the belief that advisors should \u201cunderstand people before numbers.\u201d Why? Because finances are a means to an end, and unless your advisor understands the \u201cends\u201d that you are pursuing\u2014your goals, responsibilities, dreams and ultimately what is a quality life for you, \u00a0your advisor is in no real position to advise you about money.<\/p>\n
Financial DNA is not just about your advisor understanding you better, it\u2019s also about you understanding yourself. You gain insight into your natural strengths and core motivations. You set goals, developing a clear vision of where you want to be in the future. And you learn to make confident, realistic, achievable, and committed financial decisions that tie directly to your goals rather than to some arbitrary percentage rate of return.<\/p>\n
The DNA program moves through six phases. In the first phase, Communication Profile<\/em> provides insights about how you receive or hear information, and how you like to approach decision making. For instance, some people are naturally more directive and dominant. They like to set the agenda, be presented with flexible options, and make the decisions.\u00a0 Other people are more accommodating, waiting instead for cues, input and guidance before revealing their own wishes.\u00a0 If your advisor knows where you fall in this continuum, he or she can approach you in a manner that fits your makeup.<\/p>\n In the second phase, you begin to pinpoint impediments to your success. You uncover strengths and challenges, as well as potential blind spots.\u00a0 To help with this phase, the Core Life Motivators Profile<\/em> answers questions such as \u201cWhat is a quality life for you?\u201d \u201cHow can you make money work for you\u201d or \u201cWhat steps do you need to take to have a higher quality life?\u201d<\/p>\n In stage three, the Financial Directions Profile<\/em> provides a Behavior Analysis Report, which reveals areas where you are in alignment with your core goals and areas where you are not.\u00a0 This profile also provides a Behavior Portfolio Report, which helps shape your risk profile and guide future financial decisions.<\/p>\n Stage four is all about honing in on your life\u2019s purpose. This is figure out what that quality life looks like for you.\u00a0 You and your advisor will delve into those things that bring you the greatest joy and examine the environmental influences that affect how you make decisions.<\/p>\n In stage five, you examine your relationship to money, which is really no different whether you are rich or poor. Your advisor works with you to help you build a healthy relationship to money that will carry you through the ups and downs of life. This is where you begin putting into action all that you\u2019ve learned through the previous profiles. Fine-tuning your approach to money is an ongoing process that is continually reviewed, with your advisor providing coaching along the way.<\/p>\n By completing these first five phases, you reach phase six where you are now able to make better choices through greater knowledge about both yourself and your choices.\u00a0 The clearer you are on your life\u2019s purpose and the healthier your relationship to money, the more likely you will make sound decisions and stick to them. When you know yourself, your goals, and your choices, you can approach financial decisions with confidence and peace of mind.<\/p>\n This very human approach to finances takes the stance that who we are and what we want as people very much influences our financial choices. Financial decisions are ultimately life decisions. In turn, life decisions always have financial consequences. \u00a0The more you know about your own Financial DNA, the more skilled you are at taking advantage of opportunities and mitigating consequences in order to obtain your most cherished goals and live a quality life.<\/p>\n The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.<\/span><\/em>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There once was a time when you might meet with a financial advisor for an hour or two. He or she would look over your assets, liabilities, risk tolerance, and maybe your current insurance coverage.\u00a0 The two of you might discuss the rate of return you would like to see on your investments and your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,51],"tags":[44,45,46,47,48,49,50,52,53,54],"class_list":["post-105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-philosophy","tag-advisor","tag-behavior","tag-communication","tag-dna","tag-financial","tag-money","tag-motivators","tag-process","tag-relationships","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"\n