Financial planners are needed around the world

A few weeks ago, I called a client to review his investment portfolio. His wife and he have been happily retired for some years and now enjoy a peaceful retirement in a quiet coastal town. We keep our clients informed with regular newsletters and reports, just like any good financial planner.

Clients are now anxious about their investments' security because of the ongoing uncertainty and the fallout of the global financial crisis. Financial planners are now more anxious due to falling investment values and the fear of losing clients when these volatile markets change goal-based financial planning.

As you can see from my articles and posts, I am a strong supporter of financial education. Financial planning is more than managing clients' investments. It should also teach clients how to manage their financial future by providing financial education.

Because most people want to live a fulfilling and satisfying life that ends in comfortable retirement, financial education is essential. Most people believe that this means making good investment decisions or minimizing bad ones. The secret to financial education is having the knowledge and skills to make those decisions. This is not about entrusting others to make the decisions for you or transferring that responsibility to someone else. It is about taking control of your finances and understanding the risks and benefits of any investments that you make. Nicolas Cage can attest to this. By entrusting his financial manager with his investments, he lost all of his money.

I am transgressing. Let me stop promoting financial education and return to my client, who is the main reason the world needs financial planners.

We had a pleasant conversation about Christmas and enjoyed our usual friendly banter. I wanted to keep my clients updated on their investments and the financial world. This motivated me to call them and ask to meet before Christmas. This is not a small investment. This passive income is the result of years of hard work and savings.

In my dismay, Ted (I'll refer to him as Ted but that's not his real title) stated that he was too busy leading to Christmas to meet with me to discuss his investments. He said that unless I recommended any changes, Ted could not do anything about the world and the financial markets. Therefore, he was happy to continue the discussion on his investments until the next formal review in April next.

That was when I realized why financial planners are still needed in the world.

Fear and apathy.

While we can talk all we want about how important it is for individuals to take responsibility and control their finances, there will always be those who are unable to do so or who choose to ignore the importance of investing. Many people feel that the financial world is too complex and so they give control to their financial advisor or third party. They may feel more at ease knowing that someone is there to blame for things going wrong.

No matter what the reasons, and despite my desire to help people take control of their finances through financial education, there will always exist people who don’t care, don’t want to or are too afraid care. That's why financial planners will always be needed.