Why Us
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer as to when or if to seek financial guidance. Everyone’s planning process and personal preferences will be different. Individual experiences, financial challenges, and potential opportunities will never be identical.
Client’s that consider our services generally supplement their unique planning experience by educating themselves via our app and obtaining a “base education.” It’s our way of ensuring clients have had the needed exposure to fundamental financial concepts to be familiar with and be in a position to effectively make sound, rational financial decisions. Our “base education” gets clients on the same level as their financial professional (if applicable), making one-to-one discussions more efficient and fruitful; and generally leading to a more favorable experience – often for less time and money. Wow, talk about efficiency!
Why seek financial guidance?
Needs are different and will shift multiple times throughout life. Below are a few generalized life stages we find common among clients utilizing our services. However, even if these situations don’t directly pertain to you, utilizing our resources could still be highly beneficial.
Going through a major life change
Significant life events, marriage, divorce, birth, a job change, and retirement, can impact finances and lead to new planning opportunities. Financial education and hiring a financial advisor can help one navigate these changes, provide potential mediation, and save time and hassle. That's not to mention avoiding costly financial mistakes.
Developing a “complete” strategy
Everyone can benefit from planning, being tactical, respectfully parsing sensitive matters, and getting exposure to key planning topics and changes in the law. These and other benefits of our services are not limited to the wealthy. Multiple income streams, insurance decisions, when to take social security, and tax complexities can require ANY individual to require sound objective guidance.
Needing experienced advice
Most people have done just one financial plan - their own. A financial advisor's primary value is their experience working with many clients, seeing how strategies play out, and bringing that knowledge and expertise to the discussion. It is the professional's insight and experiences a client utilizes to help make informed decisions on consequential financial matters.
When assessing risk
We call it developing a "Total Risk Profile" or a risk tolerance spanning all accounts. It is the process of combining and coordinating multiple assessments, diversifying asset allocation, and rejecting overlap. The ultimate goal is to align identified planning objectives, personal preferences, and individual time horizons to optimize a portfolio achieving maximum return and taking as little risk as possible. However, it's important to note that risk is not limited to the stock market.
Why the Advice-Only® Financial Education App?
We developed the Advice Only® app to make the financial learning experience of higher quality and more accessible for the general public.
What are some of the reasons why people choose to learn with us?
Our courses are written without the influence or backing of any financial institutions or specific financial products. By consciously denying these influences, we ensure an objective environment and remove even the perception of outside influence.
Experience is everything. Our content is created from the direct hands-on experience of advisors who form our network. We find the best insights into financial planning come from those who do plans for living.
The content contained in our app is designed for the user to input their personal thoughts, expressions, and perspectives on the financial matters that pertain to them. Users can share the experience with whomever they want – or not at all.
Getting exposure to financial concepts and being able to privately answer questions, comment, and later review is unique to our service. Much of the material we have developed we design to be readily utilizable on an ongoing basis, in conjunction with formal planning, and without the need to maintain a subscription or make any additional purchases beyond the initial course. Specifically, our app’s courses feature original written and video-based content, amusing anecdotes, exercises, assessments, and quizzes. Users can feel comfortable recording, sharing, and reviewing entries into the system.
Nowadays, free means something other than free. Our services don’t rely on other revenue sources to be profitable by instead being paid out of pocket by our users. Outside influence doesn’t determine how we design our systems. Users can rest assured of our intentions when developing our system and that we aim to align with our users’ interests.
We consider a user’s input into our system a personal journal. To maximize the experience, we know users need to trust the system and know it is for their eyes only.
We create high-quality, affordable financial planning courses accessible by anyone. That’s no matter who you are or the assets you own.
Our business model doesn’t require advisors to pay us for client lead generation. Instead, we pass some or all course proceeds to the advisors for the content they create. We aimed to develop a sustainable system to reduce outside influences and ensure advisor incentives are aligned directly with Advice OnlyTM client incentives.
Our app directory is designed so the user can find their perfect advisor independently and as needed. If a user chooses to reach out to an advisor in our directory, they have direct access to that advisor’s dedicated email, calendar booking system, or other contact information. Our work is done at that point, and your chosen advisor takes it from there.
Everyone can benefit from exposure or re-exposure to fundamental financial concepts. Learn something new and gain perspective on existing knowledge.
Why an Advice-OnlyTM Financial Advisor?
The advisors in our directory agree to specific guidelines to respect the objective experience that starts with our app and defines our company’s methodology.
What are some of the reasons why people choose to work with us?
We “plan first.”
Generally, we think it's best to fully develop and settle on a strategy before considering any new implementation. We know from 10 years of experience teaching classes and crafting plans for the public that having a foundational education of core planning concepts will lead to more methodical, well-rationalized, confident decision-making. Often the result is more money to spend, reduced hassle, and less misunderstanding and regret.
No "qualifying."
Getting a professional’s initial impression can be hugely constructive for a client. Advisors in our directory agree to do what they can to not "qualify" or obtain personal information beforehand about Advice OnlyTM clients when first introduced. This way, a client can ensure a genuine first impression in a consultation and the assurance that what they have or who they are is not the determining factor in the services ultimately offered.
A defined process.
Advisors in our directory follow specified planning guidelines we've developed and refined over 10 years. It is the idea of doing one thing (and doing it really really well). We describe our process as one that “ANY advisor can use and ALL clients can rely on.” This is as opposed to a service with multiple offerings primarily based on what you have or who you are.
Ongoing advice (as needed).
Once a plan is “complete,” advisors in our network agree to offer an out-of-pocket paid option for ongoing updates to a previously paid for plan.
No strings attached.
Our methodology separates financial advice from all forms of financial solicitation. This includes getting the advice you need without the obligation or expectation of implementation. Only when the delivery of financial advice is wholly separate from implementation can it offer impartiality. Our clients appreciate that when making life’s most consequential financial decisions.
Instructors as advisors.
By design, clients can learn from and work with their instructors. Our app connects users with the same advisors who write our content. We find clients enjoy working with the same advisors who educate them versus being referred out to someone else.
No favoritism.
Maintaining an objective experience means we do not favor certain clients over others. Advisors listed in our directory agree not to be influenced by third parties when it comes to clients that opt to go through the Advice OnlyTM process.
Save time and avoid mistakes
The value of the financial professional is the direct hands-on experience working with a multitude of clients. That is the experience of evaluating how others accomplish goals, avoid failure, settle subjective matters, and ultimately the advisor bringing that knowledge and expertise to the discussion.
A fresh perspective.
Money can be emotional, and not everyone has had the same experiences. To make matters more complex, there are often differing viewpoints on key variables such as market risk, retirement timelines, and ongoing insurance needs. Acting as a mediator, an outsider’s perspective can help maintain planning momentum and find commonality.
Objective truth.
This is the clarity and ultimate peace of mind of what will happen financially. With this, individuals have an uncanny ability to achieve the impossible when they know what needs to happen and believe that the advice they receive is truly in their best interest and believe in the viability of their plan without a shred of doubt.
Ready to get started?
Get started in 5 minutes by heading over to the Google Play or Apple stores and downloading our app. We know you’ll love it!
What will I get?
The ultimate goal for clients when purchasing a course from one of the advisors listed in our directory and potentially booking a paid consultation is for clients to get an excellent and specific idea of a financial plan’s potential.
- Check out our demo to get a sense of our app before you buy.
- To get details on a specific course, check out the course description page in our app by clicking on a course of interest.