(Guest Lecture) What's the Role of a Financial Advisor and How to Choose

Now I get to introduce Diana Valentine. She's our financial program manager and she specializes in financial help for multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia patients. As a professional financial advisor and a former caregiver of her husband who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, Diana perfectly understands the financial issues that are facing cancer patients. With that being said, Diana, I'm excited to hear the latest financial updates from you and then we'll get started with our presentation. Thanks for being here. Great. Thank you, Audrey. Thanks for everyone who's joining us today. I think we have a full house. So one of the some of the latest things that are that are surfacing that I think everyone needs to be aware of and all states aren't handling it the same. As you know, because of when Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Act, Response Act, one of the things they did was to keep open enrollment or keep you enrolled for, if you were enrolled in Medicaid or SNAP programs that is coming to an end as of the end of this month, some states have actually sent out notices to people who are enrolled so they won't have a lapse in coverage. So for those of you who are on Medicaid or maybe dual Medicaid, Medicare, you need to be aware of these states. What's going to happen? What's going to happen? What you need to do because you cannot afford to have a lapse in your coverage. And so and you know, it could take several days or maybe weeks to get those things done or even to get through because the phone lines are probably going to be very, very full. What I would suggest you do and all states should have these things out there is to go to your state, put in your state name, like mine would be Kentucky, Medicaid, wind down and it will come up with your specific state where they have facts, where they may have toolkits, things available for you and telephone numbers where you can call. And again, that's your state, Medicaid, wind down. So you should be able to find those or you might go to CMS.org website. That's the Medicare website to find if they have something available for you through there. But this is very, very important. We need to make sure you continue to go to your doctor, make sure you continue to get your medications. If you do not have your insurance, you're going to be shut out and it may take longer for you to get that done. So I encourage everyone to get online and do that. And again, go to your state name, Medicaid, wind down and find out what your state offers. They may have people who will educate you or can assist you in this re-enrollment if you're going to find yourself off of it. So please go online and find out what is available to you. So that's what we have with this update. If you want to send me some questions or if you need a financial advisor to go over some of these things, some people who are on this Medicaid are now maybe available to get on the ACA. You're going to find that out as well. So I would encourage you, if you have any questions, to ask for a financial coach. We'll be glad to assist you in any of those questions you may have. So now we're going to get into the meat of what we're doing. This is very dear to my heart. I grew up very poor. I mean, I call myself subterranean poor. We were very, very poor. Didn't have running water, didn't have electricity. In the rural South, South Carolina. And I remember when we had a television, because a lot of times those were repossessed, when I saw television, I remember saying, God, if it's on television, then surely things like that are out there. And I went to college on grants and scholarships and realized, oh, my God, the world is, there's so much work more in the world that's available to me. But the money thing was really important because last time we didn't have a car, didn't have running water, didn't have food. And the financial aspect of how all these things were together was very important. Eventually, I became a financial advisor and realized just how crucial they can be in everyone's financial lives, whether you have money or not. And we seem to think that it's only the people who have a lot of money that can benefit from this program and that from a financial advisor. And that's untrue. There are different types of financial advisors and financial advisor that you need is going to be based on what your needs are. Of course, a really good financial advisor will uncover needs and concerns that may be popping up in the future that you haven't even thought of. So let's go through the role of financial advisor and how you can choose when it's appropriate for you. So like I said, I'm a financial advisor. I have a license, Series 7, 63, 67, Health and Life in Kentucky. So I do health, life, annuities, long-term care. And I'm here as a volunteer in a volunteer position for this. This is a volunteer information of financial resources for you. So anytime you call us, you don't have to pay for anything for any financial advice to talk to any of our financial coaches. So, but I really encourage you to take advantage of all of our resources. So these resources have the potential to help you and your family, not just now, but in the future. So what are financial advisors and planners? This is what we're going to cover. What do they do? How can they benefit everyone? How do you find one? How much do they cost? And then always exercise caution. So the importance of financial advisor, according to a study conducted from Northwestern Mutual, you know, that's a big insurance company about the attitudes and behaviors of adults in the United States toward money. These are the people who are willing to answer this. I have to put that in there. 71% of them felt their financial planning needs, their financial planning needed improvement, while only 29% worked with a financial advisor. And a lot of that 29% are people who already have money or have a lot of money. So there's a lot of room for a lot of people to get involved with this. The truth is that deciding whether or not to hire a financial advisor is a huge and pivotal life decision. We don't get instructions at school about managing our finances. I wish we did, and I wish it started earlier, like in elementary school, but everyone will need to do so at some point in their lives, whether it's when you're going to college and, you know, they're throwing out these credit cards. You need to know how those are going to affect you, especially if you're just going to college, you're off first time in your in your life and you're doing things on your own and really have not managed money. So it becomes a fork in the road when you make a decision to choose a financial advisor, it's going to dictate the path of your and your children's financial futures for decades and generations to come. I cannot stress this enough. When you're in college or anywhere down the path of your life, when you work with a financial advisor, they will uncover opportunities, they'll uncover weaknesses in your in your planning that can affect not only you, but your children and for generations to come. That's very important to understand. Next slide. So research suggests that people who work with their finance or financial advisor are less stressed and more at ease about their finances. The reason is that financial advisor has already sit down with you. They've done all the work. You have done all the work gathering information and they're asking appropriate questions and they are managing everything. Your insurance, your estate planning, all these things together because one dollar from here affects a dollar from here so that you don't have to worry about it anymore. They have the knowledge to to to understand what's going on in the economy. So they're going to take all that worry off of you and they're going to do that for you, potentially result in 15 percent more money to spend in retirement. And the sooner you save money, the sooner you understand that, the sooner you work with a financial advisor, no matter where you are in your financial lives, you're going to be better off. Of course, you got to understand that the value of working with a financial advisor will vary by person and no returns are generally guaranteed. I say generally because there are some things that are guaranteed for returns. But for the big bulk of things, we cannot give you a guarantee based on past returns. Next slide. So here's a statistic. The average age of widowhood in the United States is 59. When my husband died in 2013, it was 55. And that's surprising. We think that people are going to be around for a long time. And we think, you know, what they're saying statistically, you know, women are 87, men are 89 because those numbers got a lot better, you know, there before covid, those things have come back because of what covid did to our to our livelihoods. But it's a surprising number. And this is before retirement. So whether or not that has changed this covid pandemic is to be determined. I've already given some numbers and it's gone down a couple of couple years for ages for what they call your your actuarial life stage or life expectancy. Undervaluing the value of a stay at home spouse can affect the working spouse and the family now and in retirement or in survivorship. So it's a very, very, very important to understand. It's not just you, it's your family both now, the way you are now and in the future. So this can affect savings for retirement if someone leaves work early to take care of a person who has health issues. The stay at home spouse usually has less less life insurance. We understand life insurance is not just for survivors, but life insurance can be accessed while you are alive to help benefit you. Next slide. Financial planning is a step by step approach to meet one's short and long term life goals, not just yours, but those people in the future if you have beneficiaries for some of your assets. A financial plan acts as a guide or roadmap as you go through life's journey. It helps you be in control of your income, expenses and investment in a way that you can manage your money and achieve goals. Again, reducing that stress and you would pull in everything to this. It includes the cost of health care, which is really huge. It'll include big purchases like home if you're going to be moving, retiring early. How do I access your assets to minimize your taxes? So this is a huge, broad scope on what your financial lives are is and how that's going to affect your your living situation later on. Next slide. So what are the benefits of financial planning? The ones I have not yet spoken about when work with a financial planner of your choice, you'll find that they address issues and weaknesses in your plan that you may not have thought of. In addition, I found out when my husband and I were doing our financial plan because the financial plan is something put in writing, is achievable, is doable and is accurate. And you can understand it as long as we have these goals in our head. Like I'm going to retire at 65 and I'm going to travel and I'm going to do that. We don't have any numbers attached to that. So it's not really a plan. That's a dream. And we know how dreams go by the wayside. Something happens that you hadn't planned for. Well, a financial plan takes into account all these things and they can be changed and manipulated, but it's all taken into account. So they work with you to define goals that you that you qualify for, adjust for inflation and create an investment plan for you. Additionally, they will review the tax consequences of your investments and plan accordingly, taxes now and taxes later. The rising cost of health care has become very important when considering financial planning. And I would tell you, there are some financial planners who specialize in this area. So I would recommend working with an advisor who will take this into consideration because it's a huge part of your financial landscape. Next slide. So the term financial advisor is a catch all for people, professionals who assist people with any financial planning. Some people have advanced credentials and other people don't. You need to be aware of their training, licensing, how they work and how they charge you for their services. I would also caution you to do your due diligence when searching for an advisor planner. You need someone who is working in your best interest. This is person is known as a fiduciary. They're not going to go out and get your information, do your financial planning, collect your money, however you decide if that's going to be for your costs and how they're going to be paid. But they are going to work based on what your needs, your goals are, your timeline, your time frame, your everything, how you feel about money. And they're going to work with your other team members, financial team members as well, such as your tax professional attorneys, if you have a CPA, if you have any one insurance person you need and you need to be able to trust this advisor. I cannot specify this enough, not trust what your friends say, but trust you need to know them. You need to feel comfortable with them. You need to do your due diligence to find out what their history is, what their training is, if there's been any red flags or problems in the past. And that is available to everyone going out to find a financial advisor. Ask questions and expect those questions to be answered. If those questions are not answered, find out why. And if there's if they have a manager that you can go speak to because you need to have all of your questions answered, you need to understand their role and your role as well in the professional relationship, because you are the key component every single day of the year. Your goals, you are the key component, not what this financial advisor wants to do based on whatever is based on the true planning that shows how everything is going to work together. Next slide. So there are different types of financial advisors. Let's go through the three top types and how they will contact you and how you can work with them. There's robo advisors. The robo advisor is a digital service. You might hear these calls online offering simplified low cost investment management. And a lot of times these can be transactional. You answer questions online, then the computer uses algorithms to build an investment portfolio according to your goals or risk tolerance. That robo advisor has the ability to do that. That robo advisor has not taken into account other personal financial questions or concerns that you may have. They're good if your plan is simple, however, they do not look at your entire financial picture or the roadblocks that can pop up. It's low cost fees start as low as a quarter of a percent of your balance. And many services have no or low income minimum. So you can start investing with a small amount of money. So less than a quarter of a percent of your balance. Quarter of one percent of your balance. Next slide. So online financial planning services and advisors, these are a little bit more complicated than the robo. This type of online financial planning service offers virtual access to human financial advisors. Some of their services may be like a robo advisor with the added ability to speak to a live advisor. You're not in person, but you can speak to them if you have questions. You are matched with a human advisor who will manage your investments and work with you to create a holistic financial plan. A lot of times these financial advisors are managing funds that are you don't have, say, if you have several million, you don't want to work with a robo or somebody online. You need to meet with these people. And I would say that is important for anyone meeting with a financial advisor when you have serious concerns like the cost of health care. Many online advisors can match you with a top tiered credential such as a certified financial planner or CFP. This type of planning is good when you're comfortable meeting with an advisor online, but with still like holistic financial planning services such as state planning, retirement planning or help with company stock. The online financial advisors themselves will vet an advisor for you so that you're relying on them to find a financial advisor for you. Next slide. So the cost of this could be more than a robo advisor. Online financial planning services will typically typically cost less than a traditional financial advisor, but more than a robo advisor. Some services have relatively high investment requirements of twenty five thousand or more. Others require no minimum investment at all. And but if you're going to be doing anything with an advisor, you know, you might want to have some money to invest or have something to manage and they can start low lot times, twenty five or fifty dollars a month going into an account. Again, consider a traditional financial advisor when you have more complicated financial goals or concerns, or if you prefer to work with an advisor in person. This is a good way to really know somebody. Next slide. So your traditional financial advice, if you go down to your Merrill Lynch office or your Edward Jones, these are going to be your traditional financial advisors that you're going to meet in person. They can they can more readily provide more extensive personalized services. They can help you with all of your financial needs from planning for a large purchase purchase for like a home or retirement home or a boat retirement, education planning, tax or estate planning and other services as well. I also want to include in this because a lot of people don't seem to forget there is a huge area and that is special needs planning. If you need special needs planning for someone who has an illness or health issues, such as an older child, and they're going to need that help, whether you're going to be there or not, then that would be additional help they can work with your estate plan or your attorneys with. They're also good when you want to specialize services such as situations, if your situation is complex, complex, or you want to meet your advisor in person and develop a long term relationship. This is I think it's very important, especially if you have health issues and it's almost like going to the doctor and you have the nurse there. If you have ever been to the hospital, the nurse seems to understand more of what's going on with you than a doctor who seemed to come in and reason and go away because they're looking at everything. They're looking at how you're you were reacting earlier or seem more sluggish. Your financial advisor in person can pick up on a lot of clues with it, just talking about your everyday life. There may have been something you said in your financial planning process and now something's completely different. They can pick up on those things and find out what's going on. You may not even be aware of it. Maybe something is going on in your head that you haven't put together, but they're going to ask those questions so that they can make sure your financial plan doesn't get derailed based on some of these changes that just pop up that you had not spoken to them about. That's a benefit of working with a financial advisor in person. Next slide. So their costs is generally higher. But remember, when you're working with a financial advisor, they're going to be based on the kind of work you want done and how you want to work with them. They also have most options available to you when deciding what your needs are and how they can work with you. Like I said, many traditional financial advisors charge around one and I would say one to one point seven five percent of your assets under management. And that would be the balance based on the balance of December 31st of the previous year. So advisors also require a high minimum balance, such as twenty two hundred fifty thousand dollars in assets. So be aware of those. There may be other people in that planning group that work with assets less than two hundred fifty thousand. So look elsewhere if you want similar similar services for less are comfortable getting help online or don't want to get don't want to vet your advisor yourself. That would be your online robo or the other assisted virtual advisors. So some of the questions to ask yourself when searching for advisor, this is very important. This is going to help you narrow down the narrow down the type of advisor you want and how you want that advisor to work with you. Start the process by asking yourself these important key questions. Do you need help with the budget? A lot of people think they budget, but they really don't. Do you want help investing? You want to start investing? Do you want to change your investing strategy? Would you like to create a detailed financial plan? This is going to be the road map that's going to take into account what your financial snapshot snapshot of your financial picture right now is going to show your goals, whether it was short term, medium term, long term goals. It's going to actually define which investments should be where, how they should be, how your money should be invested and how you're going to eventually can take that money out to minimize on your taxes. It's going to give you that road map to get there for every single one of your goals. Do you need to get a state plan in order to create it or create a trust? That's very important to think about. Do you need tax help? A lot of times a financial advisor work with tax professionals and they can all work together as a team. Next slide. So how do you find a planner advisor? Very important. A lot of people ask friends or they, they hear things online. You can ask friends or colleagues that they use one and how happy they are. This does not give you a waiver on doing your due diligence. Always do your due diligence, no matter how well you think that other person is doing financially. The national association of personal financial advisors also has a list of financial advisors that you can refer to. Again, due diligence for every single one of this. Garrett planning network also has a list of financial advisors or planners, XY planning planning network. And you just go to Garrett planning, financial network.com. All of those are, you can easily Google online. The ACP Alliance of comprehensive planners as well. Remember, remember Bernie Madoff and his name was so perfect for what he did. He made off with all his friends and family's money because everyone trusted him without researching him themselves. And it's really, really important. No matter who that person is, you need to find out who they are, what they've done, red flags, and you'll find some things that this person, and as financial advisors, we have to report if we've filed bankruptcy, or if we had problems with a, we were sued in the past, that is actually online. We have access to it. So anybody who promises huge returns with your investments, they promise and guarantee returns. It sounds so good to be true. It is untrue. Run. There's a problem with that. And there are people who will do it either one or two times just to get you to sign on the dotted line, but be aware, be aware, do your due diligence. I'll show you later on in this seminar where you can go and find that information to check the history of that person. Next slide. So some of the areas of financial planning would include health care cost planning, which is becoming very, very big in our, in our arena, taxes, retirement planning, risk planning, which what is risk? That means insurance taken, taken, insurance is, is taken a risk off of you where you reduced your cost. Insurance, whether that's life insurance, disability insurance and all of those things, business planning, how to plan for a business, how to set those things up. If you have a business to look at your 401ks, how to maximize your returns in your business, how to set aside money for savings, your business, how to borrow off your business to keep your business running. And then educational college planning, which is a huge thing going on right now. We're understanding how the cost of education is, is, is exceeding inflation, just like healthcare costs. And there's fair, there are fewer people able to afford to go to college. And then we'll talk about asset management, how to manage your assets that you have, whether it be annuities, your 401ks, any IRAs, brokerage accounts that are not qualified like IRAs or any of the other things you're trying to set aside money for. It's also an include budgeting. Next slide. Many people may not be aware that a good financial advisor will also offer emotional support and perspective during volatile economic times, such as we're having now. If you've done a good financial plan, a financial advisor will take into consideration down markets like 9-11, like in 1987, you know, all of these that happened in 2009 when the, when the market crashed. So they will take, they will look at the history of what things have happened. And they'll make sure that your financial plan, based on what your needs goes timeframe, and they'll say, well, you know, we're not going to say the market is going to return 8, 9, 12, 15, in some cases done 21, 31%. We're going to be conservative based on an average, an average, and sometimes they'll even pull it down lower than that. So that you're planning for, they're planning for the worst case scenario, but with better outcomes. So you won't be surprised if you're not able to, but with better outcomes. So you won't be surprised down the road. So make sure your financial advisor that you choose offer the services you're looking for in your financial and non-financial lives, because they all work together. Next slide. So questions to ask your prospective advisor. Are you a fiduciary? That fiduciary is always working in your best interest, not in the best interest of what their, your check is going to be at the end of the month, end of the year. They're working in your best interest. And so those recommendations should always be best on your best interest. And I would also tell you they're there to educate you, to help you to make decisions with them. You're not, your partner's in a relationship. You give as much information as you give them, it's going to be as best as they can work. So more information to give them about your thoughts, your concerns, how you view money, what your needs are, your goals are, your risks are, what you could sleep with that night or what you can't, the better they can do a financial plan for you. And that financial plan is not written in stone. It will change, because your needs change things happening in the economy and they'll, but they'll be on top of all that. So they'll recommend products that are suitable, even if they're not the lowest cost or some, or most ideal for you. So non-fiduciary, since it's broker dealers only need to recommend products that are suitable, even if they're not the lowest cost or most ideal for you. So you need to work with fiduciary who will take those things into consideration. So how do they charge? I referred to those earlier slides for basic baseline cost, but they will tell you, and it would depend on what kind of services they're offering, how much assets they're going to be managing or not, how often you want to contact them. They can do things on retainer. They can do things based on transactional, but it could differ. And, and I again, advise you to when you're talking to a financial advisor and considering them, ask them how they work, how, ask them what's going to be the charge. And, and keep in mind that they may be that way this year, but next year those things may change. So what are your all in costs? Advisor fees, other fees, hidden fees? Are there any hidden fees? And then ask them what their qualifications are. What are their, well, how are they licensed? What States are they licensed in? You must vet them. The financial industry, regulatory authorities, professional designations will tell you when, what the initials behind their names mean like CFP, CHCLU, ask for their form ADV. That ADV is an advisor information that check the advisor's record. And that comes from the broker dealer that they're working for. A broker dealer is a person where all your money comes in, they hold the money and they make the trades as necessary. So they have to have a broker dealer that ADV will be through them. And it needs to be updated. Next slide. So asking in, how will your relationship work? Will you have access to them outside of your regular scheduled appointments? A lot of advisors carry around cell phones like we all do, but they may have a cell phone specifically for work. And I got to be advised that most advisors will not give you their personal cell phone number. They don't have to, and they shouldn't have to. So what is your investment philosophy? How do you feel about investing? You need to be on the same page. You need to be on the same page. You have to believe in what they're doing to stick with it during down market cycles. So you need to know them. You need to trust them. They need to be your trusted advisor. Your investment style and your advisor should be, should also be the same. Your investment portfolio should align with your values, which means you may not be wanting to deal with tobacco companies. If you don't believe in smoking, you don't want to deal with, you know, certain environmental companies. If you're not, if that doesn't align with your values, what asset allocations will you use? Diversification is important and should align with your risk tolerance. You can diversify risk away. A lot of people aren't aware of that. So that's when they talk about portfolio allocation. That's very important to understand with your personal circumstances. Next slide. Some more questions. What investment benchmarks will you use that refers to as a P 500 and NASDAQ international markets? How is that going to affect your portfolio? This can refer to risk tolerance as well. Advisors should use benchmarks that directly relate to what they're invested in, or be able to explain why they don't use certain benchmarks. So who is your custodian? The custodian is a brokerage firm that holds your investments like LPL financial, like Ameriprise, like AmeriLynch, who holds those, your, your money. This custodian provides a safety check on the accounts, which means you can look at that custodian, LPL financial, find out there's been huge fines posed against them for not doing their due diligence and making sure that everything is safe and that your advisor is being monitored correctly. Very important to note. Next slide. Some more questions. How will your investments affect your taxes? Huge. A good financial advisor would have considered your tax liability when making investment recommendations based on those goals and times frames as well. Asking about taxes and fees is a way to explore what your estimated net return might be minus the tax of taxes. You know, you're looking to first paycheck when you started working, you're like, Oh my God, I thought I was making back then maybe $9, $6 an hour. And it's taken all my money. Where did my money go? Well, taxes and fees. Same thing with the financial advisor. They have tax, how is your, your portfolio managed as with our big costs on your actual returns. What, when you start pulling money out of your accounts, which, how should you take them out to minimize those taxes and the fees? And so again, what is, what is your bottom line going to be after those fees and taxes? Next slide. So here's a giant myth. I hear this all the time. And it's so frustrating because people who most need the help are the ones who are less likely to talk to a financial advisor. They say they have to have money, but I don't have any money. Well, you don't have to have a lot of money. Financial advisors will, a lot of financial advisor will work with people who are just starting off and they will teach them, which is a great way to start is, is, is, is to start as soon as early as you can. If you have children, or you have grandchildren, you want to make sure their financial solve it, make sure they, they start understanding finances. And then when they start working to start saving and they work with a financial advisor and financial advisors don't necessarily cost a lot. It's based on what you need, what your goals are and what you're trying to do. They can help you not waste money by setting budgets and how to save correctly and where to save and to help manage your investment risks. A lot of people say, well, you know, I need to learn, I earn 9%. Well, you know, what does that risk mean? What do you have to risk in order to earn that 9%? So there's a lot that goes into financial planning and for you to even understand what financial planning or what your goals and what the cost or dollar point put on each one of those goals, the taxes associated with it, the inflation is going to be associated with it. How is that good? How are you going to manage that? The financial advisor will do that. Next slide. So your team and your financial advisor will work with you and your team as needed. We'll be cleaning you and your spouse or someone else in your family, who are a relevant family member or representative, your financial planner advisor, your tax professional, your estate attorney, your insurance professional. All of these people can work hand in hand to make sure your financial picture is where it should be and that you're on goal to achieve your goals. It is your own track to achieve your goals. Next slide. So in summary, I know this is a lot, but it's if you, if you want to get a better picture or if you have more, need more clarification, feel free to reach out to me. I've been a financial advisor for 22 plus years. So the right financial advisor will take that worry off of you. You don't have to go to bed worrying about what happened that you heard on the market today because they've already anticipated that. They look at your whole picture and put together a plan based on all of your goals and your financial plans. So the advisor must be the one you understand and trust that you can ask personal questions about that. You can give them personal information that's going to affect your finances and they should always act as a fiduciary on your best interests. So that's why you should always be aware of your financial needs and your financial needs. And if you're not aware of your financial needs, you should always be aware of your financial needs. So that's why you should always be aware of your financial needs. Next slide. So financial advisors should always be a fiduciary on your best interest and they work to educate you and a partner with you. They're not doing everything on their own. You just give them information and go away. They are partnered with you. A financial advisor should always get your signature, your buy-off before anything is done. Remember that your needs are what comes first. Your best interests always, always comes first. Next slide. These are your sized managers authority. These are your licensed advisor claims to have. It is your responsibility to vet that advisor's credentials and experience and their history. You can research their background by looking up the firm's form ADD before you agree to work with them. Go to FINRA's broker-check website, that's FINRAbrockercheck.com to review the advisor's employment record and see if there has been any red flags or disciplinary actions. of the financial advisor. Next slide. I think that's it. So, hey, it's a lot. Yes. Awesome. I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't any sites that I was forgetting. Thank you all for attending and thank you Diana for that excellent presentation. As you said, that was a lot of information but I think it was really helpful information, especially for those like I said in the beginning who might be unfamiliar with this part of financial planning or simply wanted a review. It's now time for your questions, the audience, that you can submit questions to Diana and Diana will answer those. They don't necessarily have to be about financial planning if you do have a different related, myeloma related financial question. However, if you do have questions about financial planning, you can feel free to ask them here. I do see that you're wondering if you can get a copy of Diana's slides. Yes, the answer is yes. The slides and this recording will be sent out to you via email within 48 hours of the event's conclusion. So that you can review it as often or as little as you would like. Another question here, and it was reviewed during the presentation, but I think just for the sake of reiteration, we should ask it. When you say that a financial advisor, a true financial advisor that you meet with face to face costs 1% of your assets, is that every year or is it a lump sum upfront? You can work with them different ways. If they're doing assets under management, I mean, they're managing, they're actively managing your portfolio. That means they're keeping up with the economy, they're making sure that if you are like 80% high risk investments and 20% of conservatives, and because of the market and how your returns have been, it's changed now is 60, 40, then they're managing your account. Generally it's between one to one and a half, so very few advisors will charge 1.75% of your assets under management. That is every year because they're actively managing your account. And it's generally split out over a period of time, over every quarter, and it can come out, a lot of times that comes out of your account. So again, that's gonna change the baseline of what you're actually making your account because it's gonna reduce it by that amount. But remember, generally the average return on a long-term retirement account is 15%. So, what is the real cost of financial advisor? I mean, they're worth their weight in gold. Yeah, finding the right one like we talked about. Exactly. Awesome. Quinvin says, thanks Diana, can you define the term fiduciary again? And then how do you find one? Is there a certain certificate for being a fiduciary or could anyone just call themselves a fiduciary? That word's so difficult. You know, it's really interesting. A lot of people will say they're a fiduciary, but a fiduciary, a CFP, a person who's taken, who has designated a CFP, they are fiduciaries, they are required to be fiduciaries. A lot of broker dealers are now requiring their financial advisors to be fiduciaries because of the limits reduces the liability on them, right? And again, and I hate to say this, but this is the world we live in. A person can say whatever they want, but you have to make sure that you're doing your due diligence to question them. A fiduciary is always doing things in your best interest. If you suspect something's been done, like a trade's been made and you were not given, you didn't get permission to do that trade, like I say, always open up your statements. A lot of people don't, they don't wanna see it, especially when the markets are down. It is your advantage to open those things up. If you've seen trades or you're getting a statement saying, there was a trade in your account or somebody sold in or sold out of an account and you didn't give them permission to have discretionary discretion on your account, then something's wrong. Something's wrong. Don't be afraid to ask questions or ask to speak to their supervisor. They have a compliance officer who manages them. Compliance officers are stretched thin, but a fiduciary is always doing things in your best interest. So let's clarify. So is there a certification for fiduciary or no? Not necessarily, no. There's additional training courses maybe given to them through their broker firm, but is there a thing that says I'm a fiduciary? No, it's supposed to be implied, but you need to ask. Okay, awesome. So Carrie or Kari, I'm sorry, I don't know how to pronounce your name, saying main concern is how to handle my assets to lower taxes. Would it be smarter to speak to a financial advisor or a tax professional? I think this is a question, especially during this time of year, this a question that a lot of United States based patients and caregivers have. Okay, sort of a tax professional, they're looking at your taxes and saying, well, you might wanna put more money in your 401k because you reduce your tax liability. A financial advisor looks at those actual products out there that can reduce your tax liability when you're earning money. You can earn money on tax-free products like bonds where you can earn your money and it's completely tax-free. So the financial advisor manages your entire portfolio to manage your tax liability and minimize taxes in all of your assets. That would be a financial advisor. Yeah, and kind of like what you said in your presentation, I think it's advantageous to have both because if you pick the right ones, they will be willing to work together. Is that true? Exactly, yes. Yeah, okay. I think financial advisor could help maybe now like in the future and like tax advisor could help like, okay, let's do a summary of like how that went and they can work together. Right, right. Cool, I'm learning, I'm learning as we go. Question here, I'm looking to set up a living will for my mother, would a financial advisor be able to help with things such as this? Depends on what you're doing with your living will. A living will, if you want to have an attorney, look at that. Now, depending on how you want that living will, what you're gonna put into that will, it's gonna be left as beneficiaries. That financial advisor needs to know that because they need to know what you're gonna live off of yourself and what you're gonna set aside for that person. And you don't wanna, living wills and not at times include trust and you need to know what kind of trust, is it gonna be a trust you can go back and change your mind about, or is it gonna be trusted once you get your money out of your estate, then you no longer can access to your money. So there's a whole lot involved with that. That's a team approach with your, whoever's gonna do your will and your financial advisor. And that is really when you need to have them talking to one another because once something's done and once something's funded, sometimes you cannot go back and get like changes on that. So that would be kind of another team effort between the financial advisor and an attorney. And the attorney. Awesome, thank you. So one more follow-up on the fiduciary. What does it mean to work in your best of interest? What kind of actions does that entail? That means the financial advisor is looking at what your needs are, your goals are, your understanding, your partnering with them. And they're making decisions that are both doable, understandable, achievable. Give examples of some goals. Okay, let's just say you're saving money for a house. This is that you're gonna take seven years to save money for a house. That's a medium term goal. And you are taking some of your money from your check and you're depositing it to your account. And based on what the financial planner did with that money, they may be investing it in something that shows several things. And it would not be one thing because one thing tanks, that means the whole portfolio is gone. But they're putting it in something that shows over historical times that you should have that money there in seven years, give or take a month or two, right? So if that financial advisor is doing something and you don't see that moving, it's not getting better. It's been a year and things haven't moved. He hasn't reached out to you. And you're wondering why you're getting these trades with your account, there's nothing's wrong. He's not working in your best interest. Your best interest, your financial plan should show what's happening. And if there's not doing that, then your financial advisor should be reaching out saying, this is what happened. I know you've seen some lags in your account. This is why, but we need to get together so we can readjust expectations for what we need to do to keep you on your timeframe. Like I said, a fiduciary, if you see something that doesn't seem right, doesn't sound right, or they don't ask your questions, like they should, or they're not calling you back in a timely manner, then they're not acting in your best interest. Okay, so like, for example, when it relates to myeloma, how would a myeloma person's or her family's, because you know, myeloma affects the whole family, what is gonna look different, or is anything going to look different between somebody that has myeloma and their financial portfolio versus somebody who's relatively healthy? Well, the cost of your healthcare is gonna be huge. It's gonna be different. And your ability to continue working or not in the safe or retirement, or continue to pay your mortgage note, or all these things is gonna be different because your lifestyle is different now. You gotta be aware of the cost of your care. You're gonna be aware of a spouse leaving work to now take care of a person, whether short-term or long-term, you retiring early, so now you don't have that income coming in. So your entire financial picture is different. That is why, if you're in a situation like that, it is in your best interest to work with financial advisor, because they can look at all of those other resources that may come into play that you're not aware of that can actually put a positive impact on your financial picture. Does that make sense? Because if you don't go into it, if you have all of these things going on as a myeloma patient or any kind of person who has a chronic or long-term illness, and cancer is one of the most expensive illnesses, if you're not anticipating that, both now and short and long-term, if you're gonna be off your insurance, if your copay is gonna be much, if you had to travel to go to your doctor, that's costly, where's that money gonna come from? It's gonna affect what on the back end? Thank you. Okay, Kathy is saying, my partner and I are working with a trust slash will lawyer to create a trust. None of us know when we may pass, but with multiple myeloma, I'm more cautious about my lifespan. Do you have suggestions about talking to our financial advisor about our trust document or financial funds regarding multiple myeloma? And then any suggestions for planning long-term care? Wow, it's a lot. Yeah, so let's just start with the beginning, where she says, do you have any suggestions about talking to our financial advisor about our trust document? Okay, so you go to an attorney, attorney pulls out the document for the trust, and you would have told him how much money I have, and he'll say, well, maybe it's gonna grow, and he's putting those things together, right? And so you gotta remember, there are so many different types of trust. Who's gonna own the trust, who's gonna manage the trust, who's gonna be the beneficiary of the trust? It may be generational beneficiary of trust. You can write a trust all day long. Attorney can have a desk full of trust, trust signed and approved by those clients. But unless those trusts are funded, which means you take these assets and put it in a trust, those trust documents mean absolutely nothing. So yes, you need a financial advisor who's gonna look at that and say, yes, this money makes sense to go into a trust because we've determined that this money is gonna be used for that particular goal to help someone else. Or you have a lot of money and you have a flow through trust where money will take care of the first person at their death that goes to the second person. Second person is another trust is gonna take care of whoever the beneficiaries are after that. So there's all kinds of trusts. Financial advisors need to be in there to make sure that what you're gonna be funding that trust with is something you can afford to fund that trust with. And also here, this is where I could, one of the points that you had in the beginning, Health Tree has a program called the Coach Program where you can meet one-on-one with people and there are specific coaches who have financial expertise in their life that they're willing to share on a volunteer basis with you. So you can talk out questions that you should bring to your lawyers, to your attorneys, to your financial advisors. You can talk out those questions with these financial coaches and get a good idea of what questions to ask. They can't necessarily answer those questions for you, but they can help you form these kinds of questions that you're searching for in order to make sure that your financial picture is looking as healthy as possible, especially with this unpredictable multiple myeloma that's kind of looming over us. And then do you have any suggestions for planning long-term care? And I believe that we have a session actually later this year where we're gonna focus on long-term care, if I'm not mistaken. So this is almost a different session in and of itself. But any brief suggestions? Well, it depends on if you're looking for long-term care for a person who's currently ill, diagnosed with multiple myeloma, ANL, and what age you are. There are options for long-term care. If you already have myeloma, it's like a life insurance policy. Getting long-term care is probably gonna be very difficult. There are different long-term care policies. It's based on some types of assets you have that can be put partially in assets that's growing or in a long-term care process, a dual type of policy or investment. So there may be some options available to you out there. And that would be a financial advisor, a licensed financial advisor to give you some answers on that. Now, I can give you answers on that based on what kind of state you're in and what you're actually looking for. Our other financial coaches cannot because they're not licensed. Thanks, Diana. Michael shares that when he first came to his financial planning team, they planned on a 10-year lifespan. And now it's getting close to that and he's doing excellent. And so they're working now together to extend that plan. So I think that's also kind of a good example of a fiduciary is somebody who's aware of your life, a partner in your finances, who's getting updates from you, who cares that and is excited with you that your lifespan is longer than you thought it was going to be. And therefore you need to make updates to your finances. Right, and I would challenge that on the, if you're investing, we look at conservative, don't expect that 9% return every year when in fact it averages out to be six or seven. If you plan at six, then you're probably gonna achieve that goal and you have money left over. And when you're talking about lifespans, it's always better to go higher in lifespan than just go lower because if you've done 10 years, you may have already exhausted a lot of your assets as far as to push fewer assets out another five or 10 years. So always err on the side of conservative, conservative or higher. Yeah, the interesting part about that, Diana, is 10 years ago, my limo was such a different game. Right, it was like three to two, 33 years, right? Yeah, yeah, and so we're blessed now and I can't communicate, I can't echo what Diana just said enough. Plan for hope, plan that it's gonna be awhile because with these amazing drug approvals and clinical trials and just quality of life improving for the multiple myelin population, now we can say with confidence, plan for the future versus where 10 years ago we were so limited and 15 years ago we were even more limited. The financial picture is just so different. So I'm happy to be able to echo what you're saying and say there is hope today. Nancy was wondering, would a fiduciary not get a commission on a fund or annuity purchase or would they just be obligated to reveal it? Depends on how the account's set up. Some annuities are within that asset managed portion or if they sell it outside of that and that's how you decide to work with that financial advisor. If that annuity is not in the assets under management, then they can get a separate fee but that's paid from the insurance company to them. It does not come out of your funding of your annuity or anything like that. Interesting, thank you. Steve is just echoing, you really wanna be careful with your beneficiaries and maybe be open to being flexible about who those beneficiaries are because you might end up not liking the person that you originally chose as your beneficiary. Yes, and don't forget if you've gotten a divorce or something else, make sure you go on all of your accounts and change that beneficiary if you didn't want that other spouse on there, if you're remarried or something, make sure your beneficiary is always up to date. I have handed out life insurance settlements to people, to ex spouses and they're remarried again and now they're remarried, the new spouse has access to nothing, including their new children. So that's horrible situations to be in. Yeah, yeah, because kind of what was said earlier, like nobody knows when passing could occur. As anxious as this multiple myeloma makes us, the reality is like the risk of being in a car accident, a fatal car accident is just as high whether or not you have multiple myeloma, that risk doesn't change. And sometimes we forget about that or we forget about taking care of other parts of our body because we become so involved with multiple myeloma care. And that's not to say that like I wish that upon anybody, but the reality of life is that we don't know. And so staying on top of things like this is so, so, so important. Yeah, wonderful. Well, this has been an excellent session and I'm grateful for your participation in the audience and I'm grateful Diana for your excellent information as always. And just to reiterate one more time, the information on these slides is going to be sent out to each of you via email, along with the recording. Diana, before we finish today, is there any closing statements that you would want to make? No, just please take advantage of the resources we have online. We know that like now a slight update is part of the cost of taking care of everything in your financial picture is you're not being able to find a lot of these resources for your medicines and everything for those nonprofits like LLS. We don't know why they haven't opened up and I know people are running out of their funds. Go to the pharmacy company, they may be to assist you. Don't give up hope and we're putting out those notices as they come as the winner opening up. Awesome, thank you, Diana, we appreciate it. We'll finish with just a couple of outro announcements. We're excited to announce our first open financial Q&A. So we're running a mini series within our MyLMF financial chapter where we just have one open financial Q&A per quarter. This is a chance for you to submit your questions, your MyLMF financial related questions and you guide the session. So we ask that on the event description, you'll see a Google form. You can fill out your question on that Google form. We'll send the link for you guys to register in the follow-up email for this event. But you get to guide the session with your questions and it's really a free for all for you guys to ask the questions that have been on your mind or just getting extra clarification. And so that's on March 30th later this month at 1 p.m. Eastern. And like I said, those will occur once a quarter. You might be interested in other events that we have upcoming. March 8th is our non-secretory MyLMF chapter. We're gonna be discussing tackling hard days and difficult decisions. The tomorrow night, we're going to have our newly diagnosed MyLMF patients chapter. Dr. Sam Rubinstein is going to join us to talk about the consolidation therapy updates. And then March 9th at 6.30 p.m. Eastern is our Northeast MyLMF community chapter meeting. We're gonna be talking about infection risk and that's not going to be recorded. So if you'd like to attend, please make sure to attend live. The question or the link to signing up for any of these events is at the bottom of the slide and will be included in our follow-up email. Another thank you to our sponsors, Amgen, Genentech, Janssen Oncology and ABMI. And thank you to each of you for helping us build this multiple MyLMF community. I appreciate you. I hope you have a great rest of your day. Thank you everyone. Take care.