Seven Planning Steps

How It's Done
To create an effective, personal financial plan that addresses a client's specific financial goals and objectives, a professional financial advisor first needs to learn a great deal about the client. Janis Financial advisors follow a very objective, comprehensive and thoughtful seven-step process in developing a thorough and professional financial analysis and plan.

1. The first step is to identify and develop a client's specific financial goals and objectives. The professional financial advisor needs to understand the personal values underlying the client's specific financial goals and objectives. Knowing what is really important to a person about achieving a particular goal helps the financial advisor understand the direction a financial analysis and plan should take.
   
   
2. The second step is to prioritize a client's financial goals and objectives so that financial resources can be applied in a thoughtful and focused manner.
   
   
3. The third step involves collecting data on where the client currently stands financially, including what assets a client currently owns, how they are titled and what savings strategies are currently being employed. This step helps the financial advisor understand the starting point for the financial analysis and plan.
   
   
4. In the fourth step, the professional financial advisor uses any number of sophisticated financial planning tools to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the client's current financial goals and objectives.
   
   
5. In the fifth step, the financial advisor uses the results of the analysis to develop alternative solutions and strategies that can address the client's financial goals and objectives.
   
   
6. In the sixth step, the financial advisor can assist the client with making informed decisions about specific actions to take in seeking to achieve the client's prioritized financial goals and objectives.
   
   
7. Finally, the seventh step involves monitoring and updating the client's financial analysis and plan in view of the certainty that things will change over time.