“In today’s financial environment, investors are falling behind due to lack of guidance and financial planning. According to the findings from Northwestern Mutual’s 2019 Planning and Progress Study, 92% of U.S. adults aged 18+ agree that nothing makes them happier or more confident in life than when their finances are in order. Despite these feelings, more than six out of 10 Americans (62%) say their financial planning needs improvement.”
The working family does not have a sound system in place to pay themselves first while resting easy knowing their goals are being planned for. With limited time and experience to put a detailed plan in place, the probability of successfully achieving goals is reduced without specialized advice. A solid foundation gives investors peace of mind for what the future holds in terms of unexpected emergencies or opportunities. A well thought out analysis with purposeful and reliable assumptions gives investors clarity on changes needed to increase the probability of success.
BASH Capital implements a dual methodology in order to provide the most complete advice. Quantitative analysis reviews a client’s ability to take on risk by reviewing the data within a financial plan. Specific data points we focus on to measure this ability are the asset base, designated time horizon, liquidity measurements, or other tangible aspects that affect a client’s abilities to invest or take risk.
While a financial plan often illustrates a clients financial situations from a statistical perspective, we at BASH observe advisors neglecting the equally important part of planning, which is behavioral finance. Using a detailed qualitative approach, we take the time to fully understand a client’s emotions and cognitive biases. Having conversations with client’s on their history or investing experience, while also making keen observations from past ownership of assets, gives us an understanding of a client’s willingness to take on risk in investing.