Our Focus Is You
As a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) practitioner, my focus is you, the client. That’s why my team at McCurdy Investments follows a Proven Process that is vital to developing a sound and solid financial plan for you and your family. Our Proven Process approach is based on CFP® Practitioners standards known as the Financial Planning Practice Standards. This six-step process approach to financial advice is what distinguishes us from the other guys and gals.
1. Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship
2. Gathering information and assessing goals
3. Analyzing and evaluating your financial status
4. Identify plan(s) right for you
Step One: Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship. In this first step the goal is to mutually define our relationship. The process (which we call "mutually-defining") is essential in determining what activities may be necessary to for us to move forward. We do this by:
• Identifying the service(s) to be provided
• Disclosing the practitioner's material conflict(s) of interest
• Disclosing the practitioner's compensation arrangement(s)
• Determining the client's and the practitioner's responsibilities
• Establishing the duration of the engagement; and
• Providing any additional information necessary to define or limit the scope.
Mutually defining the scope of our relationship serves to establish realistic expectations for both you and the McCurdy Investments team.
Step Two: Gathering information and assessing goals. Prior to making recommendations, we will mutually define (there’s that term again) your personal and financial goals, needs and priorities. Your personal values and attitudes shape your goals and objectives and the priority you place on them.
Goals and objectives provide focus, purpose, vision and direction for the financial planning process. That’s why it is vital to determine clear and measurable objectives that pertain to your goals.
Step Three: Analyzing and evaluating your financial status. In this step we analyze the information gathered in step two to understand the your financial circumstances in order to evaluate whether the your current resources can meet the your goals, requirements and priorities.
Step Four: Identify plan(s) right for you. After analyzing your current situation and prior to developing and presenting our recommendations to you, we evaluate the effectiveness of such recommendations to reasonably meet your goals, needs, and priorities. This evaluation may involve, considering multiple assumptions, conducting research or consulting with other professionals. This process may result in a single alternative, multiple alternatives or no alternative to your current course of action.
Step Five: Implementation. As the client, you are responsible for accepting or rejecting our recommendations and for retaining and/or delegating implementation responsibilities. You and McCurdy Investments will mutually agree on the services to be provided by us (and may result in modifying the relationship established in Step One). Our responsibilities may include, but are not limited to the following:
• Identifying activities necessary for implementation
• Determining division of activities between your and McCurdy Investments
• Referring to other professionals
• Coordinating with other professionals
• Sharing of information as authorized
• Selecting and securing products and/or services
Step Six: Review and adjustment. We will report to you periodically to review the situation and adjust recommendations as needed.
To discuss how Dennis can help you, e-mail him at dmccurdy@mccurdyinvestments.com.