[Noporscheform]

The primary issue in personal finance is the generation of a commission. "advisors" will use a financial plan to sell a product - life insurance (hi commission vul) annuities (generally 4-5% commission) Long term care etc. The pressure to sell product, regardless of whether it is a good fit for the client is immense from the likes of Ameriprise type advisors. I once saw a friend who was sold three annuities with the same money over 6 years. The advisor generated over $70,000 in commissions off the same money, the client did not understand the reasons forthe changes - he trusted the advisor.

I came into this industry with 20 years of corporate planning, accounting, taxation and finance experince. I expected that I was going to use theses skills to help individuals address these same problems. I found an industry only focused on selling product, not solving problems.

I quickly moved on to my own practice, I use tax, legal and insurance advisors to address issues appropriately, and then use low cost indexes to develop tax effecient low cost investment portfolios. My business partner and I do not sell any commissioned products, use low cost brokerage houses such as TD ameritrade, who have no in house products and we clearly set out all fees each quarter.

Balance sheet design, cost management and appropriate investment design are key to a solid financial plan.