Regular reviews plot progress toward goals attainment
A financial plan review is the final piece in the wealth management dilemma that started with ‘Where did the year go?’. It is a natural corollary to the article ‘Wealth management discipline averts financial loss‘. Those posts encourage regular reflection on your financial position. This post addresses the most important of them – an annual financial plan review that
- confirms progress toward established goals; and
- provides opportunity to ensure those goals are still relevant to you.
When should you undertake a financial plan review?
A sound strategic financial plan will provide for an annual review of its progress as part of the strategy. Two popular (though by no means, exclusive) times for investment portfolio/ financial plan review are –
- the turn of a new financial year; and
- the anniversary of the initial investment.
To these we add the spectre of life-changing events that can be unexpected at the time of the original planning.
What will you look for in your review?
If you started the year with a listing of your assets, your income stream expectations and your goals, your financial plan review provides an opportunity to
- update that listing – and
- determine whether you have made adequate progress towards achieving those previously-set goals.
Unfortunately, not all financial years will result in an increase in asset values or net worth. Realistically, in some years, major expenses – and/ or financial market downturns – may result in a decline from the previous year. In long-term planning, this does not necessarily represent failure. The more important issue in those years is whether the strategy is likely to achieve the ultimate goal, whether that is
- financial independence in retirement;
- putting children through their education; or
- other dreams you are seeking to fulfil –
and is still appropriate.
Few of us claim to have any perfect knowledge of what the future holds – or the actual timing of those events. We can however, form a ‘big picture’ view of what we would like our futures to look like; and then make reasonable plans to accomplish them.
Financial plans and annual reviews are core to the ContinuumFP process
Helping clients make strategic financial plans – and subsequently discussing annual reports at the financial plan review – are activities in which our advisers and client services support team at Continuum Financial Planners Pty Ltd have considerable experience.
If you are not currently working to such a strategy with us, we urge you to seek a meeting with one of us: try our linked Book A Meeting facility at your convenience, or phone us (on 07-3421 3456). At a meeting, we will listen to your financial story; we will confirm our understanding of your goals – and introduce you to solutions to your wealth management dilemmas.
(This article was originally posted in June 2010. It has been updated/ refreshed from time to time, most recently in November 2024.)