Working with a Financial Advisor

“We have worked with our financial advisor for over 10 years. During that time, we have certainly seen some dynamic events in our world and the economy, yet our financial advisor has helped us follow our financial plan and grow our net worth while remaining true to biblical financial principles. Our financial advisor and their team have lovingly held us accountable, adjusted portfolio strategies when required, and taken a personal interest in us and our family.”

– Andrew & Carolyn *
Lake Forest, IL

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 16:3

What Does a Financial Advisor Do?

A financial advisor provides professional wealth management by integrating time-tested financial planning principles with investment selection and management strategies. Financial advisors create financial plans tailored to clients’ needs and offer objective advice on how to make wise financial decisions that will help clients reach their goals.

While money management and investment selection may seem like something you can do on your own, ask yourself the following questions:

Have I developed written goals?
Do I give, save, and spend with purpose?
Am I making sound investment choices?
Do I know if I am on track with my long-term savings, including retirement and educational goals?
If I died or became disabled, are my family and I prepared for the financial impact?
Am I accountable to someone for meeting my goals?

If you answered “No” or “I don’t know” to any of these questions, you could benefit from the services of a financial advisor.

Our clients, Bill and Amber, share how a brain tumor diagnosis forced Bill into an early retirement from his position as CEO of a successful company, and how biblical financial planning helped guide them through the difficult transition.

Services a Financial Advisor Can Provide

Engaging a financial advisor is often an important step toward meeting your goals. Whether you’re just starting your career, need help with saving and budgeting, planning a marriage, starting a family, or anticipating retirement, a financial advisor can offer valuable advice, tools, and investment recommendations to help achieve your objectives.

Financial advisors commonly address needs like:

Saving for retirement, including rolling over funds from company plans
Planning for large purchases, like a home or car
Saving for a child’s education costs
Handling significant sums of money like inheritances or ‘windfalls’
Evaluating options for life insurance, long-term care planning, business financing, and estate planning

“Since Blue Trust’s team joined our family on our stewardship journey, we have more clearly understood our finances and have been empowered to accomplish our goals. We now see the value of having a financial planner, not just an investment advisor, to oversee all aspects of our situation. We would encourage anyone desiring biblically-based counsel, financial expertise, and objectivity to engage with Blue Trust.”

– Demario & Tamela Davis *
NFL Athlete and Founder of Devoted Dreamers Foundation

Blue Trust’s Financial Planning Process

Blue Trust’s unique, comprehensive financial planning approach applies biblical principles to wealth management. Clients are empowered to make wise financial decisions that align with their values and to create a legacy of financial, social, and spiritual capital for themselves and their families.

Blue Trust advisors take a hands-on approach with clients to:

Define goals for cash flow, savings, and estate planning
Budget for expenses and help reduce debt
Plan for and assist in minimizing the impact of taxes
Determine the need for complementary financial products like insurance
Implement strategies for charitable giving

Hear from two of our advisors as they discuss frequently asked financial questions and concerns, such as how to teach your kids about money, what it means to be a good steward, how to have peace in your marriage with finances, and much more.

After helping clients set financial goals, Blue Trust advisors create actionable financial plans for clients, meet with them regularly to evaluate the plan, and make adjustments over time as necessary. In addition, a Blue Trust advisor is skilled at serving as a “financial quarterback”—someone who understands and coordinates all components of a client’s financial life.

As financial quarterbacks, our advisors can enlist and work with estate attorneys, accountants, life insurance agents, charitable advisors, and other professionals to ensure that clients have a cohesive game plan for their entire financial picture.

What to Look for in a Financial Advisor

There are certain characteristics that distinguish experienced, trained professional financial advisors.

Fiduciary Standards

Every financial advisor has an obligation to make recommendations that are suitable for investors. Fiduciary advisors are held to an even higher standard as they must place the client’s best interests ahead of their own and even ahead of their employer’s interests. For example, they cannot recommend a financial product that is more costly than another one that accomplishes the same goal at a lower cost.

Fiduciary advisors are also required to provide clients with transparency. Clients are given a clear understanding of the services provided, compensation received, and the general business practices of the company or advisor.

As a trust company, Blue Trust is held to the highest fiduciary standard in the financial industry. We conduct annual reviews of each client’s accounts to ensure that the portfolio is managed in accordance with the client’s objectives and goals. Operating under a trust company model means we can offer assistance with a wide range of circumstances including helping with a special needs beneficiary, managing trust assets, settling an estate, and many more. We believe a trust company framework allows us to serve our clients in a comprehensive way over the long-term.

Credentials

When seeking advice about investment products, it’s important to work with firms who are regulated. Blue Trust is regulated by the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions (TDFI).

A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professional (CFP^®) is a highly regarded certification because these advisors are skilled in multiple areas of finance and have passed rigorous testing to obtain this designation. In addition to the CFP^® designation, many Blue Trust advisors have obtained the Certified Kingdom Advisor^® (CKA^®) designation, which involves a certification process incorporating biblical principles into financial planning and investing.

Compensation

It is wise to confirm how the financial advisors you are considering are compensated. Whether they are compensated through product commissions, fees, or hybrid, it’s important to understand that conflicts of interest can exist with different compensation models.

Some people prefer to engage a fee-only financial advisor which means the advisor does not receive commissions on any products recommended to clients. This compensation model allows advisors to provide objective advice on what they believe is truly best for the client. Blue Trust advisors are fee-only, and earn compensation through financial planning fees and investment management fees based on the amount of assets we manage for our clients.

“We have worked with our financial advisor for over 20 years. He has been a calming influence during the market’s ups and downs, and he has provided wise counsel and education on the value of a long-term management perspective. His guidance in making wise financial decisions has enabled us to support various ministries and individuals in need, and plan for a lasting legacy to further God’s work internationally. His goal has been to help us focus on the things that matter most to us and to accomplish our desire to be faithful stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us.”

– Milton & Sharon F. *
St. Charles, IL

Find a Financial Advisor

With 18 offices around the country, Blue Trust serves clients across the wealth spectrum in all 50 states. Every client story is unique. We would love to begin a conversation about your circumstances and discuss the best way we can serve you. Visit one of our office pages below or use the contact button to reach out to us directly.

Find an Advisor Near You

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Trust and investment management accounts and services offered by Blue Trust, Inc. are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency, are not deposits or other obligations of, nor guaranteed by any bank or bank affiliate, and are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of the principal amount invested. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the U.S.

*The client’s experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients and is also not indicative of future performance or success.

**All financials are as of 12/31/23 and subject to change.

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