Five Things to Expect in Your First Meeting with BCR

A lot of things have changed in the past three years but some things stay the same. We’re revisiting this blog written by Marshall in March of 2021 about what to expect when you meet with BCR for the first time.

 

When it comes to finances, sometimes it’s difficult to even know where to begin. There is so much that goes into how your family approaches finances, which is why we like to start our process with a Discovery meeting.
As a Fee-Only Fiduciary firm, BCR®, can’t meet its obligation of putting clients’ interests first unless we have thoroughly explored who they are and what they are trying to achieve. If both parties see a benefit to exploring the possibility of working together, BCR meets its obligations by having a Discovery meeting. We know some find it nerve-wracking to think about a review of their finances so we want to give you some insight as to what our first meeting would be like. We also believe you should consider if another potential advisor doesn’t do this, do you really want to put your financial goals in their hands?

Here are five things you can expect in your first meeting with BCR:

1. There is no charge for your first meeting.  

The cost is usually the first question that comes to mind when people are debating whether to meet with a fee-only financial advisor. As we (BCR and you) are determining whether we are a good fit to work together, we don’t charge you as we are just getting to know you. We want to make sure that you signing on as a client is in your best financial interest. As a fiduciary, that is our top priority.

2. You do not have to have a certain amount of money to work with us.

Another assumption many people have is that you must have a certain amount of assets to work with any financial advisor. While this is true for most firms, ours does not operate that way. We do not set a required minimum amount of investable assets you must possess. However, we do want to make sure that paying our fees would not be a detriment to you. We must get to know your needs and financial condition before we can access something as complicated as that. Many people may not be ready to sign on as a client, but we want you to succeed whether you are a client or not. If you aren’t ready to be a client, we can still provide recommendations to help make sure you are taking the right steps going forward to set yourself up for financial success in the future. Keep in mind it doesn’t cost anything to pick up the phone and discuss your situation to see if we suggest meeting with us or have a suggestion of alternatives.

3. If you’re married, we need to meet with both spouses.

It is inevitable in many relationships that one person is more interested or involved in their finances than the other. However, we feel it is very important for both spouses to be on the same page and know what is going on in their financial life. We want to make sure we understand the perspectives and goals of both parties involved.

4. You do most of the talking.

I know this one may come as a surprise, but you will be talking a whole lot about yourself in the first meeting. We conduct what is essentially an in-depth interview to understand your goals, relationships, values, interests, assets, liabilities and more. We believe there is much more to the family than their balance sheet, so we want to make sure we are getting a comprehensive picture of your life. We call the first meeting a Discovery meeting for a reason!

5. We talk about topics besides money.

As mentioned above, it won’t all be numbers in your first meeting. We will ask you about people who are important in your life, goals that you’d like to reach, organizations or causes you are passionate about, among other topics. This helps us have the tools we need to build recommendations that are personalized to you.
As you can probably see, Discovery meetings are really fun! You get to learn a lot about yourself (or your spouse) all the while knowing you are taking steps to get your financial life on track. The Discovery meeting is the first meeting in the onboarding process. After the Discovery, you continue in the process and ultimately, we decide together whether we should work together. If you are seeking an advisor who can guide you to success and you meet with someone who has an insurance or investment product in mind for you before understanding all of your challenges and opportunities I suggest you look into a second opinion.

Marshall Rathmell

Marshall Rathmell

Marshall Rathmell CFP®, CPA/PFS is the CEO, Shareholder and Financial Planner with BCR Wealth Strategies.