By Mike McGilvary, AIF®, Partner, Financial Advisor

There is no sugar-coating it, 2022 has been a difficult year for capital markets. Not only have stocks experienced volatility, but so have bonds. We know that often this causes anxiety for investors, and we certainly understand why. We have the privilege of working with a broad client base, and this has taught us perspective.

We know that everyone’s situation is dependent upon their goals and needs. Understanding that folks currently drawing from their investment accounts feel differently about market dips than their peers who are in the wealth accumulation phase is important.

It is our duty to clients/potential clients to build and formulate financial plans that can help you stay focused on the big picture and give you a certain comfortability with your personal finances. Below are a few ways we strive to do this:

• Communication: In our opinion, face-to-face reviews and phone conversations are a massive part of weathering any difficult market. We feel that the proactive nature of our review and investment processes help with this. We also make every attempt to help our clients/potential clients feel comfortable picking up the phone to contact us with any financial questions, even if it is not necessarily about the assets that we are already managing for them.

• Financial Education: We pride ourselves on being the go-to resource for financial/investment education in the area. If you have a general question about investments, or what is currently going on in the market, lean on our firm. We would be happy to help and being able to add value is the first and foremost goal in our company. As an example, sometimes folks may have questions about their workplace retirement, and we take great pride in educating investors on their options within these plans.

• Coaching and Mindset: Investing is a mindset. Every conversation, we are looking to coach our clients to a new level. Keeping the emotion out of your investment plan is key, and this is one of the many duties we have to our clients as well.

Please understand, these are items we work on as a team daily. It is an honor to be able to manage this community’s wealth, and we want to make sure our clients know this!

Make sure you are having these check-ins with your financial advisor. Money can be emotional and being comfortable in the way your plan is being managed can reduce stress. If you feel like you are not being heard, or your mindset is no longer aligning with your financial team, it may be time for a second opinion.

Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Independent Advisor Alliance, a registered investment advisor. Independent Advisor Alliance and Marzano Capital Group are separate entities from LPL Financial.