Building your financial plan
We believe everyone should have a holistic financial plan. To get started, we meet with our clients to ask questions to learn what they care about, what they are saving for and what their financial goals are. We uncover their unique needs first to develop the plan.
From there, we create a wealth strategy for meeting short-term needs and long-term goals. This plan allows us to truly get to know our clients — we discover who they are, what is important to them and why. Together, we focus on quality of life and peace of mind.
It doesn’t matter what the objectives are. Whether it’s healthcare needs, sending kids to college, saving for retirement or other goals, they all require planning.
Our unique approach
We take a plan-led vs. portfolio-led approach to investing. This means that instead of focusing first on returns, we focus on what the client’s needs and goals are, and structure a portfolio accordingly. Often, when people think of investing, they think first about the portfolio, but we don’t start there – it’s the ending point after we work through goals and life considerations.
UMB is also a fiduciary, which means we’re legally obligated to put our clients’ needs first. Our team considers what’s best for the client above anything else. In doing so, our clients are provided with products and recommendations that are purely designed to benefit them, not the advisor or company. We focus on meeting each of our clients where they are and crafting unique plans that will get them to where they want to go.
Invest in what you care about
In 2020, more of our clients asked to align their investments with their values. We built an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing program for our clients. These ESG portfolios allow our clients to invest in companies that are dedicated to these issues and provide comparable returns as other portfolios. We anticipate ESG investing will be at the forefront of our conversations for a significant period of time and we are excited to offer this option to our clients.
A solid financial plan should be built to withstand any market volatility and be built to your personal preferences. It is inevitable that the market will fluctuate, but if you have a plan, you should rely on it and the advice of your financial team as you weather the storm.
Learn more about UMB’s financial planning approach by listening to a podcast with Nikki Newton, president of UMB Private Wealth Management, and The Kansas City Business Journal.
