One little letter says so much!
I am so excited to help announce a new name for ACA! We are now ACP, The Alliance of Comprehensive Planners. We’ve had a long history as the Alliance of Cambridge Advisors, but the Cambridge didn’t say what and who we are. We really wanted a name that tells everyone – from clients to the entire financial planning community – what we believe in and who we are. An alliance of like-minded, fee-only, comprehensive financial planners. Since ALMFOCFP didn’t fit on the t-shirts we decided ACP was the way to go.
The Alliance of Comprehensive Planners says it all. If you are a fee-only comprehensive planner you know we are your family. A group of fantastic advisors ready to share, not compete, and build practices that help clients reach their financial goals.
Looking for a financial planner? You can rest assured that an ACP planner is working with you and for you, backed up by an organization of experts in all areas of financial planning. Whatever you throw at your ACP planner, they can handle it!
When I first heard about holistic, or comprehensive, financial planning I wondered if aromatherapy and crystals were involved. I balked at the word holistic and thought comprehensive seemed too good to be true. Through ten years of work with ACP I have embraced the term “holistic” and I see the joy of a comprehensive planner. There are no conflicting messages or hidden agendas. For most people the message is simple: All your financial guidance is covered in one professional engagement and it is all focused exclusively on the clients’ best interest.
I go to a Family Practitioner when I am sick. I love the fact that he knows what’s up with the kids and my husband and how the whole family health picture might impact me. I love that he treats the family health, not just a single sinus infection at a time. Yes, he will send me to a specialist if I dislocate my shoulder, but overall he knows the most about my health and I like that.
The same thing goes for comprehensive financial planning. With the ACP System our members provide a comprehensive review of the issues you and your family face. It’s all well and good to have a huge retirement account, but what if you are inadequately covered by insurance and have liability risks that are out of line? If you have no estate planning in place, who is going to benefit from your assets when you are gone? Will you leave the legacy you intend to? Our advisors keep their finger on the pulse of your financial life and learn about where you have been and where you want to go. Not just the one chapter of the story told by your investable assets.
ACP members are comprehensive and fee-only. This is a vital combination. With a holistic, fee-only approach neither party ever worries about what’s fair. The client pays for the advice. The planner gives the very best advice they have because they have nothing to gain in commissions or any other compensation that gets in the way. Fee-only planners know that by advising in the best interest of the client they’ll provide the client satisfaction they strive for. Happy clients refer friends and relatives to help build a vibrant, life-affirming practice. Everybody wins.
But why not a specialist? Don’t they know more?
If you walk into an estate planning attorney’s office for a will, the odds are you will get a decent will. And most planners won’t actually write a will for you (unless they happen to be an attorney as well.) But the attorney isn’t necessarily going to know you just had a baby and give you a call to remind you to update your will. They won’t know your baby is now 15 and the guardians you picked 15 years ago just got a divorce and you need to update some items. The planner you see quarterly will know these things. ACP planners are trained to ask those questions and learn about all aspects of your financial life – from goals and dreams, to set-backs and disasters. They are there to let you know it is time to get that will updated and why.
This same concept applies to everything you deal with financially. A CPA is great, don’t get me wrong! But having a comprehensive planner helping you with the tax planning as you head through the year can really save you money once tax time rolls around. The big picture gives them clues an accountant with 400+ tax clients may not see. Not because the accountant doesn’t care, but because their focus is different.
How many times have you been asked “How risk tolerant are you?” Why is this important? Because many investment specialists want to push you to that limit. And oh by the way, they may be getting commissions based on your purchases and sales. Or they may not realize you have a kid headed to college in two years, so just because you can tolerate the risk doesn’t make it smart. An ACP planner will ask about your goals, dreams and where you are on the path to reach them. We’ll look at how much risk you need to reach those goals, not how much you can stand just to the point before you wake up at night worried. ACP planners help their clients to sleep soundly at night.
Whether you wish you had an ACP planner or you wish you had ACP planners as your professional colleagues you can learn more at
http://acplanners.org.