Searching for a financial planner

By Michael Doyle
This article is published on: 29th October 2024

It can be a daunting experience!

I started my life in financial planning in Glasgow, Scotland, back in 1998. I moved to Luxembourg in 2008 and began to cover both Luxembourg and Brittany (France) from 2019. I’m not sure where the years have gone, but I am grateful to have worked with some fantastic clients during that time from the likes of KPMG, Champs, The ISL (Luxembourg), UBS, St George’s School, Greenfield Recruitment and the list goes on and on.

If you are based in the Britanny region or Luxembourg or indeed thinking of moving to these locations, please click here to contact Michael

If you are based in another country and would like to talk to an adviser, please click here

I understand that initially my clients sometimes feel nervous when they come to see me as they are probably about to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. I try to put myself in their position to try to fully understand what they need. To help my clients I’ll ask such questions as:

I understand that you will be looking to work with me or someone like me. Let’s say that we start working together and we’re 12 months ahead of now. What three things did I do that made you happy you employed my services?
Tell me three things I must always do and three things I should never do.
What is your golden ticket? By that I mean, when we get to the end of the investment term, what is the goal we are saving for and what does that look like to you?
If you have used a financial planner in the past what was the best thing about them and what was the worst thing about them?

After I gather all of the hard facts – the basics from name, address, money coming in and money going out, cash and investment holdings, to your immediate and longer-term planning priorities, plus your investment knowledge and attitude to risk – we call an end to the first meeting, and I start researching and preparing a suitable recommendation. This written proposal is carried out at no cost and entirely without obligation.

Why do I not charge for my reports? Simply because I want my clients and prospective clients to see how I work before they commit to using my services. Note that in our initial meeting I also explain fully how I am remunerated and the extent of my service offering, from introductory engagement through to long term reviews and support.

My report is then presented and explained, to allow clients do their homework and cross reference what I am saying with their own research. Then we have a second meeting when I will answer any remaining questions.

At this point the clients are invited to take some time to think over the recommendation and come back to me with any final questions they may have. Only at this point will we move to the final step in the advice process, which is completion of outstanding paperwork to implement the plan and set the investment in place. From here, my commitment to ongoing client service and support is open-ended. My aim in all of this is to grow and protect my clients’ wealth as tax efficiently as possibly whilst developing long-term and productive relationships.

You can now book a 30 minute zoom meeting with me (at your convenience) by clicking here

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