How Our First Advisors in Life Become the Stepping Stone to Finding the Next Advisor

I remember when I first realized that my parents had an identity beyond being my parents. At my first “real” job I became co-workers with people my parents’ age. I realized my parents have co-workers, deadlines, hobbies, bills, and ambitions of their own. It was quite a shock! As I continued into adulthood, I realized how much effort and experience it takes to manage having a family, a career and achieving success and happiness. How did my parents manage to do it all? It seems impossible! The world has only gotten more complicated and stressful. How will I do it all?

The Value in Experience
My parents shared they felt the same overwhelming feeling when they were my age. Even so, I still found myself telling them that they didn’t understand. But the truth is parents understand more than children realize. While my experience with both personal firsts, like buying a car, and generational firsts, like a pandemic, are not exactly the same as my parents’, I can still look to them for wisdom. Parents have a lifetime of experience that they earned the hard way to share with their children. Most importantly, no one cares as much for us as they do. They are our first call in any major life decision, they find happiness in our happiness, and they are our biggest investors. In our parents we have not only an invaluable source of information, but a resource that loves us unconditionally. So, when it’s your turn to start making plans in this life, how do you apply their experience to your circumstances?

How an Advisor Can Bring it all Together for You
Looking back, my parents would have chosen to have a financial advisor in addition to their parents to help make important decisions. While parents can give advice, it is necessary for everyone to become comfortable with evaluating options and making decisions. This is where an advisor can help. JMG offers a sounding board and education as you think through each decision you might encounter in life. We provide insights from our technical background and the generational knowledge that the JMG family has from supporting thousands of clients over the years.  Through our advising process, clients become more confident in their own thought process. Not only do we supply a plan, but teach you how to plan. Not only do you benefit from our advice, but you can better help the other important people in your life, including parents and children.

How will we do it all? There are so many things out of our control in life that it is a rare occurrence when everything goes perfectly. Our clients find working with a professional is critical to their success. JMG advisors incorporate client goals, their expertise from past experiences, and the changing financial landscape in their advice. While nothing can replace a parent’s love and support, adding a financial advisor to your list of valuable resources can help alleviate the overwhelming burden of the decision-making process.

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Important Disclosure

Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product made reference to directly or indirectly in this writing, will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), or be suitable for your portfolio. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this writing serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from JMG Financial Group, Ltd. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. JMG is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the content provided in this writing should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of JMG’s current written disclosure statement discussing advisory services and fees is available for review upon request.