FAQ’s
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What experience do you have & what are your qualifications?
The Holmes & Griffeth Financial Planners team is made up of individuals with varying backgrounds, experiences and educations. All have experience with prior firms in the financial industry from insurance to banking. All of our financial advisors are fully licensed and insured to provide the planning you need. Those licenses include the FINRA Series 7 Securities License, the MO State Securities Registration Series 63 License, the FINRA Investment Advisor Representative Registration Series 65 and the MO Insurance license. In addition, members of our team hold Bachelor of Business Administration – Accounting degree, Bachelor of Science – Accounting degree, and Master of Business Administration – Finance degree, as well as the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation. Educations of our advisors continue through current membership and attending the H.S. Dent Demographics School and periodic workshops as well as The Learning Institute for Financial Executives (LIFE) School and its periodic workshops.
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What services do you offer?
Holmes & Griffeth Financial Planners specializes in financial/retirement/estate planning. Success at this requires knowledge and experience in the areas of investment, distribution, insurance, taxation, Social Security, and estate planning. Based on our experience, all of these areas must be addressed in order to have the best opportunity for a healthy financial life. We are “holistic” financial planners in that we address the total financial situation. Therefore, our services are as varied as the challenges to financial/retirement/estate planning are.
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What is your approach to financial planning?
We view the advisor/client relationship to be as sacred as the doctor/patient relationship. With that as our model, our first responsibility to you is to diagnose the situation. We do this by listening to you describe what your financial and life goals are, what fears you have, what health concerns you have, and what your estate plans are. We then investigate your current financial situation, paying particular attention to risk level, unnecessary tax losses, estate and probate risks, and other situations that can hinder and inhibit your ability to reach the goals you expressed in our first meeting. At a second meeting, we discuss with you what we have learned and discovered. The next step is to design and develop a financial plan that addresses the “weak” areas we uncovered during our initial examination. Just as recovering from a physical illness requires treatment and time, so does strengthening a financial plan. After explanation and discussion with you and with your approval, changes are made to your holdings and periodic reviews (checkups, if you will) are scheduled.
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Will I only be working with one person?
Each of our clients is assigned to an individual planner, but the entire team works together to provide the quality of service our clients enjoy. Our planners work together striving to ensure that no area of planning is overlooked, as well as to provide various ideas to the planning process. As explained earlier, our planners come from varied backgrounds, which provides for different viewpoints. Our non-planners are part of the team, as they have the responsibility for accurate paperwork being submitted in a timely manner and that periodic reviews are scheduled.
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How will I pay for your services?
Due to the number of services and products we offer, both investment and insurance wise, we are compensated in several different methods. The makeup of your individual plan will determine how Holmes & Griffeth Financial Planners is paid. During the planning phase of the process, before any action is taken, you will be informed of this. Our goal is to develop the best financial plan for each individual client based on their needs, not on what our compensation might be.
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How can I obtain an independent check on the status of investment or insurance advisors?
Holmes & Griffeth Financial Planners are a member of the Online Better Business Bureau and you can see their report on us by going to their website at: www. southwestmissouri.bbb.org. You can also go to the Missouri Department of Insurance website at: www.insurance.mo.gov.
