Page 25 - BusinessWest March 7, 2022

• The impressive increase in the stock mar- ket over the past two years has altered the client side of the ledger. At the start of the pandemic, many people felt they could never afford to retire. The recent run up has given some hopes of retiring earlier than ever.
• Prices have risen. As a visit to any grocery store or home improvement center will demon- strate, inflation levels have been creeping up.
they reside today.
• There is a great pent-up demand for travel.
‘Stuff’ seems to be taking a backseat to experi- ences and travel.
But as I stated earlier, this isn’t one sided. On the advisory side, we have also seen some changes.
• Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies now receive a lot more attention;
• The changing client priorities necessitate updating client goals, and therefore financial
ing your goals over time.
Regarding longevity, it is all too easy to say
you and/or your spouse “won’t make it to our 90s” and fail to adequately invest for the long term. Despite COVID, people are living longer than ever, and healthcare continues to improve. Having adequate resources over the long term is essential and requires planning.
With all of the above said, in the wisdom of Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” We don’t know what the stock market, real estate market, inflation, lifespan, and other factors will be over the years to come. So what should you do in light of the evolving changes?
Meet with your advisor. In person if possible, especially if you have significant changes. Life changes, and so do your priorities. Make sure your advisor understands your goals, especially if they have shifted. In addition, have a two-sid- ed dialogue with your advisor, making sure you are comfortable with their recommendations as to how to achieve your goals. u
Patricia Matty is senior vice president and financial advisory director at Springfield-
based St. Germain Investment Management.
She has an extensive education and business background, with 18 years in the financial services industry. Her background is in
business management, financial planning and relationship development. She holds Series 7 and 66 designations for securities representatives and investment advisors, earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary [AIF], and holds the Trust 1 certification; (413) 733-5111.
“The gains made in real estate and stocks over the past few years are sometimes making clients too optimistic, and we need to temper expectations.”
plans.
• The gains made in real estate
and stocks over the past few years are sometimes making clients too optimistic, and we need to temper expectations.
• Increased use of more-sophisti- cated financial planning software that can be screen shared with clients on Zoom calls.
• And last but certainly not least: needing to incorporate some ‘long
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On the non-monetary side:
• Many people lost a loved one due to Covid related illnesses. For many, this has them ques- tioning their existing priorities in life. Even if you did not lose a loved one, you probably had severe restrictions on visiting many of them, which has had a similar effect.
• Working from home has caused a reassess- ment of priorities as well. For those where work from home may continue, they often want to live someplace completely different than where
term’ in long term financial plans. This is espe- cially true on inflation over time, as well as accounting for lifespans.
It has been quite some time since planners have been faced with an inflationary environ- ment. Rising prices can be devastating to a financial plan if you are not adequately posi- tioned. All too often, we see clients who are overly concerned about short-term market volatility, but turn a blind eye to the long-term effects of rising prices on their spending power. As our sophisticated software consistently dem- onstrates, however, this is the real risk to achiev-
PLAN
Doing things which require commitment and effort says a lot about you. Our commitment and effort to help clients achieve their financial goals has long been part of who we are since day one.
The goals and challenges in life vary in size and scale. Hence, our planning process is one of collaboration, trust, caution, optimism, among other details. Having a plan helps mitigate uncertainty and doubt. It helps clear a path for our journey together.
1500 Main Street Springfield, MA 01115 T: 413-733-5111 F: 413-747-0848
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