1. Financial Advisor fees can have a major negative impact on a client's portfolio over time. If Sutton Financial simply charges clients a flat-fee rather than tying our fees to a client's assets we can possibly help them accumulate more assets and have greater economic security.
2. Financial plans should be built around a client's goals; not the stock market. We can't control the stock market but we can help clients utilize data to control their behaviors when it comes to finances.
3. Each client’s situation is unique. We want to help clients identify, prioritize, and quantify their goals.
4. The cornerstone of a well-crafted goals-based financial plan is cash flow analysis; being efficient with what comes in and what goes out.
5. Establishing goals and focusing on cash flow allows clients to better see how their income, savings, spending, investing, and insurance decisions are interconnected.
6. Diversification* and Re-Balancing are the key to successful long-term investing, not market timing.
*Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against market loss.
7. Prepare for safety first, the larger your safety bucket the more risk you can withstand.
8. You can’t have a plan without addressing the possibility of premature death, disability or the cost of extended medical care.
9. We want to help clients minimize taxes and maximize investments returns.
10. Teach clients to see long-term so they will not be distracted by short-term noise. We agree with Norman Lear who said, “the societal disease of our time is short-term thinking”.