How are you doing financially right at this moment? Do you have a pretty good idea?
If you’re like a lot of people, you may have done your due diligence and met with a financial advisor. You probably took some questionnaires, set some goals, made a plan, and set up your accounts. Then, as time passed, your investments slipped to the back of your mind until you received an account statement. Interested to see how your investments are progressing, you tried to decipher all the graphs and tables in your statement. It didn’t go so well.
So you called up your advisor to have them explain it to you in plain terms. Are you making money? Losing money? Is there something you should be doing? Are you on track to reach your goals? What even were those goals?
Your advisor explains everything to you and puts your mind at ease. Then time goes by, life happens, and the cycle repeats itself.
If only you could check your progress whenever you wanted without always having to go through your advisor—wouldn’t that be nice? Well, I have exciting news for you. I just started using a new tool with some of my clients, and they’re absolutely loving it. It’s called GuideCenter.
What Is GuideCenter?
GuideCenter is your “ultimate financial dashboard” where you can access all your important information at a moment’s notice. The information is presented in a simple and easy-to-understand fashion and is updated in real time.
As soon as you log in, you’ll see a snapshot of your current financial situation—all your accounts, portfolios, goals, total net worth, and years of financial freedom (calculated using your net worth).
You’ll also see a financial goals tracker that gives you a score based on how you’re performing. This score can be used to determine if you’re underfunding your accounts, overfunding them, or if you’re right on track to reach your goals.
Underneath your Goals section, you’ll find a summary of your Ideal Life Index. This index is a simple benchmark showing the gap between your “ideal life” (that you determined with your advisor) and the life you can currently afford. As your investments grow over time, the index is updated to reflect your progress. You and your financial advisor will monitor your progress and be able to identify if any changes need to be made.
Lastly, you’ll find the Task List section, which helps you and your advisor keep track of any pending tasks. It clearly lays out the next steps so you won’t forget anything important you need to do.
Complete Access Anytime, Anywhere
With GuideCenter, you no longer have to wait to get in touch with your advisor to know how you’re doing financially. Now, you can check your financial health anytime and anywhere. GuideCenter is accessible from a desktop, smartphone, or tablet, so you can monitor your accounts on the go.
Not only do you have immediate access to all your financial information in one easy-to-understand tool, but you also can use GuideCenter to quickly get in touch with your advisor. Just send them a note from your device, and they’ll get in touch promptly to discuss your progress, goals, or any other questions you may have.
Securely Store Everything In One Place
Lastly, with GuideCenter you no longer have to waste time searching for important financial documents in your filing cabinet or the labyrinth of folders in your computer. Now, you can upload all bank statements, tax statements, and other important documents straight into GuideCenter’s secure system and have instant easy access whenever you need them.
Next Steps
As you can see, I’m pretty excited about GuideCenter. All of the clients I’ve used it with are raving about it. So if you’d like to learn more about how to add GuideCenter to your own financial planning toolbox, give us a call at Haydel, Biel & Associates, and we’ll help set you up. You can contact me at (626) 529-8347 or email me directly at ricky@hbawealth.com.
About Haydel, Biel & Associates
Haydel, Biel & Associates is an independent financial advisory firm serving individuals and families near Pasadena, California. The firm was founded in 2004 by Chris Haydel and Ricky Biel with a desire to provide unbiased, client-centered, community-based financial advice. Together, they have built a practice that has grown into a family of caring, smart professionals committed to blending proven investment methodologies with creative financial technologies that make it easier than ever to accomplish your goals. They strive to keep things simple and fun to give their clients peace of mind and alleviate financial stress. HBA Wealth takes care of their clients’ needs first and foremost and goes the extra mile to make their clients’ finances grow. To meet and see how the HBA Wealth team may be able to help, contact them today at (626) 529-8347 or email Ricky directly at ricky@hbawealth.com.