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The first quarter is a great time to connect with your financial advisor to reflect on the past and discuss the future. An in-depth conversation about annual tax rules, budgets, investment performance, and the year ahead can reveal insights and needed adjustments for your financial plan.
You can initiate that conversation with the five expert-recommended questions below.
Learn more: What is a financial advisor, and what do they do?
Ken Robinson, founder and senior advisor at Practical Financial Planning, explains, “Tax law is changing all the time, and practices that a consumer is used to — or has avoided — could be treated differently in the new year.” Robinson recommends tackling any tax law changes with your advisor as early as possible. This gives you more time to adjust and implement new strategies.
Jennifer Kohlbacher, director with wealth advisory Mariner, adds that tax changes can prompt a range of actions, from updating estate planning documents to allocating funds to 529 plans for the grandkids.
Learn more: Everything you need to file your taxes on time
Gregory Luken, founder of Luken Wealth Management, recommends asking your advisor what you can do independently to support your financial plan. Market conditions and personal circumstances change. Those changes may prompt the need to save more, redirect your tax-deductible contributions to a different account, or update your estate planning documents.
“There are only four variables you can control,” Luken explains, “but those four are enough.”
Luken says there are always external economic factors pressuring your financial plan, but you have control over how much you invest, how long you invest, how you allocate your investments, and what you spend relative to your income.
Learn more: How to start investing: A 6-step guide
Jake Falcon, CEO at Falcon Wealth Advisors, poses the alignment question to help savers stay true to their priorities. “Many people get caught up trying to make the biggest return they can every year. What’s more important is that your portfolio aligns with your financial goals,” Falcon explains.
For example, a retired couple focused on preserving capital shouldn’t be invested in volatile growth stocks like Nvidia (NVDA). The risks of poor alignment include emotional stress, missed goals, lack of direction, and increased risk exposure, according to Falcon.
Learn more: Create a stock investing strategy in 3 steps
Joel Callagan, vice president at Wealth Enhancement Group, recommends a first-quarter conversation with your advisor about giving strategies. “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act significantly changed the ability to deduct charitable giving,” Callagan explains. Your advisor can identify when more aggressive strategies make sense, such as super funding a donor-advised fund.
Donor-advised funds function like charitable foundations for individuals. You contribute to the fund and the fund, in turn, donates to charities. Your contributions earn an immediate tax deduction. The fund’s undistributed assets also grow tax-free. Superfunding involves donating two or more years of contributions to the fund.
Learn more: How much does a financial advisor cost?
The first quarter is a good time to review how investments have performed relative to their benchmarks, according to Jeff DeLarme, founder and president of DeLarme Wealth Management. This question may broaden your perspective, particularly if you tend to compare your performance to one benchmark only, like the S&P 500. It can also initiate a productive discussion about risk, portfolio allocation, and the advisor’s skill at choosing appropriate investments.
“To be sure,” DeLarme explains, “even the best investment managers and advisors are likely to underperform from time to time, but we should strive to understand why we performed the way we did.”
Learn more: Alternatives to having a financial advisor: How to build wealth without one
The first quarter is a productive time to meet with your financial advisor, but whether that’s the only time you two connect depends on your circumstances.
Chad Gammon, CFP and owner of Custom Fit Financial, schedules meeting cadences according to the maturity of the client’s financial plan. With new clients, for example, he prefers to meet three times annually. Later, the frequency can dip to one conversation every year or two, unless there are specific complexities to address.
If you are comfortable with your net worth growth and you do not expect major life changes in the short term, a once-annual meeting can be sufficient. Life changes that should prompt more frequent conversations include retirement, divorce, or an inheritance. Any of these can change your income or liquidity needs or your risk tolerance.
Small changes to your financial plan in the first quarter can yield big results. Don’t miss the opportunity to review your goals, money management habits, and investment performance with an experienced professional. If strategy changes are needed, you’ll have nearly the full year to benefit from their impact. As well, your financial advisor will appreciate the conversation, and you will feel more connected to your wealth plan.