We asked the 2017 Top Financial Professionals in Northern Virginia the financial advice they give their clients and live by themselves. Here’s what they had to say:
“The one piece of financial advice I wish people would live by is to understand that you don’t have to be a millionaire to have tax planning. I had a client who came in for a financial plan and [told] me that their favorite way to pay is through their tax return. I grit my teeth anytime someone tells me that. It is important to understanding that tax planning is not only for the wealthy, but for everyone who wants to be wise and efficient with their money because it’s the biggest fee we all pay.”
–Angela Bender, CFP, Managing Partner, AMJ Financial Wealth Management
“View money as a tool to live your ideal life—supporting the people and causes that are important to you. The benefit of having resources is to not have to worry about money. So often, however, the accumulation of wealth induces a fascination with money that takes hostage rather than liberates those with resources. We try to think about money not as the end goal but as a means to living an interesting, impactful life.”
–Curtis Congdon, CFP, CRPC, Senior Vice President, Wealth Management, Lara May & Associates LLC
“Diversification should be considered regardless of one’s type of investment strategy. When you diversify your portfolio, you do not allow a large portion of your total investable assets to be in a particular segment in case of a downturn in that sector or industry. For example, in 2008-2009 the real estate market took a dive in value, and if you were only invested in real estate at that time, you would have been hurt much more than if you had investments in real estate as well as oil and gas stock, U.S. Treasury Bonds, utilities stocks, et cetera. So a well-diversified investment portfolio will limit losses and increase income in uncertain times as well as in normal times.”
–William S. Duvall, CPA and CVA, DuvallWheeler CPAs
