Early in his career, Thomas Valentine built a successful track record working in the banking and mortgage industry. But in 2007, when he began to express concerns about the future of the industry, his friends urged him to consider financial advising. As it turns out, volatile conditions in the mortgage industry were percolating and would soon erupt into the crisis that would ultimately contribute to the country’s economic recession of 2008.

“I saw the handwriting on the wall and decided to switch careers,” said Valentine, president of Forward Financial Services, Inc. “I like working with people and educating them and so in 2008, I made the move to become an advisor.”

Today, a decade later, that decision still stands as one of the best he’s ever made.

Forward Financial Services, a comprehensive and independent advisory firm based in Worcester, Massachusetts, was established in 2013 with the goal of creating relationships with clients – not just transactions – and placing a high priority on client education.

For Valentine, those two notions – relationship and education – are intertwined. A relationship based on seeking what is in the best interest of each client and then tailoring an individual investment strategy provides the foundation for educating and guiding a client, according to Valentine. It is what is often missing in the financial services industry, he said.

“Too many advisors think of the relationship with a client as a more of a sale, Valentine said. “But that approach does not build long-term relationships. My role as their advisor is to educate them regarding all the options they have and guide them in their decision-making process. More advisors ought to have that approach. Clients would be better served if that were the case.”

Valentine wants his clients to be fully informed so he covers a wide range of topics with them including how to leverage Social Security, the use of annuities and life insurance products, the role disability insurance can play in protecting assets, and how time horizons and risk levels impact the viability of an investment portfolio.

While on a personal level he may wince when a new client comes to visit him stating that he or she hasn’t seen their previous advisor in years, on a professional level, he is elated.
“That is someone I know I can bring value to,” Valentine said. “That is someone that is in need of the level of care and service this firm brings.”

Based on the approach and philosophy of Forward Financial Services, it follows then that Valentine is not a fan of online robo-advisor platforms available for people to use to manage their financial portfolios.

Sure, a client can go online and get some education through those formats, but, not everything one reads online is necessarily grounded in fact or truth, he said.
Valentine circles back to the importance of a client relationship based on education.

“Teaching people is critical to their financial success,” he said. “That relationship in which an advisor can truly know a client inside and out, know what their goals are, and can teach the client how investments work, how to balance the checkbook, and how to approach getting a mortgage is where the industry needs to be headed and it is what can help a client so much more in the long run.”

For more information on Forward Financial Services, Inc., visit: forwardfinancialsrv.com

*Registered Representative, Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. A Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Forward Financial Services and Cambridge are not affiliated.