Financial Literacy

Catering to Medical Practitioners

Former teacher enjoys schooling clients about financial planning, insurance, philanthropy.

Twelve years ago Joel Arsenault, AAMS® was a school teacher. But in 2004, he had an opportunity to go into financial services and has not looked back since.  Now a wealth management advisor at The Foundry Financial Group of Laconia, New Hampshire, a privately-owned firm which caters to doctors, dentists and veterinarians. The Foundry team takes a holistic look at each client’s financial life using their Prosperity365® process. This involves a three-year “road map” that is tailored to each client, with new topics or challenges added as questions arise. 

“We could have new doctors who have high incomes but potentially have a negative net worth,” Arsenault explains. “But they need financial planning, they need somebody to  put something in place for them.   When they get older and their net worth starts to climb, they can fall back on the financial plan that’s in place and adapt.”

Despite the growing audience of individuals seeking out e-platforms, Arsenault still believes there’s value in always working in the best interest of clients, and delivering both information and expertise through an advice and planning-centric consultative relationship. He explained, “That may include an investment component as well as working with a client’s professional team of CPAs, lawyers, or persons providing insurance protections. “We want to collaborate with everyone on their  team,” Arsenault says. “We want to be there for the good and the bad.”

Those turning to so-called robo-advisers may increase their financial literacy. But voluminous financial planning information can become encyclopedic and a human assist is finally needed. “A client will engage with us because they realize there are essentially two doors: one where they outlive their money, and the other where their money outlives them, Arsenault says, adding, “Some planning is better than none.”

That second door allows Arsenault to help clients who have saved well to choose the charity or philanthropic organization they’d like to get involved with, by way of a financial contribution or volunteering their time. “It’s often grandparents, with their adult children and grandchildren watching, who want to give back,” he says. “Those grandparents, our clients, are being fantastic financial stewards.”

Toward near-future goals, The Foundry  is transitioning its model from asset-based to financial planning-based, reducing its investment management fees  and deepening its relationships with clients by providing fun, business-free events, and expanding its external network of professional service providers as resources for its clients focused on planning. 

For more information about The Foundry Financial Group, Inc., please visit:  www.foundryadvisors.com

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