A fruitful financial future

Certified financial planner Tim Blattner has seen a lot of clients during his more than 20 years serving as a financial adviser. Although his clients differ in age, income, and investment goals, he says they all have one thing in common.

"They're looking for financial security and independence," said Blattner, who works with First Financial Services in Cape Girardeau.

Blattner's job as a financial planner allows him to help people achieve this goal through developing a specific investment plan based on their assets and financial goals. He and other financial planners in the area work one-on-one with individual clients to help achieve financial goals through investment options such as mutual funds, equity stocks, and annuities.

"It's very satisfying to help people work toward and achieve their financial goals," Blattner said.

Dr. Robert Hamblin, a professor of English at Southeast Missouri State University and a client of Blattner's, said he sought Blattner's financial planning advice for "the same reasons a lot of people do."

"I tried myself to play the market and outguess everyone, with not much success," he said. "I decided that I'd better get help."

Blattner tries to provide this help to his clients, and says that by far the biggest goal set by people who come to him for assistance is planning for retirement. "A lot of people want to retire by a certain age," he said. "The important thing is to be able to make intelligent decisions about the individual choices available."

Jeff Unterreiner, a certified public accountant with Begley, Janssen, Young, and Birk, LC, in Cape Girardeau, said that even with his financial background and investment knowledge, he has still sought the help of different financial planners in the area. "Most people don't have the knowledge to invest," he said. "A financial planner is an expert in the field."

As a financial planner, Blattner said he is trained in a variety of areas, including investing, tax planning, and insurances. "My job is to help my clients coordinate and orchestrate their decisions to help reach their goals," he said.

Blattner said there are five steps to his approach to financial planning. The first step, he said, is to meet with a potential client and sit down for one or two hours to assess the client's finances and get an idea of the client's goals. Second, he reviews the client's assets, current income sources, and goals after the client leaves, and then develops a custom investing plan based on these factors. He then gets back together with the client, and together they review and fine-tune the recommendations.

Finally, the plan is implemented, and Blattner has periodic reviews of investments with the client, making sure that the plan is being adjusted according to financial goals and successes. "I guide them through the ups and downs of market and interest rate fluctuations," he said.

The ups and downs can vary depending upon the age of the investor, Blattner said. Typically, younger investors want to save for children's college, put money into Individual Retirement Accounts offered through their workplaces, and buy life insurance. Middle-age investors, those from 40 to 60 years old, are typically saving primarily for retirement homes and retirement income, he said, and investors over 60 are focusing on income-based investments that pay out interest as income, as well as transferring assets to children and grandchildren.

"Ten percent of your income is usually a general guideline to aim for," he said. "When you're younger, you can be more aggressive about the investments you make. As you grow older, you focus more on income-based investments. I don't see a lot of people who are serious about investing until their 30s or 40s."

Blattner believes that when it comes to making money grow, time is one of the most important factors. "Time is either in your favor, or time is your enemy," Blattner said. "The sooner you start investing, the more time will work for you. The sooner you start, the better the result, because there is more time to compound your earnings. It's always better to start sooner."

One of the keys to Blattner's approach is diversification, which means that an investor has money in different types of accounts. Mutual funds are particularly important in diversification, Blattner said, because they give the investor exposure to several different companies in the same fund. "Diversification minimizes risk," he said. "If one company falters, the whole fund doesn't go under."

Diversification is important, but Blattner said time and risk also play a role in investing. "The longer that you're willing to commit, the higher rate of return you can expect," he said. "Also, the more risk you're willing to assume, the higher rate of return you can expect. It's my job to help my clients balance those issues to their own comfort level."

When searching for a financial planner, Blattner recommends that people look for someone that they're comfortable with, as well as someone who has training and experience and has the certified financial planner designation. "A good financial planner also offers a wide range of products, and offer the best products, no matter what the company is," he said.

Hamblin said he was "very pleased" with the advice he received from Blattner. "I'm a literature person," he said. "Money's not important to us humanities types, until kids and families come along."

Hamblin said that he meets with Blattner each year, and gets advice on different stocks and mutual funds. He said having a financial planner helps him to be systematic about investing, putting aside a certain sum each month and reviewing his family's finances each year.

"It's a real advantage," Hamblin said. "I think back, and wish that I had the discipline to start earlier. It's amazing what can happen if you start early and just set aside $50 or $100 and let it grow.

"That's the most important lesson I learned -- you have to invest on a regular basis, not just here and there. There are always months when the money could be used for something else, but you get into the habit and see results."