George C Tang, CFP®, CFA®

Having the right process in place is just as important as being in the right products. When I develop a process to work with a new client, I look for steps that are clear, relevant and repeatable for most clients. The clients are the ultimate beneficiaries of the process.

Over the years, I have fine-tuned my process into four steps:

First, fact finding. At this stage, the clients need to be willing and open to share information with us. This will include sharing their financial and personal information, time horizons, goals, fears and aspirations. The more thorough we know about our clients, the better we can help.

Second, conducting comprehensive reviews of the clients' financial pictures. This step involves plenty of analyzing, formulating, planning and strategizing on our part to come up with plans that will likely work.

Third, putting together customized investment proposals. We will analyze the clients' existing holdings and come up with tax efficient and low cost alternatives for implementation.

Lastly, assessing our progress. We make ourselves accountable and share with our clients how they have done. This is usually conducted once a year and is usually the most gratifying step of the process.

Clients' personal situations do change from time to time. We take advantage of regular email/phone/zoom communications with our clients throughout the year to adjust our process.

With today's proliferation of online trading and free investment advice, many new investors often wonder what value a financial advisor brings to the table. In my opinion, a good financial advisor can not only save the clients' time, he can also help them avoid major mistakes that the clients would not otherwise recognize until years later. On the surface, many investment portfolios appear similar on a day-to-day basis. However, It is only through the test of time may an investor recognize the benefits of insightful, forward looking investment planning.

The typical costs that a client pays come from managed fees, commissions, internal expenses, mark-ups and accounts fees. Any particular client may pay one or a few of these costs, depending on the customized program. The various investments that we offer, such as stocks, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, fixed income investments, annuities and life insurance, all carry different fees and expenses - some are shown when the investments are bought and the rest are shown as internal expenses listed in the prospectuses.

As an advisor, I believe that it is important for clients to know the costs they pay when have a business relationship with me. Our relationship should be based on cost transparency and all costs are disclosed before any investment plans are put into action.

Investments are selected based on quality, the uniqueness of the strategy and performance. When these factors are equal, I recommend the low cost options to minimize overall investment expenses for my clients.