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What goesinto your

comprehensivefinancial plan?

SMALLACORNMONEY.COM

VIRTUAL MONEY COACHCLIENT GUIDE

http://www.smallacornmoney.com/

http://www.smallacornmoney.com/

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TAKE CONTROL OFYOUR WEALTH

AN OVERV IEW OFV IRTUAL MONEY COACH

COMPREHENS IVE F INANC IAL PLANN ING

The title of my service provides a usefulindication to the services I provide:

Virtual – My service is conducted entirelyover the Internet.

Money – Strictly speaking it’s about your fullpersonal financial picture, mapping yourmoney to your life and comprehensivefinancial planning, but that’s a bit of amouthful, and I feel the public view financialterms with a little disdain, so I wish to be alittle more appealing (and jargon-free).

Coach – I’m not going to be telling you whatto do or sell you any financial products.There is no ulterior motive. You pay me atransparent fee to help you with yourpersonal finances. I will be teaching, guidingand helping you, so that you can build yourown long-term prosperity.

But of course there’s more to it than that. This guide explains my comprehensivefinancial planning process, the stepsinvolved, what to expect and why youshould use Small Acorn Money to help youlive a prosperous life.

If after reading this guide you still have anyquestions or concerns, please don’t hesitateto contact me via email [email protected].

Start taking control of your wealth. Contactme today to begin your personal andcomprehensive financial plan.

PAGE 2 CLIENT GUIDEYOUR PLAN

Mark UnderdownFinancial CoachSmall Acorn Money

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR WEALTH

BY MARK UNDERDOWN

[email protected]+44 7901 578 462+44 1256 790 462Skype: mark.smallacornmoneywww.smallacornmoney.com

It’s time to map your money to yourown life and goals.

WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT?At first glance, this may seem like an obviousand easy question, but anyone who trulyspends time contemplating on what theywant out of their life and how to use thelimited time and resources we all have willrealize that this is a challenging and incrediblyimportant question to answer.

Without this focus, you may find yourself inlater life filled with regret. This personal focusis the first critical step of ensuring that yourmoney is working for you in the way youwould like.

The function of money is as a medium ofexchange and a store of value, but thepurpose of money is to help you live the lifeyou would like.

This incorporates simple things such askeeping your family well-fed and housed, andensuring there isn’t too much life at the end ofyour money; to exploring the world, turningyour ideas into innovations, and making yourdreams concrete goals that you work towardsand bring to life.

Money is a crucial factor in your life becauseproperly managing your money will enableyou to be in control of your time, allowing youto pursue the things that are valuable in yourlife today, and creating the life you would likein your future.

If you do not have a clear idea of what youwant and prioritize the things that areimportant to you, you will find it difficult tomake the correct personal financial decisions.


WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT?

OUR RELATIONSHIPWITH MONEY IS EVEN

MORE BIZARRE.

Some need to support their family but end upbuying things they don’t need and get into aspiral of debt. Others spend their lives chasingmoney and find themselves financiallyprosperous, but then realize they areincredibly poor regarding their quality of life.

Many who are financially successful becomeestranged from friends, lose loved ones fromlack of attention, and become detached fromtheir family due to lack of time. You, therefore,

have to question whether they are successfulat all?

Some can never quite earn enough of it.Others earn plenty but just can’t seem to keephold of it.

MONEY IS ASTRANGE BEAST.

GATHERING AND ANALYSINGYOUR FINANCES

Simply stated, you need to know where youare before you know where you are going.

For all of your financial products you need toask yourself the following questions:


Some chase dreams in dubiousinvestments, losing their shirt in theprocess. Others remain fearful of thingsthey don’t understand and miss out onhuge amounts of money that can beobtained from sensible and patientinvestment.

There’s little point in being the richestperson in the graveyard, and equally, it isidiotic to leave yourself financial short,stressed and squeezed.

GATHERING AND ANALYSING YOUR FINANCES

WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU OWN?

WHAT ARE THE FEATURES?

WHY DO YOU HAVE IT?

What exactly do you own?I’d be surprised if you could accurately statewhat you own, where it is held, where it isinvested etc.

Can you quickly and clearly explain to mewhat investments you have?

So much of your future prosperity isdependent on where your money isinvested. Can you tell me where yours is?

I’ve spent years doing research into people’sfinances and the number of people whohave their finances properly organizedprobably ranges around 5-10% of thepopulation. I suppose that’s good for me. Itprovides me with a way to earn a living inareas I find interesting.

Don’t feel bad if you don’t know exactlywhat you own; remember you are not alone.

Nearly all of us don’t have the right amountof money; it’s either too much or too little(but clearly having too much is preferable!)

So the first and most important stage is toget an understanding of what you actuallywant and how much these things mightcost you; now and in your future.

CLIENT GUIDEYOUR PLAN


However with my help and support, now isthe time to get your financial house in order.Gather up to date valuations and statementsof all of your finances and read them.

Make a note of all the things you don’tunderstand and that make little sense to you.

I expect there will be a rather long list –It often takes me a little time and a fewchallenging phone calls to get to grips withsome of the financial statements out there,

and I have years of experience andprofessional study under my belt.

What are the features?I will analyze and assess the features of yourfinances. This will help to answer some of thefollowing types of questions:

InvestmentsWhat you are currently being charged andwhat do you receive in return for thesecosts?What risks are you exposed to?

What kind of investment return could youreceive?

Are you properly diversified?

InsurancesWhen will your insurance policies pay out,how much would this be and under whatterms?What cover do you have, who is it for andwhat is the reason for that level of cover?MortgagesHow much are you paying on yourmortgage?

What are the rates? How will you beaffected by rate changes?When will you be debt free? Can you makethis happen sooner?How much can you overpay withoutsuffering a penalty?

I cannot explicitly recommend you purchasealternative or new financial products because Iam not authorized to provide this ‘regulatedfinancial advice' by the FCA. My service is moreeducational and higher level planning thanproduct focused.

I will, however, point out any problems,suggest improvements, show you how you cantake control of your wealth and finally,

introduce you to a suitable professional ifalternative financial products could help yourfinancial prosperity.

PensionsAre you contributing enough towardsretirement?What pension structures do you ownWhat are the investment features?TaxesAre there ways to improve your taxefficiency?

Are you giving undue attention to tax, tothe detriment of other factors in yourpersonal finances?

PLEASE NOTE

Why do you have it?It’s not enough to simply know whatfinancial position you have. You need tohave an understanding of why you havethese products, savings accounts,insurances, and investments, etc.

For example, I often find people haveshares because they have received them viawork, or inherited them; then have simplyheld onto them.

This is a very poor reason to own the sharesof a company, and you need to have acompelling reason for each of your financialpositions and understand how they willimpact on your current and futureprosperity. .



THIS SERVICE ISABOUT TAKINGCONTROL OF

YOUR WEALTH,

NOT LEAVING ITON AUTOPILOT

Another example would be insurances.Many people are sold insurance and tend toforget exactly why they have it (i.e. whatdoes it protect and in what circumstances)

What about bank accounts? People tend tokeep the same account simply throughinertia when ensuring the best rates,service, and security of our cash is soimportant.

A crucial aspect of taking control of yourwealth is to understand why you have thefinancial position and products that youown.

This will help you make well-informeddecisions about your finances that fullyincorporate an understanding of your lifeand personal requirements.

CLIENT GUIDEYOUR PLAN

EXPLANATION AND IDEAS

EXPLANATION AND IDEASMy planning process is not about me tellingyou what you should and shouldn’t bedoing with your money.

You are paying me to help you understandthe financial factors involved in your ownpersonal choices.

Ultimately, any decision you make is yourresponsibility, and I can only provide help,

guidance, and counsel, enhancing yourunderstanding by making you think aboutthings you may not have considered.

Anything I suggest or propose isn’t set instone. Everything should be on the tableand open for discussion.

I will never make a strong recommendationin the way that other financial advisers do.

I am a coach to help you reach the rightdecisions with your money from a positionof improved understanding.

Any financial decision you make will havesome advantages and disadvantages toconsider. All of these should be consideredagainst your personal views and goals.

We are essentially building yourcomprehensive financial plan together anda discussion process to understand,

discount and consider various options is acrucial step.

Only through building an understanding ofyour financial situation, will the choices youmake be reflective of you taking control ofyour wealth, rather than leave it in thehands of others.

FINANCIALFACTORS

PERSONALCHOICES

THE RIGHT DECISIONS

Once we have discussed thoughts andoptions, I will present my plan to you in yourdigital brochure that will be your personaland comprehensive financial plan that youcan keep and refer to.

It’s far better to see your financial plan inpaper rather than discussed verbally, asterms can be more easily explained, andnumbers can be presented in a morevisually appealing way (I’m sure you don’twant to hear me drone on for hours aboutmoney!).

I also work better in writing. My thoughtsand ideas can be articulated more clearly,

and this method ensures that necessarydetails are covered and not missed.

An additional benefit of receiving your planin a digital brochure is that it can beconsumed at your leisure, whether that is inbite size chunks, or in its entirety.

This document also forms the basis of yourplan for the future; you can refer to it, use itto review your progress, and make anyamendments necessary.

Finally, putting the plan onto paper is asmall but very important commitment. It’s alittle like writing your personal contract.

There will be a section for you to sign thatwill clearly set out a summary of your goalsand the steps necessary to help you achievethem.

Psychologically, this smallcommitment is the first

essential step in what arelikely to be many lifestyle,behavioural and financial

steps to follow on your pathto prosperity.


DIGITAL BROCHURE

DIGITAL BROCHURE

Your financial plan doesn’t end the day youreceive your digital brochure.

You shouldn’t let it sit in a box gathering dust,or saved to a computer file never to see thelight of day.

Getting your finances in order is a crucial firststep on your path to prosperity, but it’s onlyreally the beginning.

You need to keep your plan to mind on afrequent basis, review your progress towardsyour important life and financial goals, andrectify deviations from your path.

It also helps having someone lending a hand,

and holding you to account against the plansyou have made (and hopefully provide a littlefinancial wisdom along the way).

In a similar way to having a personal trainer,having me on hand to discuss your financialprogress will make you far more likely to stickto your goals, rather than trying to do it all onyour own when life just seems to get in theway.

Let’s face it, constantly thinking about moneyprobably isn’t natural or healthy, anddelegating part of this to someone else whospecializes in this field has its merits.

This ongoing service would be separate to myinitial financial planning fee of £999. Myongoing support is available for £79 permonth, and you can cancel at any time.

You do not need to have ongoing supportand financial planning. Signing up forongoing support is also not a prerequisite forhelping you to construct a comprehensivefinancial plan for the fixed fee of £999.

It is a valuable ongoing service for mostpeople who incorporate comprehensivefinancial planning into their lives.

As life changes, many find they would like toknow they have someone who is trulyunbiased and conflict-free, sitting on theirside of the table.


ONGOING SUPPORT

ONGOING SUPPORT

Ongoing support will ensureyour finances remain on theright path, when constantchanges to the financialenvironment and lifegenerally, affect, alter andimpact on the financial plansyou have put in place.

If you are reading this guide, I assume it isbecause you need someone to help you withyour finances. But why should that someonebe me?

There are certain standards to my service thatmake them superior to alternatives in themarketplace (even if I do unashamedly say somyself). These standards are as follows:

1. ComprehensiveConsider the professionals and people youmay come across over the course of yourpersonal financial lives: Solicitor, Accountant,Financial Adviser, Mortgage Broker, EstateAgent, Bank Manager, Stockbroker etc.

Each one is extremely well versed in theirsubject matter, but they do not tend toconsider factors outside their area of expertiseand remit – and nor should they.

However this specialised approach ensuresthat none of them know enough about youroverall life and goals to be able to give youtruly unbiased advice – their very specialisationtends to create an inherent bias towards theareas within which they are competent.

As an example, an accountant will think ofthe tax benefits of an investment, perhapswithout due consideration andunderstanding of the financial risks involved.

The tax advantages can blind an accountantto other factors that may well be moreimportant than tax. The old saying ‘don’t letthe tax tail wag the investment dog’ is stillfrequently forgotten.

Without going through a rigorous andthoughtful financial planning process tobuild an understanding of your financialposition, how do you know if you are trulymaking the right choices? And how canother professionals make them for you?

The downside of my approach is thatsometimes I could be viewed as being ‘ajack of all trades and a master of none’. I’munlikely to know all of the important detailsin each field. What is important however, isthat you can have someone you can trust tosit on your side of the table, working withyou, having no ulterior motive, or salespressures.

I view this approach as akin to visiting yourfamily GP (but you get a lot more time withme than 15 minutes!). They may not knowevery detail across the medical field. Butthey have a broad enough understanding,

along with an overview of your ownpersonal situation and history to ensure yougo to the right people, at the right time.


YOU'RE IN SAFE HANDS


THEIR KNOWLEDGEMAY HAVE

GREAT DEPTH,BUT IT CAN LACK

SUFFICIENT BREADTH.

2. HolisticHaving a holistic service means I understandthat the different parts of your finances andyour personal life are intimatelyinterconnected and explicable only byreference to the whole.

Regarding your financial planning process, itmeans first and foremost consideration ofyour personal situation, beliefs, andobjectives, before tallying these with allaspects of your finances and coming upwith a bespoke and personal strategy formaintaining and enhancing your prosperity.

Most of us specialize nowadays so we canexcel at a given topic. However, when itcomes to your personal financial plan, youneed to ensure that you don’t let one factor(e.g. tax) outweigh other factors (such asinvestment risk) when considering youroverall situation and establishing yourcomprehensive financial plan.

3. Challenging conversationsI have no intention to disagree with youduring your financial planning process,however if you do not employ someonewilling to have challenging conversationswith you, play devil’s advocate and outlinealternative views to ensure you are certainabout your financial choices; then whatexactly would be the point of paying for theservices of professionals?

You should save on the fees and make yourown choices.

Paying for professional advice is often aboutpaying for someone who is prepared to tellyou that your ‘baby is ugly’. Now, I wouldnever insult anyone’s child in that way, butthe phrase means if I see something in yourfinances that should raise alarm, I will soundthat alarm, and outline my reasoningbehind those concerns.

We can then have constructive discussionsand debates about what may be betterchoices towards your own personal goals,and you can ensure that the decisions youtake are truly from a position of fullunderstanding and control.

You’d be surprised how often people saythey want a certain goal or say they think acertain way, yet their finances do notaccurately reflect their own goals andviews.

If this happens to be you I will tell you so foryour own financial well-being (ever sopolitely of course).


A COMPREHENSIVE ANDWELL THOUGHT OUT

FINANCIAL PLAN CONSIDERS ALLFACTORS AS A WHOLE.

Some factors to consider would be tax,

investment risk profile and capacity, returnrequired, product charging, financialunderstanding, lifestyle, family, personal, lifeexpectancy, income needs, cash flow, leavinga legacy, affordability, etc.

At all times the focus should be on you andyour overall strategy – the big picture.


4. EducationalMy aim with Small Acorn Money is toempower people to take control of theirown wealth.

I hope to achieve this through acombination of educational articles, guides,videos, books, digital courses and financialplanning.

Hopefully, after spending some time withme, you will feel comfortable and equippedto manage your affairs entirely on your own,

or perhaps you can do so in a few years time.

If so, I would be delighted as you will beventuring on your path to prosperity andensuring you and your family’s finances aresecure.

This is very different to traditional financialadvice. Far too often they resemble assetgatherers than the title they are putting ontheir business cards. (As an aside, surely thismisrepresentation of who they are is fraud?

At the very least, the term adviser shouldcome with sarcastic air bunny’s, “adviser”, tohelp inform the public that they’re notnecessarily all they’re advertising to be).

Your investments are very valuable to afinancial advisory firm over the course ofyour life. Is it any wonder they make no realeffort to help you truly understand? Thismay seem a little too cynical at first glance,

but there have been a number of books,research reports and articles basicallybemoaning the inherent conflicts of interestin investment management and financialadvisory business structures.

5. Truly unbiasedYou pay me an explicit fee to solely work inyour best interests. I have no ulteriormotive, sales targets, or bag of financialproducts to sell you.

I am going to pick on the traditionalfinancial advice model to again explain whyI feel my financial coaching service is thebetter option for you.

Too many financial advisers are entirelyreliant upon you as a client purchasing aproduct, or transferring to another providerin order for them to get paid. With thismethod of earning a living, are you reallythat surprised when your ‘advice’ results inneeding a new product or provider?



THE OLD ADAGE,“YOU DON’T GO TO A BARBERSAND ASK WHETHER YOU NEED

A HAIRCUT”COMES TO MIND!

Financial Advisers advertise they are‘independent’ or ‘unbiased’, yet theiroperational set-up and charging model isfull of conflicts of interest. So whoseinterests are they working for?

You pay me an explicit and transparent feeto sit on your side of the table, placingmyself between you and the self-interest,jargon, noise, and complexity of thefinancial industry.

Whilst some other financial plannersoperate this way, it is quite rare to find thosewho do. I believe there are a few reasons forthis.

Firstly, many of the public don’t necessarilyunderstand the true value ofcomprehensive, unbiased and conflict-freefinancial planning. They don’t see what goeson behind the scenes with the traditionalfinancial advisory model, so trust somefinancial advisers far more than theydeserve.

Secondly, most financial advisers don’tunderstand what part of their service isvaluable to people, or they don’t haveconfidence in their advice. Far too many arelong in the tooth, institutionalized financialsalespeople. This may have been okay 20-30years ago, but the public shouldn’t stand forsuch conflicted nonsense in the 21st century.

If you need to sell your clients something tofeed your family, how can you provide trulyunbiased and conflict-free financial advice?



Finally, as financial advice is a business, it isthere to meet consumer demand.

Many people just wish to delegatefinancial decisions and control to others.That’s fine. But doing so means you have toentrust your future to someone else fully.

My comprehensive financial planningservice will require a lot of your personalinvolvement.

If you would like toentirely delegate thedecisions to someone

else then my services arenot for you.

GOODFINANCIALPLANNING

TAKESTIME.

BE AWARE

6. Remote serviceTechnology allows me to work fromanywhere and remove many of the costsassociated with having an office andproviding a face-to-face service; passingthese savings onto you by way of lowerfees.

I am a big believer in two things.

I cannot understand why people put offtheir lifelong dreams until a time when theyare going to be in poor health (or possiblyeven dead). The time to do the things youwould like to in life is today – tomorrowmight not come.

From a financial perspective, you need tobe prudent and plan to live to 100 years ofage, but from a lifestyle perspective, it’simportant to live a little more in the hereand now.

From a young age, I have always held aburning, insatiable desire to see the world.

Given the world’s present level ofprosperity, openness, and technologicaladvancement,

I am fortunate enough to incorporate someform of work/travel balance into my life. It isfor these reasons that I am slightly nomadicwhile providing comprehensive financialplanning, writing books, and creatinghelpful research and learning content forthe general public and other financialservices professionals around the world.

While I consider England my home, I don’treally spend much time there and don’texpect to for a good few years yet.



WORK IS A THING YOU DONOT A PLACE YOU GO.

Many years ago we all needed to be in oneplace to work the fields. Later it wasfactories, and more recently it is offices.

With the invention of the World Wide Web,

and the ability to connect with anyonearound the world at a click of a mouse, wecan now essentially pick where we wouldlike to live from a lifestyle perspective andstill provide high quality work.

THE DEFERRED LIFEPLAN IS A MISTAKE.

Family is the one thing that will draw meback to England. (let’s face it, it’s not goingto be the weather), but as of writing, youneed to be aware that while I am thedirector and operator of a UK basedcompany, for the most part, I will personallybe outside of the UK.

This does raise some legitimate dataprotection issues that need to be disclosedto you, and more importantly, I need tooperate in a secure manner.

There is a separate data protection guideexplaining my operational and legalprocesses thoroughly, and an agreementfor you when you sign up for my services.

In short, I take the protection of your datavery seriously and only use solutionsprovided by well-known and reputablebusinesses to ensure your data is storedand managed securely.

7. Committed to learningI have studied for a variety of professionalfinancial qualifications. These qualificationswould satisfy and exceed the regulatoryrequirement to provide product relatedfinancial advice, and manage clientinvestments on a discretionary basis,among some other regulated financialfunctions.

They provide me with a broadunderstanding of the products andtechniques used in managing wealth.


CISI Private Client Investment Adviceand Management (Distinction)

CFA UK Investment ManagementCertificateCII J04 Pension Funding OptionsCII J05 Pension Income OptionsCII J0 Personal TaxationCII J06 Investment Principles, Marketsand Environment (Merit)CII RO1 Financial Services, Regulationsand EthicsIFS Certificate in Financial AdviceIFS Certificate in Mortgage Advice andPracticeIFS Certificate in Regulated GeneralInsurance


PROFESSIONALQUALIFICATIONS

Having professional qualifications,combined with my experience, helps me tounderstand the technicalities of financialadvice and financial planning, and yet if Ionly had this knowledge, I would be largelythe same as most other Financial Advisers.

In my view, it is my wider readings thathave built my knowledge above andbeyond that achievable solely fromstructured study.

I personally value the vast range of books,blogs and research reports more highlythan my professional qualification, yet theydon’t come with any form of certificate ofaccomplishment.

My hope is that through myaccomplishments and continual learning, Iwill one day be deemed an authority orexpert in financial planning and investmentmanagement.

Personally, I will always feel like there ismore to learn and more to understandabout investing, financial markets andfinancial planning. With each book, I oftenfind ten more to add to my Amazon wishlist.

This commitment to continual learningensures I will always be searching forimproved solutions and a deeperunderstanding of subjects that apply tofinancial planning.

8. Sales FreeThere will be no sales of financial productsand the FCA does not regulate my service.

The FCA regulates the sale and promotionof financial products. From experience, inmany cases I have found the description‘financial adviser’ to be very misleading,

when there are many who should be veryclearly labelled ‘financial promoters’.

This separation from product sales makesme truly unbiased, but I am therefore notregulated by the UK Financial ConductAuthority and will not (and cannot) providespecific product recommendations to you.

Whilst I am financially qualified to astandard exceeding the minimumrequirement of the FCA to provide this typeof regulated financial advice. I am notparticularly interested in providing thisservice.



I stay ‘in the know’ on financial productsand solutions because I also provideresearch and reporting services to a fewfinancial planners around the world. I will,therefore, be familiar with what you haveand the products available, but myattention will always be on your high-levelplan, rather than your financial productdetails and technicalities.

Let’s face it there’s enough financialadvisers out there doing largely the samething – what value will I provide if I simplybe another one?

FINANCIAL PLANNING IS MOREIMPORTANT THAN FINANCIAL

PRODUCTS.MY AIM IS TO TEACH YOU HOWTO TAKE CONTROL OF YOURWEALTH, NOT TO SELL YOUFINANCIAL PRODUCTS.

TAKE CONTROL TODAYDON ’T LEAVE YOUR WEALTH IN

SOMEONE ELSE ’S HANDS .

DON ’T LEAVE YOURFUTURE TO FATE .

I T ’S T IME TOTAKE CONTROL OF YOUR WEALTH .

US ING MY SERV ICES I S THE KEY TO YOURLONG -TERM SUCCESS ANDLAST ING PROSPER ITY .

Getting startedThe first step of your comprehensive financial plan is a brief conversion to ensure we can worktogether and value can be added to your financial situation and your life. This is at my expense,

with no obligation on your part. If you still have any further questions we can discuss themduring your call. I do not ask for any payment until you fully understand the process and are100% comfortable to proceed.


Today is the day you start matching your money to your lifeand take control of your future prosperity.

[email protected]+44 7901 578 462+44 1256 790 462Skype: mark.smallacornmoneywww.smallacornmoney.com

CONTACT

Mark UnderdownFinancial Coach

TAKE CONTROL TODAY

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