We love life. And because we developed a financial plan years ago - and stuck to it - we're able to live the life today we always dreamed of. Our financial adviser has helped us make changes in our investment portfolio through the years, as our needs and dreams evolved. He helped us make decisions about our retirement packages, reallocate our investments after we retired, and now we're working on setting up investment accounts for our grandchildren's college funds. We've been at this long enough to know how planning pays off!

The objective of this aspect of financial planning is to maximize your assets and investments to provide sufficient income to fulfill your goals in other areas, like retirement, charitable giving or education funding. If you're currently handling your investments on your own, ask yourself these questions:

1.	Am I confident in my ability to manage my own investments and assets?
2.	Do I have the time to devote to managing my investments and assets?

If the answer to either is "No" or even, "I'm not sure," you should consider seeking professional advice. What should you expect? Your financial adviser will conduct a capital needs analysis to determine how much you need to save and invest to reach your long-term goals. Next, you'll develop an investment policy statement, based on your personal risk tolerance, asset allocation, target rate of return and the number and type of assets you have. Then your adviser will recommend specific investments and will get you on the road to reaching your goals. Search our database for information about Questions to Help in Finding Your Financial Adviser - someone who can help you manage your assets and investments.

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