The Clarion Journey – What to expect during Planning and Strategy

Every Clarion client follows the same precision-engineered journey when they join us.

The clients are included every step of the way in our comprehensive onboarding process. It is important to us that they are fully cognisant of what is happening and why, and are excited about the planned outcome.

After the Discovery Phase but prior to the Strategy Meeting is when most of the detailed work is done.

The Planning Phase

In the process of gathering information from the client’s existing providers, the Clarion financial planning team will begin to build up a robust summary of a client’s affairs at present on the financial planning platform Voyant.

The data is finessed to ensure we are giving the clients the most accurate and useful output possible. We will formulate a plan which projects a client’s position all the way to age 100, which considers various stages of their lifetime. For example, when children may plan to go to university or the ‘golden years’ of retirement where expenditure may be higher.

In other organisations, the advice process is more static. An adviser sits with a client and considers the strategy for them based on their position at that point in time.

Our continuous analysis of the client’s position means the Clarion Lifelong Financial Plan is more than a document – it is a living entity, evolving each year in line with the client’s changing objectives and life events.

During this development, matters arise that a planner may consider an apt fit for the plan, helping deliver a better overall strategy for the client.

There might be several iterations of their strategic financial plan – including recommendations to improve their current position – with different strategies deployed to assess the success of each.

If more complex advice is required, such as specific pension funding or lifetime allowance issues, the highly experienced financial planner may incorporate a specific recommendation within the principal strategy.

The recommendations will frame discussions during the next phase, the Strategy Meeting.

What to expect at the Strategy Meeting?

Many organisations don’t evidence the potential success of their recommendations. Our financial planners clearly demonstrate what the financial plan is, how it works, the rationale behind the recommendations, and what the results will be – providing the data to support this.

Now is the time for a detailed discussion about a client’s priorities and to identify whether they are on track to achieve them. Our extensive in-depth work leads to excellent client outcomes time and time again.

This third meeting is the first time a client gets to see a visual presentation on Voyant showcasing their current Lifelong Financial Plan. Their Clarion Lifelong Financial Plan, including the recommendations that we have made to improve their position, is then extensively compared to this, demonstrating the value we have been able to add.

Lifelong cashflow forecasts are presented side-by-side and show clients how their lifelong goals are going to be achieved by implementing the recommended Clarion plan, be it eradicating an income shortfall later in life, offering a better strategy of gifting intergenerational wealth, or simply showing that there will be more than enough wealth left even when they reach their 100^th birthday because of the actions taken now.

At the end of the Strategy Meeting, the client has a very clear picture of how we would improve their current position.

If they decide to become a Clarion client, a high-level overview of the Clarion Lifelong Financial Plan with any additional input resulting from the Strategy Meeting is presented to the client to consider further.

A Visions and Goals Memorandum is developed by the Clarion planning team to confirm the client’s personal values and life goals for years one, three and ten, as a quick reference to remind them what they want to achieve. As well as these particular time frames, any life goals further away on the horizon are naturally considered as part of our approach to true lifelong financial planning.

The next phase is Implementation.

Clarion Wealth Planning are Chartered Financial Planners, specialising in true lifelong financial planning and investment management.

Experience true lifelong financial planning at our cost: email enquiries@clarionwealth.co.uk to book a free initial consultation meeting, which is backed by our Clarion Guarantee.

Following the production of your financial plan, you can walk away with no fees to pay in the unlikely event that you do not value our advice or service.

The Clarion Journey – What to expect during the Planning and Strategy phases

The Clarion Journey – What to expect during the Planning and Strategy phases

The Planning Phase

What to expect at the Strategy Meeting?