The Value of a Financial Planner: More Than Just Investment Returns

What does a financial planner actually do?

First and foremost, a financial planner helps you manage your finances with a strategy personalized to fit your goals, life stage and risk tolerance. Titles may vary, and there’s no hard and fast legal definition, but these are some of the services they offer:

• Setting and clarifying financial goals like retirement, education, homeownership or legacy planning.
• Creating comprehensive plans that incorporate savings, debt, insurance and investing strategies tailored to individual needs.
• Ongoing monitoring and adaptation of plans as life evolves and markets fluctuate, including thoughtful portfolio enhancements when appropriate.
• Acting as a sounding board during market volatility or emotional decision points.

Their role is more than “pick these funds and check back in a year.” A competent planner looks at your entire financial picture and even behaviors that might derail good intentions. They also keep on top of financial trends and products, as well as the latest in government regulations and tax laws.

As Michelle Slawny, Director of Wealth Planning at Associated Bank says, “Everybody has the same puzzle pieces; I’m putting them together like they’re playdough.” While there are basic elements at play in any financial plan, a truly comprehensive planner understands that things don’t fit neatly together—but they can still go into a unified whole.

Beyond financial returns: Hidden benefits of advice

Recent research from Vanguard highlights two underlying yet highly meaningful benefits of working with a financial planner: peace of mind and time savings.

The value of peace of mind

Managing money can be stressful. Questions like “Am I saving enough?” or “What about today’s market drop?” can keep people up at night. According to Vanguard’s Emotional & Time Value of Advice survey, 86% of investors with personal planners report having more financial peace of mind compared to those who manage on their own.

This emotional support matters in very real ways:

• Clients report less anxiety about their financial future.
• They feel more confident, secure, and in control, even during times of unpredictable markets.
• Emotional stress related to finances often spills over into other areas of life—sleep, relationships, and overall well-being—which a trusted planner can help mitigate.

Confidence and peace of mind aren’t trivial. They can impact your financial decisions and ability to stay the course during market ups and downs. A planner helps anchor big decisions in your long-term goals instead of reacting to short-term panics.

Time saved can add up in the long run

Many investors underestimate how much time they spend managing their financial lives. According to Vanguard, three out of four advised investors report that working with a planner saves them time—with a median savings of about two hours per week, or over 100 hours per year.

That’s time you can spend with family, focus on your career, exercise or simply relax knowing your finances are being monitored and adjusted the right way.

The professional advantage: Knowledge and objectivity

A financial planner brings experience, training, and objectivity to the table—something you can’t count on from online, self-serve tools and DIY solutions.

Structured Financial Planning

According to Michelle Slawny, “A financial plan isn’t about predicting the future—it’s about being prepared for it. The real value comes not just from numbers on a page, but from the confidence, clarity, and partnership that helps people make better financial decisions over time.”

Planners help clients develop plans that are tailored to their unique goals and circumstances. These plans aren’t static; they evolve with life changes. Whether it’s marriage, a new job, a home purchase, or retirement, a good planner anticipates and adapts planning strategies to align with changing priorities and explains legalities and other issues that you may face.

Because they get to know every aspect of your financial life—your bank accounts, investments, insurance coverage and more—they intimately understand your personal timelines, risk tolerance and future needs.

This deep knowledge is also an invaluable “vault” of your entire financial picture; if you need to quickly access this information in an emergency, your financial planner has it on hand, so you’ll spend less time rummaging through your own files.

Behavioral Coaching

Perhaps the single biggest hidden value planners bring is behavioral coaching. This can help you avoid costly emotional mistakes. Panicked selling after market downturns can result in missing the subsequent upswing, resulting in significantly lower long-term returns.

A trusted professional planner will coach you to stick to your plan, stay disciplined and avoid spur-of-the-moment trading decisions that can hurt overall outcomes.

Real-life transitions: When advice pays off most

There are certain life events in which professional advice can deliver especially high value:

• Marriage or growing families: Navigating combined finances, insurance needs, education planning and retirement goals.
• Buying a home: Choosing mortgage strategies and balancing savings with investment goals.
• Career changes or entrepreneurship: Managing income fluctuations, retirement contributions and tax implications.
• Approaching or entering retirement: Deciding when to claim Social Security, how much to withdraw from accounts and how to balance risk and income.

During these major milestones, financial decisions are often complex, emotionally charged and filled with lasting consequences. A planner helps you make sense of the trade-offs and choose a path that supports both your short- and long-term goals.

Still afraid of commitment? Avoid these misconceptions.

“Online apps and robo-planners are enough to give me what I need.”

While these can be helpful tools, they don’t always cover everything you might need. Automated investing strategies rely on algorithms; however, they often lack the personalized experience, life guidance, accountability and emotional reassurance that a human planner can provide.

“I’m not rich enough to need a financial planner.”

You don’t have to have a high net worth to work with a planner. Even with modest balances, it’s still your money and you still want to get the most out of it. And the emotional and time savings—plus thoughtful planning—can easily justify getting professional advice.

“Planners just pick investments.”

As you’ve read so far, investment management is just one part of what professional planners do. It’s part of a holistic financial strategy that factors in budgeting, savings, risk, retirement, taxes, estate planning and your personal timeline—all tailored to your unique circumstances.

Putting it all together: The value equation

The value of a financial planner isn’t a simple comparison of returns or fees. It’s a combination of many factors:

• The financial value of better financial outcomes through strategic planning and disciplined investing.
• The emotional value in peace of mind, reduced stress and greater confidence.
• The time value of your personal hours saved in making decisions, monitoring markets and managing paperwork.
• The behavioral value of having someone help you resist emotional decisions that can cost you in the long run.

Conclusion: Personal advice pays for itself

Working with a financial planner is more than just boosting investment returns. It’s about creating clarity in an uncertain world, gaining confidence in your financial decisions, and freeing up time to live your life without carrying the stress of complex financial decisions alone.

Whether you’re just getting started with investing, navigating a life transition, or helping secure your long-term financial future, a financial planner can be a partner—one that helps you make sense of the journey, weather the ups and downs of markets and stay focused on what truly matters.

Associated Bank’s Wealth Management group is here for you. We’re based in the Midwest but have a world of experience and ideas to get you started … and get you growing. Visit us at AssociatedBank.com/Wealth or contact us at PrivateWealthPlanning@AssociatedBank.com.