Most people will tell you that investments for the future make perfect sense: plan for your later life, and have a dream to work towards. But while we’re busy making provision for tomorrow, are we doing so at the expense of what we’d like to be doing today?

We recently had an enquiry from a man who had been involved in a serious skiing accident, which sadly left him wheelchair bound. During a trip to the Alps he’d been skiing off piste with a guide, an avalanche took him over a cliff and he fell 70ft.

Eventually the employer of the guide admitted liability and they agreed on a sizeable compensation payment. He approached us for investment advice so he could secure a stable future. What we actually talked about were ways the funds could improve his family’s quality of life from that moment forwards. A day or so after the meeting he contacted us and became an Ovation client.

Coaching is a huge part of what we do here at Ovation and when used with cash flow software to explore different financial scenarios, it’s a powerful combination. It helps us and our client understand what’s really important. We can then explore financial options to help achieve desired goals both now and into the future.

A couple of weeks later we met with our client again and this time his partner joined us. She seemed unconvinced around the whole “mumbo jumbo” of coaching and financial planning. As the meeting progressed I realised that to move things forward I needed to challenge her.

Ask the right questions and you’ll find the right answers

I asked what was stopping her from dreaming bigger about how this money could help the whole family? That’s when everything fell into place. She explained that it wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but she lacked the time. Her responsibilities for childcare, the house, garden and full time job as a GP, meant she was pulled from pillar to post. What she really needed was more time, not more “stuff”. It turns out that even booking holidays filled her with dread because of their particular needs.

That’s when we could show the real value of planning. By the time I’d left she had spoken to a bespoke travel agent we work with, who specialise in holidays for clients with mobility issues. I’d also given them the phone number of a landscape gardener who would work with them to make the garden low maintenance. We were able to help her put things in place that would give her more time, and in fact investments were never mentioned.

By asking the right questions the relationship changed in an instant and proved that financial planning and wealth management needn’t be about looking far, far ahead and scurrying money away. It can also lead to making decisions for a better life today for you and your family.

Ian Else
Financial Planner
Ovation Finance

About Ian Else

Ian works for the financial services company Ovation Finance. He joined the company in 2014 because, in his own words, “they do proper financial planning”. Ian worked as a Business Development Manager for a Life Assurance company before moving to Ovation to take on a more advisory role. A keen sailor, having spent 6 years sailing professionally in his earlier life, Ian loves golf and has just taken up cycling.