What Does a Financial Planner Do?

Posted by Greater Midwest Financial Group on Aug 16, 2023 4:00:00 PM

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There’s an endless amount of financial questions we all face in our lives – and just about everyone has an opinion on the right answers. But choosing who to listen to with all that noise is the real challenge. While your great aunt Susan might have some great relationship advice, should you follow her advice on saving for retirement?

Rather than leaving your financial future in the hands of internet gurus and friendly advice on how things “have always been done,” a financial planner is an expert that can help you cut through the noise and find the best solutions for all your questions.

What is a Financial Planner?

A financial planner is someone who offers advice on both your short and long-term finances and helps you create a plan to reach your specific financial goals. They can help you plan where to save money, how to invest your money, and what types of accounts to open.

However, not all financial planners specialize in the same advice. Some planners offer more general advice for multiple services, while others have a specific focus – such as taxes, retirement, or insurance. It all depends on the specific advisor.

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Greater Midwest Financial Group has a pool of talented advisors with expertise in multiple services, so we consider ourselves to be a general financial planner instead of focusing on only one specialization.

What’s the Difference Between Financial Planning and Wealth Management?

While at first glance Financial Planning and Wealth Management may seem interchangeable, they have a number of key differences to be aware of before choosing the right approach for your finances. Financial planning typically focuses on specific and shorter-term goals, such as saving for a home or retirement. In contrast, Wealth Management is a more holistic approach that focuses on growing your overall wealth across many areas, such as investing and savings. You will also find that Wealth Management is a more involved process with more ongoing monitoring and management of your finances and portfolio, where Financial planning is typically done once or twice a year to create a strategy for achieving those specific goals.

What Does a Financial Planner Do?

Not all financial planners offer the same services, but below is a general list of the types of financial planning you could speak to a financial planner for advice on. These are all services that Greater Midwest Financial Group Offers:

  • Benefit Planning
  • Business Owner Services
  • Educational Planning
  • Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer
  • Executive Benefit Strategies
  • Insurance and Risk Management
  • Long-term Care and Elder Care Planning
  • Organizational Services
  • Retirement Planning
  • Tax Planning
  • Wealth Management

At Greater Midwest Financial Group, we have always strived to do what is best for our clients. No matter what area you’re seeking financial advice on, we can help.

Contact a Financial Planner


Greater Midwest Financial Group is a financial advisory firm serving St. Paul, Minneapolis, and the wider Twin Cities area. We specialize in wealth management, retirement planning, asset management, and other personal finance needs.

Topics: financial literacy, financial advisor, financial planner