“Plans can break down. You cannot plan the future. Only presumptuous fools plan. The wise man steers.” ― Terry Pratchett, Making Money

I was looking for a ‘different’ quote about planning to the normal “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” (Benjamin Franklin) ilk this morning. Goodreads.com came up with 458 quotes about planning including the above (I’ve not read them all…).

Whilst this one might not initially seem great for financial planning, I think it does hit the nail on the head! It can be very easy to believe that we can with 100% certainty plan the future. Plans break, but the job of a financial planner is to steer towards the goal. The value of financial planning is not in the plan, but in the planning.

Like many of you, EQ Investors is supporting the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment’s Financial Planning Week. It’s a good opportunity to encourage consumers to engage with planning and their finances.

Whilst different groups of people will have different planning needs, we all need to know where we stand and where we are going. With these two points of reference we can be the ‘wise man’ who steers through whatever life throws at us.

I’ve been excited to see lots of different firms using different strategies to engage with Financial Planning Week. This year we’ve decided to put on a Back to Basics breakfast to share some of the key planning ideas we think consumers should know about. Financial Planning is a relationship business and we are looking forward to building relationships this week.

There are many things that consumers can DIY with their finances, but I think this quote from helps illustrate why engaging with a financial planner is so important. We provide an objective perspective and can help ensure that the ‘live dragons’ are not ignored! Have a great Financial Planning Week.

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit or There and Back Again

Dan Atkinson FPFS Chartered MCSI APP is a Chartered Financial Planner and is Head of Technical at EQ Investors in London. @DanAtkinsonUK. e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.