But for many of us, the answer is more complex.

All of us have certain experiences that are truly "life changing" ranging from the birth of a child or grandchild to the death of a loved one. Many bring great emotional highs; some are devastating. The last thing any of us want to think about during and after such an event is its impact on our financial lives.

However, many of these life experiences do have serious implications for our financial well being and planning. And unfortunately, few of us have the resources to deal with them without skilled, experienced help.

Often, an investment adviser's most important role is to help you navigate through these difficult decisions during what may be very stressful times.

Other events that may influence your decision to seek professional investment management are if you or your family has sold your interest in a business, or if you are beginning the estate planning process or if your income is going to change due to retirement. These are a few examples of life-changing events that may require input from a trusted investment adviser. When changes in your life mean changes in your financial situation, it's probably an appropriate time to consider starting a relationship with a professional investment adviser.

How do I choose an adviser?

Choosing the right investment manager means finding one who focuses on what's important to you.

It means finding an adviser to whom you can entrust the delegation of your investment decisions without worry.

Another important factor that should influence your decision is the firm's investment philosophy and how it fits your risk profile.

If you are seeking aggressive growth and therefore willing to assume a higher level of investment risk, then you should narrow your choice to managers whose investing style is consistent with that goal. Conversely, if you place a high priority on asset preservation, then you should seek out managers who focus on managing investment risk while pursuing prudent growth.

Your investment manager should be a trusted adviser who thoroughly understands your personal goals, both financial and other, and whose professional expertise will help you achieve them. You will be delegating important decisions to your adviser and relying on the adviser's counsel in a variety of important personal matters. Mutual trust is crucial to the success of your relationship with your adviser, as is the adviser's understanding of your values, priorities and goals.

How do I know if BFR is the right financial adviser for me?

Obviously, you can't make a decision as important as selecting an investment manager based on this website. While we can tell you about our firm and our approach, we cannot overstress the need to meet and talk with each other to see if your goals and our philosophy are a match.

Belding Financial Resources, Inc. (BFR) is a professional investment management firm for high net worth individuals and families. Our clients generally place a minimum of $1,000,000 in investable assets under our management, although we also have clients whose portfolios are significantly larger.

All of our compensation is derived from advisory fees which fund the services we provide. We do not receive any brokerage commissions, nor do we participate in any fees from directed brokerage activities or referrals to our network of other professionals.

We believe entrusting us with your financial well-being entails a commitment on both our parts. You have committed to our stewardship and our philosophy, and we are committed to act only in your best interests.

Our investment philosophy is simple in concept and complex in execution. We believe our clients are best served by investing for prudent long-term growth while preserving assets through a highly disciplined approach to risk management. We remain ever mindful of risk-adjusted returns, maintain a strict sell-discipline and use hedging to protect our clients' gains against market corrections and downturns.

We use a mix of no-load mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, individual stocks and bonds that form a blend of holdings tailored to the requirements of each individual client. This approach helps us achieve our primary investment objective of below-market volatility coupled with prudent growth. At the same time we closely monitor the tax consequences of portfolio turnover to achieve optimal total returns for our clients.

Our clients expect and get an objective financial advocate who is attuned to their needs and long-term goals. We expect our clients to delegate to us the discretionary management of their investment assets within mutually agreed-upon guidelines to achieve their financial objectives.