The questions I get most often from homebuyers are “what can I be doing now to be able to purchase a home in the next one, three, or five years?” and “do you think I should buy or keep renting?” While I feel comfortable advising generally on financial matters as they relate to the real estate market, I cannot execute any financial plans for my clients. Enter a financial advisor. A financial advisor is someone whose job it is to guide and execute your financial goals. They have a wealth (pun intended) of knowledge concerning financial vehicles and investment opportunities to maximize your return on your money. They put your money to work for you!
Kyle Krebs is a friend, client, and all-around awesome guy who advises dozens of folks in the Memphis area on their financial health and growth. Let’s see what he has to share with us!
Tell us a bit about your personal and professional background. How did you decide to pursue your current career?
I have been in the financial services industry since 2019. After studying Finance and playing college baseball, I pursued a 13-year career in sports and entertainment but made a career change in 2019. I joined Strategic Financial Partners and have been helping clients with growing, managing, and protecting their wealth since then. I was attracted to this industry for the ability to help people I care about make meaningful decisions related to their current and future financial position.
What are the qualifications required to become a certified financial advisor?
Just about anyone can engage in discussions around financial best practices but, to call yourself a financial advisor, you need to possess a combination of licenses. I have a Series 7 and Series 66 license which gives me the ability to buy and sell securities for clients, manage investment accounts, and to also legally give advice related to financial decision-making. Of equal importance to growing and managing wealth is the ability to protect it in the event of unforeseen circumstances. For that reason, I also have a license to sell and service life, disability, and health insurance as well as long-term care insurance.
Tell us about your professional philosophy of financial planning.
My philosophy related to financial planning starts with placing the client’s needs above my own. This is called acting as a fiduciary and sometimes comes into conflict when advisors give advice that would benefit them personally more so than benefiting the client. After that, it is my goal to help clients realize their financial goals to grow their wealth while limiting the effect of taxes on their good work. Often times, this requires building a solid financial foundation or playing a little defense first. Then, we evaluate the amount of risk a client is comfortable with and a timeline for reaching their goals to formulate a well thought out plan for future success. And, because I believe the only bad plan is one not executed, I enjoy consistently working with my clients to see the plan through to completion – whether that is a 1-year timeline or a lifetime!
Your clients are considering purchasing a home. What would be their next steps in deciding if homeownership is an option for them? Perhaps in contrast to renting.
I love this question and get asked it all the time. Saving to purchase a first home or the next home is a popular financial goal among my clients. In general, I suggest clients evaluate if home ownership or owning a different home is in the best interest of their lifestyle needs and finances more so than making that decision based on what the market is doing. The first step I suggest is for a the client to forecast how long they plan to live in their desired location. If they expect to live their 3-4 years or more, that checks one box for me. Building equity in a home is great but if it doesn’t eclipse the closing costs to purchase the home due to not enough time elapsing for the value to grow, that is not a great financial decision in my opinion.
After that, I suggest the client form an idea about where they would like to live and think about what elements they expect in a home. From there, we look at values of homes that fit that bill to see how much of a down payment is likely required, in their situation, and how much the mortgage payment would be to ensure they can fit that into their monthly cash flows. This process should involve connecting with a realtor and mortgage lender, especially if this is the client’s first home and they are transitioning from renting. Their down payment should still leave their emergency reserve intact and their mortgage payment should still leave room for recurring expenses. You wouldn’t buy a Ferarri if you couldn’t afford the gas and insurance, and you shouldn’t buy a home unless you can afford the insurance, maintenance, and upkeep it requires.
How do you keep up-to-date on the latest financial vehicles to best serve your clients?
Great question as well – as a fiduciary advisor, we have access to investment portfolios and funds from a host of portfolio managers and fund companies. These entities host regular meetings, webinars, and events to talk about their products. I am also fortunate to have a support team at our firm, Strategic Financial Partners, who keep all 100+ of our advisors abreast of changes to market and economic trends, government legislation, tax laws, Federal Reserve policy, and estate planning strategies for individuals, families, and business owners. Continuing education (CE) is required annually to maintain our licenses. Remaining up-to-date is a calculated and regulated process by the SEC, FINRA, and our state’s insurance commission.
A big thanks to Kyle for his valuable time and expertise! As a realtor, I have a wealth of vendors and trusted experts in their respective fields. If you want to talk about how my team and I can best serve you in your real estate transaction, I would be more than happy to outline my work flow with you and see if we would be a good fit for each other.