Provision Financial Planning

Hi, I’m Robert Lindstrom, founder of Provision Financial Planning (PFP). My own unique journey has culminated in PFP. Just like it is important for me to understand my clients’ past experience as it relates to money, it’s important that you know my history in this field. I became interested in investing and personal finance at a young age. I was going to do something related to finance but I began my career in 2010 on the heels of the Great Recession. I felt fortunate to find any job, much less one in “financial services”. What a blessing this turned out to be. Beginning my career in “wealth management” planted the seed. It was here where I was encouraged to obtain the CFP designation. This really opened my eyes to the importance of financial planning instead of just investment management. The CFP® designation covers dozens of areas of financial expertise is recognized as the standard of excellence for the financial planning profession. Pursuing this desire to do more than investments, I ended up taking a position that would allow me to do financial planning. However, this position was primarily a commission-driven sales role. While I learned a lot, this was not a good fit for me. It wasn’t all bad. I now have a much better understanding of how various products work (and don’t work) and the sales-driven financial piece of my industry that is unfortunately so prevalent. It was my next role where things really started to take shape. I ended up working at a Fee-Only firm that had deep tax expertise. I immediately felt at home in this fee-only compensation model because I could focus on planning instead of selling. Being a Fee-Only advisor means I don’t sell any financial products for a commission or receive other revenue sharing. This means I’m only compensated directly by my clients, which eliminates many of the conflicts so prevalent in my industry. I’ve also been exposed to several different investment philosophies in my career. A lot of industry experts claim to be able to time the market or identify the next hot sector or stock, either themselves or by picking active funds that try to. The data shows this is unlikely, and even risks large underperformance. While it may sound counterintuitive at first, you’re paying us to prudently manage a portfolio for you instead of seeking to outperform by timing the market. This brief history has culminated in me founding Provision Financial Planning in 2019 as a proud fee-only firm.