Is Financial Planning Only for the Middle Class?
"You middle class advisers with your middle class mindset — none of your clients here need a financial plan. Get that in your head"
A senior professional in the wealth management industry told us — in a training program that was attempting to integrate our financial planning team into their large-scale wealth management framework.
Something about that statement hurt badly.
I am not sure what stung more
- that we were “middle class,”
- or that our thought process was middle class
- or that financial planning is for some ‘lesser mortals’ who were ‘middle class’ - not their clients.
This was after ten years of working as a financial planner. After sitting across the table with dozens of families and witnessing up close, the kind of clarity and confidence a good financial planning exercise brings.
And even today, nearly two decades since I began doing this work, when I hear someone — a prospective client, a colleague, or even a fellow professional - say that financial planning is not for them, I can only manage a sigh!
It feels like they are standing on a pedestal, looking down on us poor financial planners and saying, “No no… financial planning and all — we don’t need that.”
And yet, the work keeps speaking for itself.
Mr. K, a recently retired CXO from a multinational manufacturing company with a networth of about Rs. 45 crores in multi currency assets, spent over an hour running scenario after scenario — trying to understand how much he and his family could afford to donate to charitable causes without compromising their long-term security. He did not want to bite off more than he could chew. Smart and practical.
Ms. J, senior leadership at a leading bank, retired at 56 with a net worth north of ₹25 crores. She was surprised - even shocked - to discover that her lifestyle, if left unchecked, could leave her with nothing by the time she turned 86. Was she grateful to have seen this picture clearly now rather than later - you bet!
Mr. A, a seasoned startup founder with ₹40+ crore in accumulated wealth through ESOPs and acquisitions, spent three honest, intense conversations trying to understand the concentration risk in his portfolio - and what a worst-case scenario might mean for his lifestyle, his family, and his dreams. Some difficult but life savings decisions were made in those meetings.
These are not people with middle class money. They are just people who value clarity. Who want to make informed decisions and who care about consequences.
Because whether you have ₹30 lakhs or ₹30 crores truth is that - 'Money is only a tool. If used well, it can help you live the best life possible. That, at the end of the day, is all that it is meant to do'.
But if you do not know what you want the money to do for you — no one can help you figure out what to do with it.
A financial plan is not just about children education planning or how much SIP to do? It is about answering the real questions - the ones that shape your choices:
- How much is your financial freedom number?
- How long will your money last, really?
- How much can you afford to spend — and on what?
- How much can you safely withdraw from your corpus every year?
- How much can you afford to give generously — without fear or guilt?
- What would it take for you to retire early, or work differently?
- What happens if things do not go to plan? What are your guardrails?
This is not middle class thinking. This is responsible thinking.
After having worked with hundred of clients across economic backgrounds, professional stages, life transitions, and unexpected turns - I can tell you this:
The best outcomes are got by those with the best questions. However, the best questions are not asked by those with the most money. They are asked by those who care about using their money meaningfully.
So if you find yourself asking those questions - that’s really an awesome first step!
If you want to take an even better second step - set up a meeting here and have that conversation.