Investment Advice is NOT Financial Planning!

One of my pet peeves is how the financial planning industry had allowed itself to be consumed by the investment advisory industry. The two are not the same! Financial planning is truly ALL encompassing, taxes, insurance, investments, college, debt, estate etc. are all part of the discussion. What's investment advice though? Well, simple, INVESTMENTS! Investments are part of financial planning but financial planning is so much more. Yet, because most financial 'advisors' get paid on the investments they manage, it's easy to see how the two get mixed up. I wish this weren't the case. I wish we truly had an industry where clients value what a financial advisor does, in terms of seeing the big picture as opposed to just managing investments. But that industry is starting to spring up. Groups like XY Planning Network (which I'm a part of), Garret Planning Network, NAPFA are doing wonderful things to advance of the cause of true financial planning.