Wealth Management
The Scenario: After creating a successful business, the owner and his wife had recently decided to sell it. Together, they accumulated a large capital event from the proceeds of the sale. After meeting with a wealth management advisor, it was disclosed they had several other investment accounts, IRA’s, annuities from various institutions, and investment properties. Overwhelmed, the couple sought advice and help on the best way to secure and protect their assets and organize their financial picture. Understandably, they were concerned with protecting their life savings and what they had worked so hard for.
The Solution: After understanding their needs and their current situation, I first consolidated all of their accounts through my client portal, which aggregates all accounts into one single log-in and provides daily account balances and investment performance updates. This gave the clients a very clear picture of where they stood financially.
We know it is critical never to take on more risk than necessary. That is why I made certain to discover the appropriate level of risk needed to earn the correct return on their assets – offering diversification and ongoing rebalancing.
Through the financial planning process, it was discovered they needed assistance with estate planning and tax planning. I was able to guide them through the estate planning process and worked with their tax accountant to ensure they were doing the appropriate tax-loss harvesting when needed, making sure that their plan generated the greatest possible outcome for the clients' loved ones in the next generation. This is an ongoing service that we continually work on.
Overall, we provided a complete wealth management service that provided peace of mind and the guidance they were seeking.
Retirement Planning
The Scenario: As a husband and wife approach the end of their careers, they seek guidance on when and how they could retire comfortably. Both of their careers had included 401k’s from former employers, as well as other IRA’s and savings.
The Solution: After meeting with them and understanding their needs and their situation, we first consolidated their accounts from the various 401ks and IRAs. Next, we ran various income planning scenarios to determine the best time for them to retire. We also were able to understand what additional funds they should be contributing to their retirement accounts until the time of their retirement. After analyzing this information, we created an appropriate portfolio asset allocation for their retirement accounts which would be adjusted once retirement began. We would continue to provide ongoing rebalancing as needed, to and through retirement.
Business Strategies
The Scenario: A successful medical professional had a thriving practice which was providing a high income for him and his wife. However, they needed assistance in creating an ongoing financial plan that incorporated a strategy to lower their taxes.
The Solution: We set up a 401k for the business and created a strategy to enable both husband and wife to contribute a large sum of their income into their retirement accounts, thus lowering their taxable income considerably. Additionally, we worked with their insurance and tax professionals to provide other unique tax strategies that have proven very effective in lowering their taxable income. We also provided a complete Wealth Management service for them and created a retirement plan for when they plan to transition to the next stage of life.
Fiduciary Advice
As we serve our clients long-term, we begin to think of them as family. In the same way, we have our family’s best interest in mind; we have your best interest, too. For that reason, we have become an Accredited Investment Fiduciary, meaning we abide by the fiduciary standard of care at all times. This is a promise that we act solely in our client’s best interest when offering advice or making financial decisions. While the advice we do offer is most often personalized and tailored to each client’s unique vision, there are some general principles that we always believe in. These include:
Evaluating your risk management needs, tax planning options, and investment strategies BEFORE making any lifestyle decisions.
Periodically reviewing your progress to be sure you stay on course to your dream financial destination.
Keeping our clients educated on the latest and best investment, tax, and planning ideas.
Provide timely, complete, and accurate information to your advisors so that they may make informed opinions.