Financial Planning is the development and implementation of coordinated plans for the achievement of a person’s overall financial objective. The six major areas we focus on are:
Retirement planning.- Assessment of you and your family’s investment personality profile.
- Comprehensive investment and real estate holdings review including risk, return and portfolio optimization.
- Income and estate tax reduction analysis and planning.
- Family budgeting and financial progress coaching.
- Comprehensive review of family financial documents and details.
Here are some examples of the questions we will help you answer and the approaches we might take:
How are we doing right now?
- We help you determine your current financial situation and net worth: what you own minus what you owe.
- In a positive, nonjudgmental manner we help you understand your current household income and spending patterns and help you identify areas that if changed, could lead to dramatic progress towards achieving your retirement goals. (Unfortunately, 74% of Americans have less than $100,000 saved for retirement and most will need much more per a March 2016 Go Banking Rates survey) .
- We help you look at any issues that may be holding you back from making better financial progress and are especially good at helping couples communicate positively and work together towards their mutual financial goals.
Are our current investments in the right areas and are they performing acceptably? Are we taking too much risk or not enough?
- We help you determine how your feel about risk and develop your own investment personality profile. Based on your preferences and circumstances, we then suggest the pros and cons of the kinds of investments that might be right for you.
- We help you understand the risks and potential returns associated with your current investments.
- We use statistically based portfolio optimization software and techniques to recommend changes that will help you reduce risk, increase returns or in most cases, do both.
Are we on track to retire comfortably? What goals should we set and how will we achieve them?
- We help you look at retirement and other financial areas most people need to address and help you decide on the financial goals that are right for your family.
- We will help you evaluate the progress you have made so far, identify areas of success and look at what may need improvement.
- We will help you develop a plan that will allow you to maximize your chances to beat the odds and attain your goals.
Are all our financial details in order?
- We do a comprehensive review of the important details relating to your financial life including: insurance coverage, account titles, account beneficiary designations, trust provisions, wills, lost accounts/assets, inheritances, gifting, estate documents, real estate title, assets subject to probate, health care and guardian designations and much more.
- We help you understand your current situation, identify potential problem areas and recommend approaches to address them. This process takes time but is essential for avoiding big problems down the road.
Are we taking full advantage of the Income and Estate tax savings opportunities? Are we set to pay more than we should?
- Identify areas for income tax savings.
- Identify ways to reduce estate taxes.
- Develop a plan to minimize these taxes.