Wealth Management

You have goals for your future and probably more than one. They might be about the lifestyle you hope to lead in retirement, a child’s education or just genuine aspirations. There might be a charitable cause you hope to support, or a hobby you’ve yearned to pursue. Or perhaps, “You don’t know what you don’t know,” and want to learn what is realistically possible. We believe in making a plan and following the plan.  Making your wealth management conscious and pursued.

The world and global markets are constantly adjusting, so must you.  Take comfort in knowing, we will adapt your plan accordingly. Step by step, we will guide you.  You will change, the world will change and that’s ok.  Time does this to us all and we will be ready.  Our expertise will ensure goals and targets are met, “With your blessing.”

Wealth management is very straightforward.

Retirement & College Savings

You must be capable before you can help another.  The airline flight rules for putting on your cabin air mask first, is the very reason and motivation you need to use when conducting your own financial planning. Life is like cruising at 35,000 feet but when an issue arrises, the first thing most people do is help others.  This is a grave mistake for you and your retirement. The yellow oxygen mask will dangle a lot in life, what will you do next?

Just about everyone prioritizes saving for college before retirement because of their order in life.  College will come sooner, I have time for retirement.  This approach could not be more wrong.

YOU MUST PRIORITIZE RETIREMENT before college, your next car, remodeling your house and those new shoes. Think of it this way.  Think about the consequences of you placing the mask on your child first.  Think about the consequences of being in your golden years and dependent on your children.  Do not threaten or burden them any longer.

Stabilize your retirement plan by using these simple steps. Forever be a saver of money. Over fund your retirement early and often. Prioritize this above all things until you have reached $300k at 40 years of age or $600k at 50 years of age.  This will ensure you wind up with approximately $1.2m at age 60.  These target ranges and the concept that you should double your earnings every ten years is reasonable.  Once you’ve attained the range target, move to investing in your next fiscal priority, College Savings.

This does not mean you can stop funding your retirement, it only means you can start using some of the money you have promoted for savings use to be diverted to college savings.

Finding a balance with your money is a crucial part of personal finance. Saving for retirement does not have to be mutually exclusive from saving for college.  This might seem impossible to you, but this is why you ask for help.  We teach people how to save everyday. No one is left behind.

Business Owners

I spend a good portion of my time helping business owners go regional, national and global.  Where are you?

Owning your own business is a dream for many. Managing your own business takes a lot more than hard work.

We provide services to make your front and back office requirements easy.  Your biggest challenge comes from managing your business profitably.  Knowing your cost points and thus, you need a financial plan.

A financial plan that addresses financial needs and products for every stage of your business life cycle and that takes into account your personal financial goals and dreams.

Tax Management:
As your goals and financial situation change, there may be new opportunities to reduce your taxable income.

Retirement and Benefits:
The right retirement plan can provide tax benefits and help you attract and keep high-quality employees.

Business Valuation:
Your business is important to you, but do you know how much it’s really worth?  What business activities grow your business worth and which hurt.  We will develop a clear picture of your business’s value and integrate it with your personal financial situation – so you’ll have the comprehensive view you need to plan for a successful future.

Business Succession:
How will you transfer your business when it’s time to move on?

Business protection:
Protecting your business means being prepared for unexpected situations. Together, we’ll create a plan to help guard against financial losses resulting from employee departures, disabilities or other disruptions.

You’ve got a lot to think about and consider being a business owner.  Let us help you navigate and place you on a path of knowing what’s next versus stumbling into the next hurdle.  It’s been done before, why figure it out on your own?

Insurance

Insurance is about protection and retirement.  I can be used to protect you, your business, family, house, health and future.  The insurance topic is wide and deep.  A must for all and you should participate in every form of insurance you can qualify for.  If this sounds like a sales pitch, “You don’t know what you don’t know,” and that will be very costly until you understand what we mean by being protected.

Spend the time to protect yourself. A fact you should know: The rich get richer because of their strong use of insurance.  Protection is not a choice when it comes to your family, livelihood and future.

Having insurance benefits  you in so many ways, including taxes.  Huh?  Yes, taxes.  So prepare for what is most important and come discuss why no one every says, “They wish they had less insurance.”

The bias of insurance is that it comes in all shapes and form.  And when one offers you ridiculously low insurance cost, like when you cover house and car together, you need to understand the downstream problems of doing this. We are not a boutique and can offer you the very best the industry has to offer. Not the limited book of offerings a boutique has, but from all the very best.  We’ve evaluated and keep track of who’s doing what by using reports provided by third party assessments of the best of best.  Our recommendations are measured by, the best suited to your needs and that is what is offered.  NEVER one brand only.

Inherently, should you go boutique you may pay less early, but in the end, the boutique hook will have you paying more.  Sleep well and have peace of mind when we bring you the best available option and have you adapt when something better comes along.

Cash & Credit

“Cash is King” and “More Credit means higher Credit Score”  You hear this a lot, but… for the most part, this is oversimplified and not true.  These phrases of wisdom come with traps and the lesson learned is not so obvious, so people make the same mistakes over and over.

Ever wonder why some people seem to have it all and others are constantly trying to look the part and living beyond their means?  Most people are in the latter category.  That’s because their money is not working for them and they don’t save.  Save a lot from each paycheck. Spend only what your “working for you” money has provided and never touch the “Growing” base.

We all need cash to pay bills, operate through our daily lives.  Having a lot sit in the bank and collect no interest is not king.  Every available dollar should be invested and working for you.  Only leave enough to cover your living activities in the bank, the rest goes to work.

Companies do this and so should you.

Credit, Credit Score, Interest Rates and Loans are all connected.  But the biggest factor to your ability to grow your credit is your income.  800 credit score and a $30k yearly income is not going to get you a credit card with a $25k limit.  We have many clients with a 650 credit score and $50k limits. So what is the catch? The danger? The mistake people make over and over?

They don’t appreciate the power of compounding interest rates and carry too much credit debt.

As it is, you should be paying off your credit card every month, “With the money you already have earned from the savings growing base fund.” You should also use your card to benefit from points or cash back.  The more you spend on the card and pay back, the more the banks will be willing to lend.  So where you can, you should be in the habit of using the card for everything living related and paying it off every month.

NOTE: You don’t want to carry credit debt. The interest rates will quickly consume your ability to pay the debt.

Most credit cards are way above 15% interest rate, and for every $1,000 of credit debt, interest is $150/yr.  Not bad until you consider the average amount of credit debt people carry is $6,375 and don’t forget to add another $956 for interest. That’s about $611 per month to pay it off in a year. BUT, you would not be carrying credit debt if you had the ability to pay it off and then, life happens… You get a flat tire… Your business needs a new printer…

Prevent all of this with a little bit of planning known as budgeting.  Live within your means.  Get disciplined and map out every monthly expense and remove the extras.  Take all the extra money from your new disciplined actions and reward yourself by paying it toward your debt.  Get to debt free and life will begin to look a lot different. That extra money begins to turn into savings.  Savings begins to grow and work for you. Soon enough, your life looks like you’ve got it all.

Credit debt can spiral out of control with a single bad decision, in a minute.  Recovery from credit debt usually takes years.

Savings is King. Make your money work for you. Use credit cards like a tool and benefit from the rewards.

Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds and ETFs

The general investment offerings everyone knows about.  Some better than others and we don’t invest traditionally.  Our approach has adapted.  We have learned from traditional practices and theory, but we are not strong believers in diversity.  We have some, but not by tradition, by market opportunity.  This is why we can state, “You should set your expectations on us to beat the indexes.” And we do, consistently.

As you enter into a relationship with us, you are now a student of our philosophy and skills that will protect and grow your wealth.  We will define every recommendation around your specific needs.  Those recommendations will be defined and explained to the point you can speak for those decisions on your own.

The stock market will slowly trend up for the next few years.  Yes it will go up and down and we will be prepared for an adjustment.  Brexit is stirring up uncertainty. Europe is showing signs of weakness. China and the world is going to adjust tariffs down and further expose the cracks in their business operations and economy.  Stock picking is still an art form and we’ve got you covered.

The American market and economy is stable.  American companies are lean and mean.  Production is high and cost to produce is low.  So the business side of things are good.  Free trade will improve our price competition abroad and apply more pressure on the foreign markets. The trouble in the foreign markets will push money into ours for safekeeping.  Stay tuned.

Near Zero Interest Rates.  More people want to save and are doing so.  Problem is, there is no interest to be earned by leaving it in the bank.  Bonds are used to provide income, but even those are not paying at 3% so you are left with ETFs and Mutual Funds. With more and more money being leveraged in the market, you need to know the technology shifts, economic trends, millennial and boomer spending patterns, global activity, political decision affects, etc…

All indicators show that global pressure continues to inflate our market, trend is up.  Stability is something globally wished for, but until there is a better place to put their money, the inflow will continue.

We will continue to keep an eye on things locally and globally, but for now we are good.  Volatility provides opportunity, so don’t panic.  When it’s time to go to a cash position, we will tell you.

In the meantime, get your life, business, retirement, wealth and estate in order.  Call us today.