We begin with an assessment of your entire financial situation, creating a clear picture of your assets, liabilities, and overall financial health. This helps us understand your family’s unique needs and goals, laying the groundwork for a tailored financial plan that supports both your immediate and long-term objectives.
We also assist in designing and managing retirement plans tailored to your business’s needs. From setting up retirement plan orientation meetings to leveraging employee education sessions, we keep your retirement plans compliant, competitive and aligned with your financial goals.
Effective tax planning is crucial for optimizing your financial strategy. We collaborate closely with your CPA to devise tax-efficient strategies that help reduce your tax liability while maximizing deductions and credits. Our goal is to align your tax planning with your broader financial objectives, creating a well-coordinated approach to managing your tax obligations.
Our estate planning and philanthropy services focus on creating a legacy that reflects your values and goals. We work alongside your attorney to develop and maintain a comprehensive estate plan that addresses wealth transfer, trusts, and charitable giving.
For business owners, exit planning is a critical aspect of preparing for the future. We help you develop strategies for a smooth transition, whether through selling your business, passing it on to a family member, or other exit strategies. Our focus is on maximizing the value of your business for a successful transition that meets your financial objectives.
Our insurance and asset protection services help to shield your wealth and assets against unexpected events. We evaluate your current coverage and recommend enhancements to protect against risks, including property loss, liability, and health-related issues.
We offer specialized strategies for managing executive compensation, including stock options, bonuses, and other incentives. Our goal is to enhance these compensation packages for tax efficiency and long-term wealth building.
Navigating lines of credit and mortgage options can be a complex component of any financial plan. We provide guidance on managing credit and mortgages, helping you create strategies that support your financial situation. Whether you’re looking to refinance, obtain new credit, or manage existing debts, our assistance coordinates your borrowing with your overall financial strategy.
Research shows that four out of five investors have more risk in their portfolio than they realize.* This excess of risk can subject you to greater losses in market downturns. Risk is different for every person based on their unique situation, stage of life, and personality. It is important to understand your personal risk preference so that your portfolio aligns with it and you aren’t caught off guard. Do you know your risk number? Check out my online risk assessment tool.
*Research by Riskalyze, LLC
Comprehensive financial planning begins with a thorough assessment of your entire financial situation, creating a clear picture of your assets, liabilities, and overall financial health. This includes retirement planning, tax optimization strategies, estate planning, insurance and asset protection, and investment management. For business owners, it also encompasses exit planning and business succession planning. For high-income executives it includes maximizing employee benefits and executive compensation strategies. The process involves understanding your family’s unique needs and goals to create a tailored plan that supports both immediate and long-term objectives.
It often starts with a simple question, like “When can I retire?”, “How much can I spend in retirement?”, or “Will what I have be enough?” While the question might be simple and straightforward, the answer is often complex because it involves a combination of assumptions, such as investment returns, interest rates, inflation expectations, spending, income sources, the list goes on. While almost anyone can benefit from financial planning, you likely benefit even more if you have complex financial situations, multiple income sources, business ownership, or significant assets to protect. Business owners particularly need specialized guidance for retirement plan management, exit strategies, and business succession planning. Executives often need help with managing restricted shares and/or stock options. If you’re unsure about your investment risk levels, tax efficiency, or estate planning needs, a comprehensive financial assessment can provide valuable clarity.
Fee-only financial advisors receive compensation exclusively from client fees, not from commissions on financial products. This structure reduces potential conflicts of interest since the advisor isn’t incentivized to recommend specific products for commissions. Fee-based advisors, in contrast, may receive both fees and commissions. Fee-only planning often provides more objective advice aligned with your best interests rather than product sales. A fee-only advisor is considered a fiduciary advisor at all times, whereas in a fee-based model, the advisor may be a fiduciary in some aspects and a transactional salesperson in others.
Business owners face unique retirement challenges since they often lack traditional employer-sponsored plans and the business itself is often their largest investment. A general guideline suggests saving 10-20% of income, but business owners may need to save more due to irregular income patterns and the need to fund their own retirement plans. Consider establishing SEP-IRAs, 401(k)s, or defined-benefit plans, depending on your business structure and employee count. The key is creating tax-efficient strategies that maximize deductions while building retirement wealth.
Risk assessment evaluates your tolerance for investment volatility and potential losses. Research shows 4 out of 5 investors have more risk in their portfolios than they realize, which can subject them to greater losses during market downturns. Risk varies based on your unique situation, life stage, and personality. Understanding your personal risk preference helps align your portfolio appropriately so you’re not caught off guard by market fluctuations.
Effective tax planning is crucial for optimizing your overall financial strategy. This involves having your financial planner collaborate with your CPA to devise tax-efficient approaches that help reduce tax liability while maximizing deductions and credits. Tax planning should align with your broader financial objectives, creating a well-coordinated approach to managing tax obligations across investments, retirement savings, estate planning, and business operations.
Executive compensation planning involves optimizing complex compensation packages, including nonqualified and incentive stock options, restricted shares, bonuses, deferred compensation, and other incentives. The focus is on enhancing these packages for tax efficiency and long-term wealth building. This includes timing strategies for stock option exercises, managing concentrated stock positions, and coordinating compensation with overall financial and tax planning goals.
Wealth protection involves evaluating your current insurance coverage and implementing strategies to shield assets against unexpected events. This includes property loss protection, liability coverage, and health-related issue planning. Asset protection strategies may also involve trust structures, limited partnerships, business entity organization, and proper insurance coverage coordination to create multiple layers of protection for your wealth.
Estate planning creates a legacy that reflects your values and goals while addressing wealth transfer, trust structures, and charitable giving strategies. This work typically involves collaboration between your financial planner and estate planning attorney to develop and maintain a comprehensive plan. Effective estate planning can help minimize tax burdens on heirs, provide for family members according to your wishes, and support philanthropic goals while protecting your wealth for future generations.
Affluent individuals face unique challenges, including complex tax situations, estate planning needs, philanthropic goals, and multigenerational wealth transfer considerations. Their financial planning often requires specialized strategies for executive compensation, business ownership issues, and sophisticated investment approaches. Strategies like Roth conversions, Social Security maximization, qualified charitable deductions, and irrevocable trusts, to name a few, require rigorous, detailed analysis to make sure all relevant aspects are considered. The planning process typically involves coordinating with multiple professionals, including CPAs, attorneys, and specialized advisors, to address these complex needs comprehensively.
Book a Fit Meeting today and let’s explore how we might work together. It’s a no-obligation way to see if we’re the right fit for your financial journey.
