We strive to set ourselves apart from other advisors by offering comprehensive, transparent advice in a variety of categories from retirement planning, insurance, estate planning, college funding and more. Financial planning is more than just managing investments and we believe that every client is more than just their net worth statement number. We take these factors into consideration when discussing financial strategies and making them work for your situation.

Besides this, we welcome the opportunity to collaborate with your other advisors which could include CPAs, tax advisers, or estate planning attorneys. If you need assistance with these services, we can guide you through high-level tax and estate planning scenarios. Keep in mind that we aren’t licensed attorneys, meaning we won’t draft trusts, wills, and related documents. However, we can refer you to a competent and ethical tax advisor or estate planning attorney in our network.

This financial sub-niche is our bread and butter, meaning that we spend most of our resources consulting clients on their retirement plan. We can walk you through the various types of accounts like Roth IRAs, Pension Plans, tax-deferred vehicles like 401(k)s and standard brokerage accounts. Some main strategies we cover include preventing behavioral mistakes like selling prematurely at a loss, growth tactics, sustainable withdrawal practices and more. Achieving a fruitful retirement is one, if not the largest financial goal, which is why it’s imperative to plan for this life stage correctly.

There are many pitfalls that can separate you from your wealth which include the generation-skipping tax (GSTT), estate tax, gift tax and changing regulations. For example, the Trump administration drastically changed the estate tax code, which greatly altered many individuals’ estate planning strategies. We constantly keep ourselves updated on these new changes by taking continuing education courses, accessing educational material through premier advisor resources and by reading content on financial sites like Bloomberg. Some other specific estate planning concepts we can provide guidance on include but aren’t limited to: revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, health care directives, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATS), irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITS), powers of attorney and donor-advised funds.

Risk management is very important to consider as it can protect you and your beneficiaries from unexpected catastrophes like early death, disability, legal troubles and more. Unfortunately, this financial planning category doesn’t have the best reputation as some financial professionals just want to sell insurance products to pad their own pockets, at the expense of their clients. On the other hand, we educate you on a variety of insurance products and help you decide on the right solution for your unique scenario. We’ve advised clients on the following insurance topics like:

• Term vs permanent life insurance
• Life insurance and estate planning integration
• Fixed, variable and indexed annuities
• Disability insurance
• Long term care policies
• Using insurance to provide income in retirement