FOUR PHASES OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Financial Planning for Individuals & Families
It is critical that your financial plan grows and evolves with life. We’ll make sure we bring discipline to your plan so that it addresses all your needs throughout your life. We’ll ensure the phases of your financial plan are dynamic, and evolve with your life.
For individuals and families, we focus on asset/liability matching, tax-efficiency, and cost-effective planning throughout the four key phases of financial management: accumulation, distribution, preservation, and legacy.
Phase 1: Accumulation
Saving and investing to build wealth.
In the Accumulation Phase, you will work to plan to budget, determine cash flow for saving and investing, and set goals to accumulate wealth.
Depending on your cash flow for savings, we will begin to fund your financial goals (“fill the buckets”) such as emergency money, retirement, education, etc.
This is an important phase not only in budgeting and setting goals, but just as importantly in automating savings, “paying yourself”, and developing a disciplined framework to build for your future.
- Maintain cash reserves for life events
- Maximize funding for retirement using vehicles such as 457, 401(k), 403(b), Traditional IRA or Roth IRA, Executive Comp Plans
- Invest for future education with 529 Plans, Education Savings Accounts, and UGMAs/UTMAs
- Diversify portfolio with asset allocation
- Invest systematically to leverage dollar-cost-averaging utilizing auto-invest methods via ACHs
- Traditional to Roth Conversion Strategies
* There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio, nor protect against market risk.
Financial Planning Opportunities That May Apply:
- Maximize budget and automated savings opportunities
- Realize potential gains from investments with growth rate of return
- Purchase real estate, including income property, with the help of a licensed real estate agent
- Review stock option plans
- Maximize tax benefitted accounts
- Manage income tax consequences
Phase 2: Distribution
Living confidently by disbursing your investments efficiently.
In the Distribution Phase, we plan how you will start collecting on the various investments to fund your goals.
Critical to this phase is managing your withdrawal rate early on and choosing between the various investment accounts from a tax perspective. Continued investment management of your allocation will also play an ongoing role.
- Diversify between tax-deferred and taxable investment vehicles
- Adjust withdrawal strategies between tax-deferred and taxable investment vehicles as life events occur
- Take required IRA distributions and Employee Compensation Plan distributions as required
Financial Planning Opportunities That May Apply:
- Adjust risk tolerance for lifestyle
- Review distribution investments and rebalance if necessary
- Utilize government and/or employee benefit plans
- Follow fixed income strategies
- Maximize Social Security benefits
* This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific for specific individualized tax or legal advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific situations with a qualified tax or legal advisor.
Phase 3: Preservation
Guarding your assets and your lifestyle.
In the Preservation Phase, we continue smart and diverse investment strategies that now include managing distributions, but importantly you peer into the future even more.
Some key investment decisions at this point are to protect your wealth for your loved ones, makes decisions on allocation keeping in mind to what generation the asset will now be managed for, and fine tuning your estate documents and account beneficiaries.
- Maintain cash reserves for emergencies
- Manage debt
- Utilize investments with a fixed rate of return
- Provide for spouse/partner and dependents in case of death
- Protect auto, home and personal liabilities
Financial Planning Opportunities That May Apply:
- Replace earnings if disabled
- Cover health care needs and potential long-term care
- Protect any special needs of family members
- Secure business continuation needs
Phase 4: Legacy
Understanding financial strategies that will allow you to provide for loved ones or your favorite charities.
In the Legacy Phase, we plan for life after you are no longer here. What would you like to do with some of your wealth to help your loved ones or family members you haven’t even met?
We look deeper into your estate and review your key documents, while also employing gifting strategies, the potential use of trusts, and the transfer of property and/or business holdings.
- Review beneficiaries periodically
- Develop a will
- Establish trusts as appropriate
- Assign a power of attorney
* We don’t provide some of these services directly, but will provide a referral to a qualified tax attorney or other advisor.
Financial Planning Opportunities That May Apply:
- Manage settlement costs and inheritance taxes
- Transfer ownership of assets (personal and business)
- Consider estate planning vehicles
- Identify assets owned in different states
- Employ gifting strategies