It’s important to know what to expect out of a financial planning engagement. At the end of the process, here’s what we will accomplish together:
Organize
Get all of your data and information organized and consolidated.
Prioritize
Uncover, prioritize and write down your values, goals, dreams, concerns, and fears in order to understand what does (or should) affect the decisions you make.
Learn
Educate you on alternative strategies so you can make informed decisions.
Execute
Develop a written, comprehensive financial plan that details the steps you should take to have the highest probability of reaching your goals.
Four Areas of Planning:
We believe it’s important for our clients to be intentional with every dollar. This begins with understanding where and when each dollar is coming in and for what purpose those dollars are being used. The problem with traditional budgeting is that it requires ongoing, even tedious administration. This often causes people to lose interest in keeping track, thus potentially leading to wasted dollars. Our budgeting system removes the burden of ongoing administration and allows our clients to confidently enjoy today with the knowledge that they have diligently prepared for tomorrow.
The cornerstone of all good financial plans is comprehensive risk management. Many people have not taken the time to understand what they have or how it fits within their overall plan. They know they have some things in place, but they don't know how far it would go to protect their assets and maintain their lifestyle. Our financial planning process helps our clients determine the risks that they face and design an efficient safety net, so that if the unexpected happens, their plan can stay on track.
When it comes to investing, we feel that many investors and investment professionals alike seem to focus more on which funds to buy and when to get in and out of the market. But we believe that focusing on timing and selection alone are unlikely to lead to long-term financial success, and in fact may cause many investors to underperform not just the market, but even their own investments! With a healthy historical perspective, we help our clients understand why we believe that successful wealth building is far more a temperamental pursuit than an analytical one. Our clients realize human nature is a direct cause of many of the classic emotional mistakes investors make, and when they allow us to guide their investing behavior, the outcome can be far greater than what they would have achieved on their own.
The words "Estate Planning" bring to mind for many people the thought of estate taxes. For some of our clients, that is a large concern, but for others, they dismiss as something they don't have to worry about. But legacy planning entails much more than that. It is retaining the right to make important decisions for yourself and your family, and not leaving those decisions to a judge. It is maintaining dignity through clarifying your wishes, so that your family doesn't have to wonder or argue about what you may have wanted. It is protecting the privacy of your family's wealth, and not making it a matter of public record. For our clients, a plan helps ensure that they don't leave anything to chance, and their legacy to their family is a great one.