Newsletter 11/2017
Newsletter 11/2017
Your Life Your Legacy Quarterly Newsletter 11/2017
Intro
We are excited to share with you the first issue in what will be our quarterly newsletter! We feel it is appropriate to share some insight into our daily encounters, and to highlight important experiences for each of us to learn from. Sharing experiences can often times bring real life lessons for everyone involved. It can also provide useful information to act upon within our own lives.
Over the years we have been blessed to be a part of the most vulnerable and exciting times in the lives of our clients. We find ourselves being called when a new baby is born, when the idea of purchasing a house is on the table, or when a loved one dies. These are all intimate experiences, and in these life changing times financial advice is needed, along with a backdrop of human interaction and understanding at the core.
Our Motto
Taking time to recognize these moments and to be a helpful consultant is the essence of what our company is all about. When someone brings a life moment to us, whether it be going through a divorce or retiring, we want to be able to step back, listen, and provide advice in a clear actionable manner. To assist us, we have integrated our motto and tools together to make sure we are currently informed and understand where you want to go.
Your Life- a way for you and your advisor to know what is happening with all your accounts at a given time. Your Legacy- knowing what your big picture goals are for you and your family. We hope you find these newsletters helpful and engaging; we truly value the experiences we share with each and every one of you.
Your Life
Newsletter 11/2017How much risk are you willing to take to meet your retirement goals? Is your portfolio in alignment with your risk assessment?
We recently had a client that expressed some frustration that we were not meeting her investment return expectations. From our perspective, her portfolio was actually beating the benchmark that we were tracking: moderate risk. After we performed a risk analysis, we realized that, even though she was in her seventies, we were taking half of the risk that she was willing to take.
In a market that we are experiencing this year, taking more risk has definitely enhanced returns. So what does an investor do? We encourage you to sign up on our new “Your Life” investment portal. Whereby you can evaluate the percentage of stocks in your portfolio and review your personal investment results. In addition, we can also complete a risk assessment together to determine the level of risk you are comfortable with in your portfolio.
Your Legacy
When you hear the word legacy, what does it mean to you? How do you want people to remember you? Will your friends or family members remember you for what you left them? Or, will they remember you more for the times you spent together?
Recently, we had a client lose her spouse. They were true soul-mates and had created a living legacy together as they shared incredible life experiences. They even shared their home with fellow travelers they met from around the world. Over the years, they always came to our events together and we’ve built a relationship with them. Being that they both came from previous marriages, we only managed her retirement assets. We knew of his desire for his spouse to be taken care of. However, we did not know what his legal documents said or who his beneficiaries were on his accounts. We knew he had children, one of which had substance abuse issues.
Newsletter 11/2017Recently, we had a client lose her spouse. They were true soul-mates and had created a living legacy together as they shared incredible life experiences. They even shared their home with fellow travelers they met from around the world. Over the years, they always came to our events together and we’ve built a relationship with them. Being that they both came from previous marriages, we only managed her retirement assets. We knew of his desire for his spouse to be taken care of, however, we did not know what his legal documents said or who his beneficiaries were on his accounts. We knew he had children, one of which had substance abuse issues.
Also, we knew he had a trust. There were conditions in the trust for the trustee to restrict the beneficiaries’ access to the funds. Unfortunately, we learned together that he hadn’t changed his IRA or ROTH IRA beneficiary to the Trust. Although, he did have his personal accounts in the Trust, the IRA assets may ultimately be distributed to the child outright with “no strings attached.” If you have any special bequests or circumstances, we want to know “your legacy”. We recommend that you work with your estate attorney, and consult with us to align your accounts with your intentions.
Newsletter 11/2017