Financial Services

Finance 101

1. Personal Planning
   1. Estate Planning
   2. Retirement Planning
   3. College Funding
   4. Will/Trust Analysis
   5. Asset Management
   6. Life Insurance Ownership Management
   7. Long Term Care
2. Businesses
   1. Employee Benefits
   2. Buy/Sell Strategies
   3. Business Succession Planning
   4. Executive Compensation
   5. Risk Management Analysis
3. Investments
   1. Mutual Funds
   2. Managed Accounts
4. Annuities
   1. Variable Annuities
   2. Traditional Annuities
   3. Equity Indexed Annuities
5. Life, Health and Disability Insurance
   1. Universal Life Insurance
   2. Whole Life Insurance
   3. Variable Life Insurance
   4. Term Life Insurance
   5. Health Insurance
   6. Disability Insurance

Estate Planning:
Through our strategic alliance with an Estate Attorney and CPA, we assist our clients in the design and implementation of programs to ensure that their wealth is passed along to family without being negatively impacted by estate or inheritance taxes. This service enables clients to plan personal estates to ensure maximum distribution and conservation to future generations. 

Retirement Planning:
Having the ability to retire comfortably and free from financial pressures remains the main issue for many of our clients - both business owners and employees. It is critical that the retirement plan be properly assigned, implemented, communicated and administered. Retirement plans are dynamic and change as client's businesses and tax laws change. They demand continued and careful analysis, IRS compliance review and plan administration. The appropriateness of a "qualified" or "non-qualified" plan for any individual is determined based on the individual's existing financial condition as well as on his/her goals and dreams.

College Funding:
Higher education comes with a high price tag, but it is an expense each client can meet through proper financial planning. We work with each client concerning whether the current savings strategy will cover a child's college expenses. We help calculate college costs, evaluate funding options and create an education strategy tailored to specific goals.

Options may include:
State-sponsored college savings plans (529s)
Education Savings Accounts
Traditional and Roth IRAs
Custodial accounts (UGMA/UTMA)
Education Trusts

Will/Trust Analysis:
Wills and Trusts are tools in the larger process of estate planning. There is an unfortunate, widespread misconception that this topic is a subject of interest only to the wealthy. In fact, an estate plan provides the legal mechanism for disposing of property upon death in a way that recognizes clients' wishes and the needs of their survivors, while minimizing taxes. Even more importantly, for many, it involves planning for affair handling in case of disability and the deeply personal medical choices to be made as life nears its end. Trusts can play an important role in providing order to financial affairs, assisting with tax planning, simplifying estate settlement and providing guidance for family and other heirs.

Asset Management:
Asset management helps our clients enhance their wealth by maximizing after-tax return with a reasonable level of risk. To accomplish this objective, we integrate active portfolio management with a commitment to after-tax strategies across all appropriate asset classes. We work closely with each client to design and manage a strategy that complements his/her specific investment objectives. Each client's asset allocation may consist of quality money market funds, well-researched equities and investment quality fixed income obligations.

Life Insurance Ownership Management:
Insurance is an important part of a complete financial plan. It can help protect a client's heirs in the event of his or her death and it can help protect a client in the event of a disability. We help determine what type of coverage is best for each client. We provide access to insurance products including term life, whole life, universal life, variable life, survivorship, single premium, long-term care and long-term disability insurance. As clients build a relationship and share financial information with us, we are in a qualified and unique position to provide guidance and determine which insurance products are best for them.

Long-Term Care:
There is a good chance that a client may need to pay for nursing home, assisted living or home health care one day. In fact, there is a 41% chance that those over 65 will spend an average of 2.5 years in a nursing home(1).  More surprising is the fact that 43% of those receiving long-term care are under the age of 65(2). Long-term care involves helping each person with the most intimate aspects of life. Unfortunately, this kind of care is expensive. No one should assume that Uncle Sam would help. Medicare does not cover most long-term care costs. Medicaid benefits are only available when a person has depleted all of his or her assets. We help each client protect him/herself against long-term care expenses by providing the appropriate coverage.

>Back to Top

Employee Benefits:
Providing an employee benefit package that includes quality, affordable health care coverage continues to be one of the greatest challenges for today's employers. We put our considerable experience in this field to work on delivering alternatives to our clients. We evaluate the design of different benefit packages to achieve the best pricing structure and we offer advice on implementing options, such as cafeteria plans, that allow for employee cost-sharing through tax deductible contributions. Additionally, we administer the benefits program and assist employers with the claims filing procedure.

Buy/Sell Strategies:
A Buy/Sell Agreement is simply a written agreement made between the partner or shareholders of the business specifying buy out provisions caused by such things as death, disability, divorce, bankruptcy, voluntary termination, company dissolution, etc.

The execution of a Buy/Sell Agreement can secure a number of very tangible benefits for the shareholders, including:

Continuity of management and control for the remaining owners
A ready market for typically non-marketable business interests
Liquidity to the decedent's estate for estate taxes and administration costs
A fair valuation of the business interest for federal estate tax purposes
A fair return to the decedent's estate for his/her business interests

Business Succession Planning:
A key goal of many of our business owner clients is to eventually transfer their business interest to either family members or key employees. Properly done, this type of planning can offer a worry free, tax efficient method of business succession to both the current owner and his/her successor. Furthermore, the loss of a business owner through death or disability can catch even the most efficiently managed small companies off guard and worse, catch them unprepared to deal with the repercussions. In particular, family businesses are susceptible to erosion of capital, due to estate taxes and legal fees, as well as the possible hurdles of voting control being scattered among heirs with conflicting points of view impeding the business' operation and growth. We provide a professional evaluation of any current situation that helps avoid potential future problems.

Executive Compensation:
Non-qualified deferred compensation programs are typically employed to provide supplement retirement benefits to senior management. They include selective incentive plans, wherein the company makes contributions to fund the plan on behalf of select employees. Executive Compensation plans are a popular vehicle to attract and retain key individuals of the company.

Risk Management Analysis:
Implementing a risk management program is fundamental to a company's ability to protect itself against the loss of key personnel through death, disabling injury or sickness. We offer expertise on selecting life and disability insurance coverage for this risk.

We conduct a financial security analysis to determine the appropriate protection for companies and their key executives. Our analysis evaluates risk management needs and balances them with living or wealth accumulation objectives. We design risk management programs to be affordable, to fill corporate and individual needs and to be flexible enough to allow for a change as need be. Our analysis also involves a review of any existing coverage to ensure it is cost effective and includes up-to-date features. Through risk management analysis, we deliver solutions in the form of policies valued and designed according to our clients' needs.

>Back to Top

Mutual Funds:
A mutual fund pools money from many investors who share the same investment objective as the fund. Mutual funds give everyday investors a variety of investment opportunities. Investors in mutual funds benefit from the knowledge and experience of professional investment managers who are dedicated to security analysis, evaluation and selection. Investors have immediate access to their money by selling shares at the fund's net asset value. Because mutual funds generally invest in a wide range of securities, like stocks and bonds, they provide easy diversification. Since mutual funds are sold in shares, no matter how much a client invests, he/she owns a proportionate amount of all the fund's holdings. Custody, tax reporting and record keeping are among the many services mutual fund companies provide in a highly cost-effective manner.

Managed Accounts:
Because every investor is unique, our investment programs are designed to link client's specific investment needs to the appropriate method of professional investment management. In a world when traditional securities analysis and portfolio management are being questioned as out-of-date in relation to the "new" era of day trading, we are committed to providing personalized investment management services to individuals, families and fiduciaries. We emphasize that each client has unique needs and goals that deserve to be addressed differently. This approach has benefited clients of our firm for many years and we believe it will remain a successful approach into future decades.

>Back to Top

Fixed Annuities:
An annuity is a succession of fixed payments, which are paid at regular intervals over a specific period of time, set at the creation of the annuity. An annuity consists of two phases: an accumulation and an annuitization phase. The accumulation phase provides the client with a constant return on their initial investment. The annuitization phase occurs when the client regularly withdraws money from this investment. There may be a 10% federal tax penalty for withdrawals before age 59 ½. Penalties may apply for withdrawals during the surrender period. An annuity is a retirement-planning tool with a death benefit.

Variable Annuities:
A variable annuity is an annuity that varies and changes according to chosen investment portfolios. The investment returns fluctuate over time to reflect the performance of the chosen portfolio and contract expenses. Variable annuities guarantee a selected income for the duration of the client's life. All variable annuities provide for lifetime income options, which can spread taxation over a lifetime. In the event of a client's death, the principal investment is guaranteed by the issuing insurance company (less withdrawals). Values may fluctuate and may be more or less than original investment based on the performance of the underlying variable portfolio.

Traditional Annuities:
Conservative investors who are more interested in protecting the principal of their investments and receiving a competitive fixed rate of return may be more comfortable with the safety offered by a traditional fixed-dollar annuity. With a deferred fixed annuity, clients lock in an interest rate for an initial period, normally one to three years. When the period ends, the insurance company designates a new rate of return for the succeeding period. Most deferred fixed annuities have a minimum guaranteed rate that will be paid regardless of economic conditions.

Equity Indexed Annuities:
If a client believes in the long-term growth of the stock market, but fear it is short-term volatility, then an Equity Indexed Annuity may be right for that client. Equity Index Annuities credit excess interest to a client's account based on the movements of an external equity index, such as the Standard and Poor's 500 (S&P 500®) Index. The issuing insurance company guarantees a client's principal, while the client may benefit from participating in the potential gains of the corresponding index.

Disclosure for Annuities:

Guarantees are based upon the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.  Guarantees do not apply to the investment performance or account value of a variable annuity's underlying variable portfolios.

>Back to Top

Life Insurance:
Life insurance provides either a stated sum or a periodic income to a client's designated beneficiaries upon his or her death. Certain "life events" such as marriage, the birth of a child, or a change of jobs trigger the need to buy or add life insurance. Deciding the necessity of life insurance is the first step. The next step, deciding which type of life insurance, is where we can help. We offer a variety of policies that fit a variety of needs.

Universal Life Insurance:
Universal Life insurance is similar in design to Term Life insurance, but has an additional feature that allows a client to put extra funds into the policy above the initial life insurance cost. These excess funds are entered into an interest bearing account and are allowed to grow on a tax-advantaged basis. There may be an accumulation of significant cash value over the years and in some circumstances, a client can "borrow" the appreciated funds without paying taxes on the borrowed gains. As long as the policy remains intact, the borrowed funds do not need to be repaid, but interest may be charged to the client's cash value account.

Whole Life Insurance:
A traditional Whole Life insurance policy provides both a death benefit and a cash value component. A client can borrow this cash value to pay for unforeseen expenses, education or even to supplement retirement income. Many Whole Life insurance policies let the client participate in the profits of the insurance company by receiving "dividends." They let clients choose what they want to do with their dividends, from building cash value, to buying additional "paid up" amounts of Whole Life insurance coverage.

Variable Life Insurance:
A traditional Variable Life policy provides both a death benefit and cash value component, but differs from a Whole Life insurance policy because it allows the client to invest the cash value in variable investment portfolios. The variable investment portfolios fluctuate and may be worth more or less then the original investment. If a client accumulates significant cash value over the years, he/she may "borrow" the appreciated funds without paying taxes on the borrowed gains. As long as the policy remains intact, the borrowed funds do not need to be repaid; however, interest may be charged to the cash value account. "Borrowed" funds may reduce the death benefit of the policy and may require additional premiums invested to prevent policy lapse.

Term Life Insurance:
Term Life insurance provides protection for a specific period of time, usually 5, 10, 15 or 20 years. It pays a benefit only if the loved one passes away during the term. If there is an interest in short-term coverage or coverage for a specific need, such as college tuition or the purchase of a home, Term Life insurance may suit a client. It is also an affordable option for younger clients buying insurance for the first time. Term Life insurance does not build cash value and can be more expensive as a client gets older.            

Health Insurance:
Heath Insurance is an important aspect of overall financial and life security. Minimizing the health care costs associated with illness and accidents for a client and his/her family is easy to do. Whether the client is an individual looking for personal health coverage, a small business wanting to create a health insurance benefit for employees or a large corporation, we find the plan that fits their budget and his/her health care needs.

Disability Insurance:
Disability Insurance is designed to replace earned income if an accident or illness prevents a client or employees from earning an income. Disability Insurance is about planning for the unforeseen in life: illness, infirmity and disability. It is about protecting each family as well as employees' families from the loss of income that can occur with a prolonged illness or a lengthy/permanent disability.

>Back to Top

References :

(1) "The Lowdown on Long Term Care" Business and Health , August 1995

(2). "A Shopper's Guide to Long-term Care Insurance" National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, MO