Let’s get into the financial planning process. Now this may seem boring to most, but I end up geeking out about it, so humor me for a second. Financial success can have a lot of different meanings and can often change over time. At first, it may be getting out of debt. And then it might become achieving financial independence, providing education for your children or living the life you have dreamed about. This is why our process begins with defining what success means to you and identifying your goals. This includes understanding your personal priorities and tolerance for risk. For example, one client may want to pay off debt as soon as possible, but another client may be OK with holding some lower-interest debt and stashing away extra cash in investments or real estate. We never make investments without first working with you to create a plan and portfolio to fit your needs.

  • Step 1: Getting Organized – Don’t worry about digging up all of your old financial documents or tracking down that long lost IRA. We will work together with you to reset passwords and track down your current investments, savings, other assets, debt, taxes, legal documents, and insurance. We will then help you log into your client portal, connect your current accounts and upload any physical documents so that all of you financial life is captured at one place.
  • Step 2: Defining Success  – We’ll help you identify your financial goals, pain points and what success means to you. (We’ll re-evaluate these goals and priorities annually.
  • Step 3: Reviewing Cash Flow and Debt – We’ll analyze your cash flow for savings opportunities and create an annual savings plan.
  • Step 4: Document Review – We’ll review your taxes, insurance, contracts and estate planning documents, and employer benefits and look for ways to optimize your savings.
  • Step 5: Creating Your Financial Plan – We’ll provide recommendations to improve your current financial plan.
  • Step 6: Implementation and Investing – Now, the real fun begins!  We actually make it happen!

Investment Philosophy

We invest primarily in low-cost, tax efficient investments, and do not believe that we or anyone else can consistently beat or time the market.  It is however, easy to match market performance using low-cost ETF’s and mutual funds.  We look at investments holistically as part of your financial plan and prioritize the following:

  • Savings Plan – The most important factor for your financial health is saving regularly.  If you aren’t saving, it doesn’t matter how well you are investing.
  • Tax Minimization – Use tax-sheltered retirement and savings accounts, tax harvesting, and low turnover to keep taxes from eating away at your performance.
  • Diversification – Select a mix of global growth-oriented stocks and investments that protect against inflation and deflation.  Asset classes determine 95% of investment performance.