7 Services that a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Provides

Investing is serious business.  How well you manage your investments can make the difference between a comfortable retirement and working ‘till you drop.  Most people use a financial advisor of some kind.

Back in the day, people opened an account with a major investment firm and used a broker who would call and make recommendations to buy or sell.  They were essentially stock and bond salesmen whose loyalty was to their firms.

That has all changed.

The trend now is away from the major firms and toward Registered Investment Advisors – RIAs.  RIAs are fiduciaries whose duty is to put their clients’ interests ahead of their own.  They help people plan their future and take over the every-day investing decisions for them.

What can an individual expect from an RIA?

• Asset management. This means creating a portfolio appropriate to the client, making changes in the best interest of the client, and reacting to market conditions.
• Financial planning. Organizing a client’s financial affairs.  Determining the best way of achieving the client’s objective.  Reviewing the client’s insurance and estate planning needs.
• Reporting and record keeping. Maintaining the organization of finances.  Performance reporting.  Maintaining cost and purchase data.
• Life planning. Helping the client uncover what they really want to accomplish and creating a roadmap to getting there.
• Retirement planning. Providing a path to living well once the paycheck stops and people are dependent on fixed income sources and their personal savings.  Retirement is a major life change.  RIAs typically offer comprehensive retirement plans that help people decide when to retire and what how well they can live.
• Estate planning. Leaving money to heirs and charities must be carefully planned or large portions of an estate can go to taxes or the wrong individuals.
• Concierge services. This can include attending meetings with attorney, accountants or bankers.  It can include services such as buying cars, arranging for travel or hiring someone to pay bills.  Relations between an RIA and a client are often so close that they are even consulted on issues such are marriage or divorce.

Effective Retirement Plans Do Not End at Retirement

There are those fortunate individuals who, because of wise planning, are able to retire without having to worry about how much money they can spend after their paychecks stop.  These people can afford their needs and wants from sources like pensions and social security that adjust for inflation.  They have probably been saving all of their lives and have always lived below their means.  Others are not so fortunate.

Most middle class retirees fund their retirement spending from Social Security, a pension (perhaps), and income from investments.  Because people often live several decades after retirement, it’s vitally important to make estimates and projections about the future.

Here are just a few of the things that factor into how much it will cost to live once you retire:

• Your basic living expenses; your “needs.”
• The cost of your “wants” and “wishes” above your basic expenses
• The age at which you want to retire.
• The number of years in retirement.
• Spousal income and, in two income families, the age at which each spouse retires.
• Your pension benefits.
• Life, disability and long-term-care needs.
• The age at which you apply for Social Security.
• The value of your investment assets at retirement.
• The estimated return on your investment assets.
• Your risk tolerance.
• The rate of inflation during retirement.

Putting all these factors together is a complicated process that’s beyond the capability of most individuals who don’t work in finance.  Complex planning programs have been developed that can provide answers.  These answers typically provide a probability of success or failure via a procedure called “Monte Carlo” analysis.

We have found that people who begin planning early can make appropriate mid-course corrections while they still have time.  It also provides them with the peace of mind.  Having a well-thought-out plan for the future removes a great deal of worry an uncertainly.

If you are approaching retirement without a plan, give us a call for more information.  We would be happy to meet with you to discuss your needs.

Don’t believe the doom and gloom about the economy.

The invaluable Brian Wesbury, Chief Economist of First Trust, recently made some interesting comments about the economy.

First, there are the employment statistics:

The best news for the consumer is that the labor market continues to heal. At 4.4%, the unemployment rate is the lowest since 2007. Some watch what they call the “true” unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers as well as part-timers who claim they’d prefer full-time jobs – that’s 8.6%, also the lowest since 2007. Meanwhile, wages and salaries are up 5.5% in the past year, outstripping inflation.

Meanwhile the average American has reduced his debt burden to levels not seen since the early 1980s.  While student loans have reached record levels and auto loans delinquencies have grown, consumer debt has dropped by 50% since the end of 2009.

Finally, consumers have changed their buying patterns.  They are shifting their buying to the Internet and away from brick-and-mortar stores.  Some of the old-line retailers are experiencing sales and profitability problems even as a company like Amazon is building physical stores.

We remain in the midst of a technological revolution.  Stay alert and very nimble.

If you want to learn how to navigate your way through the shoals and rapids of the investment river, give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.

Being There

Anyone who has been in a long-term committed relationship understands what “being there” means.

One of the benefits of a stable relationship is that you have someone you can rely in when you need help.  Couples support each other.  Even as traditional roles have evolved, most families still have a division of labor when it comes to certain chores and tasks.  The fact is that some people are good at one thing and not so good at others.  What’s great about compatible couples is that they complement each other and, as a result, they are stronger, smarter and wiser together.

This is why the loss of a companion is such a traumatic experience.

All of a sudden, the person you have relied on is no longer there.  There is a big void in your life.  You may find yourself wondering what you are going to do.

While we don’t promote ourselves as the substitute spouse, in a financial sense we quite often find ourselves in that role.

When a spouse or long-time companion dies, our surviving clients often call on us to provide financial guidance.  Having dealt with hundreds of these transitions, we know the ins and outs of the estate settlement process.  We know the common pitfalls and things that can go wrong and are there to provide advice and guidance to help lift the burden and take care of things correctly and efficiently.

We relieve people from having to do it themselves.

We’ve written a set of books on this issue to help people plan ahead before their time comes, called BEFORE I GO.  The book and workbook are a wonderful compliment to traditional estate planning documents and help to fill in the missing information that those documents tend to leave out.

For a copy of these guides, you can contact us or you can buy them on Amazon.com.  Click HERE for a link.

Let us know if you have any questions or if you or anyone you’re close to needs an experienced and helpful hand working through one of these situations.