WHAT IS FINANCIAL PLANNING?

Working with a financial planner goes beyond just picking investments. While your investment strategy is a key area in your financial plan, it is not the only area.

Working with our Bethesda, MD-based financial planning firm, you receive an array of financial services, such as:

budgeting and cash flow planning. risk management. retirement account and pension planning. investment management. insurance analysis.
tax optimization. estate planning. employee benefit analysis. social security and medicare analysis. health care cost analysis.

Earning a high return on your investments helps only if you know how to use that money to achieve your goals. The same goes for all the areas of your financial life. As your financial planner, we get to know both you and your goals well so that we can personalize your financial services to your needs.

For example, to retire comfortably, you need more than just a high balance in your retirement accounts. You need a plan for withdrawing from those accounts so that you feel confident that you will not deplete your retirement savings.

Whatever your financial goals may be, a comprehensive financial plan can go a long way toward helping you achieve them.

 The Financial Planning Process 

To achieve your financial goals, it helps to follow a defined financial planning process, rather than trying to sort out your personal finances on an ad hoc basis. Though the process will vary depending on the financial advisor, we follow a structured six-step process for developing and implementing a financial plan.

The six steps of our structured process include:

consultation, fact finding, financial planning, investment planning, asset protection, and ongoing reviews

What Areas Does Investment Management Address? 

As comprehensive investment management professionals, we do much more than buying and selling stocks for you. The services we provide include:

Budgeting/cash flow planning:

We help you balance your spending and saving so that you can enjoy life now while also putting money away for the future.

Investment management:

Your investment strategy is tailored to your personal and financial goals. We make recommendations based on factors such as your age, risk tolerance, and return needs. Your portfolio will be constructed according to your strategy and will include ongoing management such as rebalancing.

Retirement account/pension planning:

Preparing a retirement plan includes several steps, some of which overlap with the other areas in this list. From determining how much of your income to save, to choosing tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts, to determining your pension survivorship options, we work with you to create a retirement plan that helps you enjoy a sustainable, comfortable lifestyle.

Insurance analysis:

Your life, both personal and professional, should be adequately covered for rainy days. As a fiduciary, fee-only advisor, we provide recommendations in your best interest when it comes to insurance coverage. We can also recommend you to a trusted insurance professional.

Tax optimization:

To increase your net income, we provide proactive tax planning, taking advantage of tax strategies such as tax-loss harvesting or using tax-advantaged savings accounts. We can provide up-to-date financials to your tax professional on your behalf.

Estate planning:

A comprehensive financial plan involves documenting how you want your assets distributed after you pass. It also involves setting up documents such as advance directives and powers of attorney to help make sure you are taken care of should you become incapacitated. We coordinate with your attorney on documentation and review your estate plans with you regularly to determine if updates are needed.

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