Plan Now. Worry Less.

What I do: 

Investments and Investment Planning

Although I work with men and women, I specialize in helping women with their money so that they worry less.  Often times these  women are newly single whether from divorce or widowed.  I “hold their hand” so that they feel lighter and less burdened and have a trusted wealth advisor that they feel comfortable having manage their money and investments.  Often times, the women I help were used to their husbands handling the investments.  That’s where I step in and give them peace of mind and guide them and assist them in making those hard to make decisions such as where to invest, how to invest, when to take money out and out of which tax bucket should they take distributions from.       

I help them build wealth in their pre retirement years managing their money whether it’s maximizing a retirement contribution up to the IRS limits or choosing Roth versus pre tax or old 401k’s from prior employers. I help women make their decisions so that it’s not such a heavy burden.  If they are a business owner, I help them decide if they should do a SEP IRA, a Simple IRA, or a 401k.  (And certainly I can invest outside of investing for retirement, being mindful of taxation, using index funds and ETF’s to control taxes.) I also encourage my clients to invest in non retirement accounts so that they have access to money without penalty before age 59 ½.

When they are in their early 60’s, we analyze the best age to turn on Social Security benefits.  Typically, if there is longevity for a husband and wife, the higher income earner waits until age 70 to file and the lesser income earner files earlier at Full Retirement Age, or sooner, depending on various factors such as continued employment and life expectancy.  I always encourage people to never start their benefits until they’ve talked to a knowledgeable financial advisor like myself to run the numbers with the various inputs.   

When they are in their early 70’s we start talking about Required Minimum Distributions and how to manage those effectively.    

When managing their money and protecting their wealth, I help the client with decisions such as what type of account is best for them and what types of investments they are comfortable with. Unless you are in my industry, you do not know everything that is available to you to build and protect wealth.  I educate and help them make decisions perhaps they never had to make before.     

I put the women at ease, no shame, no guilt.  Let’s move forward and start anew now.  The future is bright no matter their age.   

I highly recommend starting with the planning phase rather than investing without a plan. Our first meeting is complimentary. After that, I may charge $250 an hour for financial planning. Sometimes planning can be done in as little as 2 or 3 hours, but for more complex cases, it can be more. For asset management, the fee is 1.0% annually for $100,000 or more of household assets; or 1.4% if less than $100,000. If my client so chooses to implement the plan, and I am managing the money, we review once or twice a year depending on your needs. And in between our reviews, I am always available by phone as a resource with no additional charge.

Every year as your financial advisor we walk through your income and deductions to see if it’s a good year to do Roth conversions with the goal to minimize taxes not just now but through out your lifetime.  For example, I just met with a 65 year old couple. He retired early in the year and therefore had minimal wages.  She has a pension but even still they are in the 10% tax bracket this year.  We had room to fill up the 10% and even the 12% tax bracket as a married couple by doing Roth conversions.  The forward thinking is that one day, she will most likely be a widow, and be pushed into a higher tax bracket even though her income will be the same or less, so let’s control future taxes now while they are in an advantageous tax bracket as a married couple.  The more money we convert before their Required Minimum Distribution age the less they’ll be forced to take out of their Traditional IRA accounts and therefore controlling their taxes in retirement.   

I do what’s best for my clients.  As a Certified Financial Planner ™ professional have a fiduciary responsibility to do so but it’s in my heart and nature to do that automatically.  Most financial advisors are not Certified Financial Planner™ professionals which sets me apart from most advisors.  The CFP® designation involves rigorous education, experience and ethical standards.   

I look at the entire financial picture and create a plan.  From spending to investing.  From estate planning to investment planning.  Do you need a Trust or simply a will?  I am not an attorney but I have other trusted professionals to refer you to to make those decisions.  Do you have real estate in other states other than your home state?  Do you have powers of attorney?  What is your plan in the event that you need care in your home or assisted living or nursing home?  Do you need that Long Term Care insurance policy or can you self insure?  Do you have life insurance or do you even need life insurance?  What is your family’s plan in the event that the breadwinner unexpectedly die.  I can help you decide if term is sufficient or is a permanent policy such as whole life or indexed universal life insurance best suited for you.  This is all part of your financial picture.       

When managing your money, my goal is to maximize your rate of return on investments, to be strategic about your Social Security benefits, minimize your taxes, and in retirement to help you decide what to take when and from which bucket.   

Oftentimes, women are the CFO’s of their household and the decision makers with the money in the family.  Let’s make smart decisions now so that not only have we maximized your money over your lifetime but passed it on to future generations known as legacy planning.   

I carefully customize a diversified investment portfolio for you potentially using individual stocks and bonds, ETF’s (Exchange Traded Funds), mutual funds and Real Estate Investment Trusts whatever is best for you and your family. Every family is different, this is not cookie cutter, this is a customized portfolio allocation.

Are you ready?  Are you ready to talk to Michelle today and start your investment portfolio or enhance it starting now?  I’m super excited to put you on the path to building wealth, saving on taxes over your lifetime, protecting your wealth and passing it on to future generations or your favorite charity.  Don’t wait, let’s talk today.