5 (OF THE MANY) THINGS AN INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL ADVISOR CAN DO FOR YOU

by Jason Rheinfelder, Independent Financial Advisor, DaVinci Wealth
1. Get Your Money Working for You
It’s surprising how many people keep all of their savings in cash. Many people may be afraid of losses brought on by their lack of expertise. However, for most people, strong returns are a must if they are going to live their dreams in retirement.
Beyond having a prudent emergency fund, it simply doesn’t make sense to hold large sums in cash earning little or no interest. Even in an uncertain investment environment, a creative and knowledgeable advisor can help find the right strategy and mix of investments to get you on track to take advantage of the extraordinary power of compounding market gains, while helping you stay protected from losses.
2. Reduce Your Tax Bill
I recently met a retired couple trying to live solely on their combined $650 per month in Social Security. They had a substantial stock portfolio, but had owned it for so long that they knew the taxes would hurt once they started to withdraw. By building a plan for timed withdrawals, rollovers, and purchases, we created a solution that minimized the tax impact for each year, reduced their overall risk dramatically and more than tripled their monthly income without surrendering any assets. Whether it is IRA Required Minimum Distributions, inheritance, capital gains, or employment income, an expert financial planner can help you build a smart plan that will allow you to keep more of what you’ve earned.
3. Reduce Hidden Portfolio Fees
I recently met a retired teacher who had been working with a large brokerage firm. Every year she got a statement that said she had made around 6 percent, but the account value barely changed. A portfolio of $200,000 growing at 6 percent meant that she ought to have $212,000 the following year, but the account was only a little over $204,000. Does this sound familiar? After performing an analysis, I estimated she was losing around 3.7 percent to fees. Subtracting 3.7 percent from the claimed 6 percent left 2.3 percent growth, which would put her account at $204,600.
Independent, fee-based advisors earn more when your investments perform well. We don’t get paid on commission, so we have no reason to favor costly holdings and every reason to cut waste and maximize your gains.
4. Make Sure You Don’t Run Out of Money in Retirement
Many people are on track to outlive their assets. And it’s not just a matter of saving a lot or earning high financial returns; even healthy portfolios can be exhausted when financial risk isn’t managed properly or withdrawals not structured correctly.
Visiting an independent advisor can help you avoid this scenario because we can create an income plan where you will know where every dollar of income is going to come from, every year, for life.
5. Reduce Your Stress
If you’ve ever managed your own portfolio, you know the hours spent researching companies, reading prospectuses, following financial news, determining when to buy and sell various securities, managing tax consequences, and monitoring accounts. A good advisor will take care of all that, so you are free to enjoy life, and will make sure that you always know what you are invested in and why.
About Us DaVinci Wealth is an independent, fee-based financial practice serving Northern Arizona. What does independent mean? It means we have access to all the same tools and information that the big companies have, but we aren’t pressured to push clients toward “house brand” financial products. We do what is best for each person, without any sales quotas or hidden kickbacks. It means we work for you, not our higher-ups.
Representative of Retirement Wealth Advisors, Inc. (RWA); 89 Ionia NW, Suite 600, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (800) 903-2582. Investment services are offered through RWA. DaVinci Wealth and RWA are not affiliated. Insurance and annuities offered through DaVinci Wealth. Insurance licensed in Arizona. License #1097888.