My Process Retirement & Financial PlanningGlens Falls - Saratoga - Albany

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, I’m able to provide my clients with a broad range of financial planning services, including retirement income planning, investment planning, college loan repayment, college savings plans, and long-term, disability and life insurance. I also offer a variety of financial planning services for small businesses, including 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans and business succession planning.

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Step 1 Determine Goals and Objectives

  • The most common goal is retirement. Has anyone ever told you how much money you need to retire?
  • There are other goals to consider also. How important is each goal to you? I will let you know if I think your ranking should be reconsidered
  • The most common family goals (other than retirement):
    • College (loan repayment or saving for someone else)
    • Buying a second home
    • Spending more in certain years of retirement – traveling
    • Paying down debt
    • Medical expenses as you get older
  • The most common small business goals:
    • Retirement plans that are customized to focus on the owners and may or may not include employees
    • Minimizing taxes
    • Group insurance strategies and pricing
    • Starting or expanding a business
    • Business exit strategies

Step 2 Develop and Implement a Plan and Investment Strategy

  • Now we can get a structured plan in place. Many times, there are multiple adjustments and scenarios to work through to get to the plan that has the best chance for success
  • With a plan we can determine: How much to save? How much can you spend or withdrawal for the goal? How long will it take you to get there? What are the chances you can hit all your goals? Should you drop some goals and focus more on others?
  • Should you take more or less risk with your investments now that a plan is in place?
  • Determine and implement how to manage your savings to work in tandem with your plan. What risk, investment type, and product should be used? What are the options and the pros and cons of each? This is where we remain flexible and ready to adjust with availability and market conditions

Step 3 Ongoing Monitoring and Adjustments to the Plan and Investment Strategy

  • This step is why my clients and I have a long-term relationship
  • My specialty is the transition from the accumulation phase (saving money) to the distribution phase (spending money)
  • Technically a retirement plan lasts your whole life. Are we minimizing taxes on our withdrawals as tax rates change? Have there been life changes that we need to account for? Are your goals and needs changing from a couple years ago?
  • Flexibility with our investment strategy is key. As products and investments change and evolve, so too will your investment strategies and portfolio. Being independent and working directly for you means we have no allegiance to specific companies or investments- if something out there is better, we will adjust to implement it

Photo: Shoal Point Lighthouse- 4th Lake, The Fulton Chain of Lakes