Who We Help

Are you serious about your money? Are you committed to your long term goals? Are you willing to learn and to be coached?

If you answered yes to the three questions, we want to be your financial firm, and we’ll help you pursue whatever it is that you want for yourself and your family. Here are a few general characteristics of the clients we’ve been able to serve most effectively:

Many of our clients see themselves as the family patriarch or matriarch. They may be small business owners or professionals; or they may have spent a long career working for a single employer or in a single industry. Some of their common characteristics and needs are...

• Over Age 50
• Married to their 1st spouse, or have a long-term second marriage
• Have lived in the same home for 10 years or more
• Express a strong commitment to family values
• Have a desire to stay active and visible in the local community
• Are (or were) active participants in a company retirement plan
• Keep liabilities to a minimum
• Do not view themselves as “wealthy”, but
• Have $300,000 to $5,000,000 net worth
• Have multiple financial and estate planning issues

Family stewards maintain traditional family values and rejoice over grandparenthood. Typically, they need roughly $4,000–$10,000 per month (after tax) to cover their lifestyle spending needs. They may not be charitably inclined, yet they have strong feelings about whether they want to leave an unrestricted estate to their children and grandchildren.

More often than not, they appreciate conversation more than numbers and would much prefer the big picture to the details. They seek advice and not analytics and they cherish our ability to re-state previous conversations and remind them of their goals and objectives. They look to us as their "trusted adviser" and find we bring financial planning ideas beyond basic investment strategies. They find our approach refreshing. Our clients often welcome the opportunity to include their children in client meetings. They encourage their children to hire us as their planners.

Many of our clients are the children or grandchildren of Family Stewards. They often have…

• A flourishing family life
  
• Earnings of more than $75,000 per year
  
• Strong desire to fund long term goals
  
• Feelings of time pressure
  
• Willingness to delegate, but...
  
• Want to be involved in financial decisions

While our clients are often the children of our "Family Steward" clients, they also come from a variety of occupations, including attorneys, accountants, medical professions, engineering, and small business. Generally these households have incomes between $75,000 and $500,000. They are very busy, but desperately want to spend more time with their spouses and children. They look to hire professionals for everything they do and appreciate it when we showcase our ability to proactively take the lead in orchestrating financial issues. They encourage us to build relationships with their accountants, attorneys, human resources contacts, insurance agents and family members. They appreciate having integrated online access to their accounts and planning documents.

Survivors are people who have inherited most or all of their net worth from a spouse or parent. Often, they are...

• Overwhelmed by their sense of loss
  
• Feel great pressure from outsiders to make decisions
  
• Seeking independent, objective advice
  
• Uncertain of their future plans
  
• Concerned about future income needs
  
• Concerned about health care expenses
  
• Desire simplicity

Our Survivor clients are generally over the age of 60 and many are widows of our family steward clients. In some cases, they have had little involvement in family financial or business matters. In other instances, they were very involved, but may not want to continue in business without their spouse. Sometimes, especially for adult children who inherit farm or small business assets, maintenance of family harmony is their dominate concern. Widows generally don’t consider remarriage for some time following the death of their spouse (if ever), instead finding emotional support from their children and a close circle of friends. Survivor clients appreciate our understanding of their need to process their loss emotionally before making important financial decisions.