Financial Planning

Services by Blue Chip Financial Group

Specializing in the income stage of retirement, we can assist you with distribution and reallocation of your retirement savings in the most tax efficient manner and reduce or eliminate unnecessary fees, helping you keep more of your money and plan for income throughout your retirement years.

Here’s what we can do for you:

Protection – Our goal is to make sure that your plan can withstand the unexpected.

o    Review and analyze your financial position.

o    Identify any risk exposures and recommend solutions.

Estate Planning – providing guidance to help you get your financial affairs in order.

o    Review and analyze your assets for proper ownership and beneficiaries.

o    Consult and coordinate your plan with your attorney, CPA, and insurance agent.

o    Help to manage the financial impact of lifestyle changes (death, divorce, disability, health).

Retirement Income Planning – strategizing so that your retirement income and assets last a lifetime.

o    Determine how much to withdraw and the order of accounts to withdraw from.

o    Assist you in selecting investment options with your 401(k), 403(b), or other retirement plan.

Taxes – maximizing what you earn by minimizing what you owe.

o    Recommend tax strategies to minimize your taxes.

o    Consult and coordinate your financial plan with your CPA/tax preparer.

Investments – focusing on the growth and management of your portfolio.

o    Establish how and how much to save.

o    Monitor investment performance compared to investments in the same class.

o    Actively manage and rebalance your portfolio to help reduce risk.

*Neither Adirondack Trading Group,LLC nor its representatives offer tax or legal advice.

Choosing An Investment Advisor…

Do you know the name of the Investment Advisor assigned to your account? When was the last time you got a call or e-mail from that financial advisor? Has your account been assigned to someone you’ve never even heard of – a total stranger who never bothers to hear from you?

Maybe that’s how it is for you, but is that the way it has to be?

1. If your original investment advisor left his or her broker/dealer for another, chances are your investment account has become a “house” account, assigned to someone you have never met who has never learned about your personal financial objectives. With that kind of indifference, maybe you’re thinking: “I might as well go it alone.”

Don’t go it alone. Instead, talk to me. I want to get to know you and learn about your financial goals. My goal is to become your investment advisor for life. Not merely someone who watches over your investments from time to time, but a friend who watches out for your financial well-being ALL of the time.

As my business continues to grow, it grows from personal relationships with grateful clients. I particularly like helping clients who wonder if their accounts have “fallen through the cracks.” I will actively care about your investments.

Rest assured, Blue Chip Financial will treat you with the utmost care and courtesy, because your respect and support mean so much to us.

Investing In Retirement

THE REALITY OF INVESTING DURING RETIREMENT

As retirees live longer, their portfolios need to be stronger.

Decades ago, the “typical” retiree left work for good between age 60-65 and typically passed away at about 70-75. Retirement lasted 10-12 years for many Americans. Now the picture has changed: some of us will spend 30, 40, perhaps even 50 years in retirement. (Imagine retiring at 55 and living to be 105 … it is possible.) We may live much longer than our parents, and if we do, we will need a lot more money.

Years ago, retirees were urged to invest conservatively – often, very conservatively. The idea was to build up your savings and net worth aggressively across two or three decades, and then adopt a risk-averse investment strategy for the “golden years.” But the reality of a 20- or 30-year retirement has changed that mentality.

The new presumption is that today’s retirees should never retire from accumulating wealth. Most Americans will not walk away from their careers with assets equivalent to 20 or 30 years worth of income. If you have $3 million in assets today, you may think you’ll have $100,000 a year to live on for 30 years. Sounds great, right? But that may not be enough. Questions of liquidity and taxes aside, what about the runaway costs of healthcare and eldercare? What about the effect of inflation across 30 years – do you remember what a gallon of gas or milk cost 30 years ago?

A new reality: You’re now seeing people in their sixties with the kind of portfolios that people used to have in their forties – portfolios with stocks, mutual funds, and other investments with appreciable risk. Sometimes they have to invest this way because they haven’t accumulated sufficient wealth for retirement. Or, they are simply being pragmatic about their long-term need to sustain wealth and keep their retirement assets growing.

What kinds of investments should you retire with? The answer to that question can only be determined after you carefully consider some variables, such as the age at which you retire, the assets you have saved up, the lifestyle you want to enjoy, family and health considerations, and how comfortable you are with certain types of investment. Be sure that you speak with a financial advisor who specializes in retirement planning before you make a decision to revise your investment portfolio. Even if you are ten or more years from retirement or plan to keep working into your seventies, I think you will find it eye-opening and useful. Most people underestimate their retirement income needs. We are here to help ensure that you are not one of those people.