People retire at various ages. One central question is, do you have enough to maintain the lifestyle you want for a retirement that could last 30 years or more? Your income in retirement will come from your retirement investment accounts and savings, pension, brokerage accounts, Social Security benefits, annuity income (if you have one), and any other investments you may have.

Our expertise and experience in personal finance will ensure that the various components of your financial plan work together and that your money is working for you as efficiently as possible in an ongoing relationship. The time we take to understand your goals, values, relationships, personal history, and every aspect of your finances helps us identify current areas of weakness and opportunity in your finances and be an effective, trusted guide during your life’s transitions.

We take an evidence-based approach to investing and rely upon decades of market history when building our portfolios rather than trying to predict the future. Academic research consistently shows that trying to time the market does not work. While you cannot control or predict the future, you can control risk, asset allocation, expenses, and taxes. We seek to avoid emotional reactions that can detract from your long-term investment returns, as many different market psychological factors can lead to investment mistakes.

Risk can be reduced through diversification. This is more than just having a lot of holdings. A diversified portfolio contains companies of different sizes and sectors of the economy, and has the right mix of stocks vs. bonds. While you cannot eliminate investment risk, you can minimize it.

We seek to minimize expenses by using low-cost mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. High costs can drag down the return of any portfolio, no matter how diversified it is. 

Taxes are also a significant component of any investment strategy. While you can rarely eliminate taxes, you can minimize them. An efficient investment strategy always considers the tax implications. 

More information on our investment philosophy can be found here

Choose a financial planner with experience working with clients in situations similar to yours, and verify their credentials. Ensure that the financial planner prioritizes your best interests and is not selling you products that don’t meet your needs. Interview potential financial planners and ask about their credentials, experience, fee structure, and performance history.

We highly recommend working with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^®. A CFP® is one of the highest designations a financial advisor or planner can achieve.

Most importantly, you need to trust who you hire as your long-term financial partner. You'll share deep personal information and rely on their guidance.

Once you know the advisor is qualified, great questions to ask yourself are:

• Are they a good personality match for me?
• Is this someone my partner also gets along with?
• Does their service model work for what I need?
• Do they specialize in working with people like me?
• Will I receive a generic plan or a custom plan?