We believe that successfully making the transition into retirement is not about your wealth—it’s about your life. Wealth is simply the means to live the life you want. And we understand that living the very best life possible means something different to each of us.
We want to understand what that means to you, then help you chart a path to make the most out of the only life you have. We call our approach life-centered planning, and it is at the heart of everything we do.
Our Process
We are an outcome-oriented advisory firm focused on delivering what matters most to you. Our goal in working with you is to help you live today and tomorrow with peace of mind. We follow a six-step process that helps us keep this commitment to you. Our process begins when you give us a call at no obligation to you and continues as long as you want to work with us.
1. Introductions
In this 15- to 30-minute call, we want to know what you are looking for in a firm and what kind of help you are seeking. We will discuss your situation and the challenges or concerns you may be facing. If we both agree we have enough in common to warrant a second meeting, we’ll go on to Step 2. If not, we’re happy to refer you to an advisor we believe might be better suited to your needs.
2. Discovery Meeting
We ask a lot of questions and would like you to do most of the talking. We want to understand your values, your goals, your interests, and the people who matter most in your life. We would like to know, and eventually meet, the other trusted advisors in your life. A coordinated team approach works best. We will ask about your assets, liabilities, estate plan, insurance plan, and income streams, such as pensions and Social Security. Sometimes when we meet with prospective clients, they ask us, “Why so many questions?” Typically, they expect us to initially just ask about their money, but we go well beyond that. We want to know and understand you because that is the foundation we need to serve you well.
3. State of the Family Meeting
At this point, we will lay out what we have found. We will show what we think is working well in your plan and what areas may need some attention. We will discuss potential opportunities and review different planning possibilities that you may not have considered. All are designed to help put you and your family on the path to success.
4. Recommendations Meeting
In this meeting, we are ready to present our detailed financial planning recommendations based on your unique vision of your ideal life. We discuss our investment process and recommend a portfolio designed to accomplish your vision. And finally, we discuss a timeline for executing the plan and how to best coordinate with other professionals in your life, such as your accountant and estate planning attorney.
5. Make It Official
Thus far, we assume no commitment on your part. Now, however, it is time for you to decide if we are the right firm for you. To make the engagement official, you will sign our agreements, and we start the implementation of the financial plan, set up accounts, introduce you to our client portals, and will make sure you understand and are comfortable with each step along the way.
6. Engagement
We believe success is achieved by engaging with you month after month, quarter after quarter, year after year. We believe in a high-touch, tailored service model based on your schedule, needs, and preferences. With that in mind, we will build a customized engagement process of scheduled reviews and conversations throughout the year. Each of these conversations has an agenda, with each designed to improve your life, and move you closer to your goals.
Services
FINANCIAL PLANNING
We’ll create a comprehensive, ongoing financial plan to help manage your finances with a focus on making sure you have enough money to last throughout your retirement while maximizing the life you love.
RETIREMENT PLANNING
We’ll work with you on the concrete details of how you can optimally spend, invest, and preserve your money during your retirement years.
Cash Flow Planning
We will create a plan that optimizes your Social Security benefits, pension benefits, IRA withdrawals, and other income to help create the amount of money you need each month and throughout the year.
ESTATE PLANNING
From establishing an inheritance for your children and grandchildren to creating a donor-advised fund, we help build an estate plan based on your values and wishes, working with specialized attorneys as needed.
TAX MINIMIZATION STRATEGIES
To help you meet your goals, we take advantage of planning and investment strategies to minimize taxes now and in the future.
Liability Planning
“Should I pay off my mortgage?” “Should I pay cash for my new car or finance it?” “What about a second home—how do I pay for that?” We will show you how by discussing what we believe to be the very best way to use debt to accomplish your goals. By the way, we feel it is best to have little or no debt, but sometimes, it can be very helpful!
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Our investment approach is centered on a low-cost, evidence-based investment philosophy that is the engine that drives the goals outlined in your financial plan.
RISK MANAGEMENT
As fee-only advisors, we don’t sell insurance; however, we’ll evaluate your insurance coverage to help make sure you are appropriately protected should the unexpected occur. When appropriate, we will refer you to consultants that provide commission-free products, saving you time and money.
Our Fee Structure
Our Comprehensive Wealth Management clients pay an easy-to-understand and transparent fee for services provided. Client fees are based on a percentage of assets under our management and billed quarterly according to the tiered schedule below:
ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT ANNUAL FEE
The first $2,000,000 1.00%
The next $2,000,000 0.75%
The next $1,000,000 0.50%
Amounts above $5,000,000 Negotiable
Would You Like to Take the Guesswork out of Investing?
Our evidence-based approach does that for you.
When it comes to investment management, our goals are your goals. That means our Denver-area firm builds and manages your portfolio to help achieve the returns you need to meet the objectives of your financial plan. Rather than try to pick the next hot stock, we take a more prudent, evidence-based approach.
In selecting and managing your portfolio allocation, we use Nobel Prize-winning economic research and so-called “dimensions of expected returns.” These dimensions draw on history to help determine the companies that are most likely to be successful over time. Academic research has identified dimensions, or drivers of return, that when incorporated into a portfolio, should lead to higher expected returns.
Our goal is to take the mystery and guesswork out of investing. We want to help you feel confident and comfortable with your investment portfolio, maybe for the very first time.
We believe a sensible, cost-effective approach such as ours provides a higher likelihood of achieving the returns needed to meet your income requirements and goals in retirement.
In summary, our investment philosophy rests on the following beliefs:
We embrace market pricing.
We do not try to outguess the market.
We resist chasing past performance.
We let markets work for you.
We incorporate the drivers of return.
We practice smart diversification.
We avoid market timing.
We help you manage your emotions.
We look beyond the daily headlines.
We focus on what we can control.
We believe that lower expenses lead to higher expected returns.
We believe minimizing tax liabilities leads to higher investment returns.
Most importantly, we believe that an effective investment strategy is the means to an end; it should be integrated into your overall plan, forming the engine that drives the pursuit of your most important goals and dreams.
We also believe your investment strategy should match your comfort with risk, so we have partnered with Riskalyze to identify your acceptable levels of risk and reward mathematically. Built on a Nobel Prize-winning framework, Riskalyze provides a quantitative way for us to establish the amount of risk to take with your investments based on your preferences, goals, and expectations.
Find Out How to Gain a Better Investment Experience
There are key principles we believe investors should understand to increase their chances of success. Read our short guide, Pursuing a Better Investment Experience, to learn what trips up so many investors and what you can do about it.
Schedule a 30-Minute Discovery Call
As a fee-only RIA that prides ourselves on upholding our fiduciary obligation, we want to help you make the decisions that best serve you and your family, not us. We focus on working with only those clients we know we can help, so we like to start with a complimentary, 30-minute call to discover how we can serve you. We’ll discuss your situation and explore whether we’re a good fit for each other.
