Below is a list of 49 things that we here at Schwartz Financial do for you. Please review it carefully, and let us know if you have any questions, or if there are any areas you would like even more assistance in. Remember: the relationship between my clients and myself is a partnership. As your partner, I strongly feel you deserve to know exactly what my team brings to the table.
As always, we appreciate the trust you have placed in us. Please let us know whenever there is anything else we can do for you!
FINANCIAL PLANNING
Financial planning is the process of determining what you want, what you need, and what steps you must take to acquire both. Here at Schwartz Financial, financial planning is an ongoing process. It never stops. That’s why we:
What We Do | Benefit to You |
| We worry about your money so that you don’t have to! In short, we want you to feel less worry and less stress. |
| This is so no potential problems go unspotted and no potential opportunities go unseized. This may include a discussion on a future increase in tax liability due to required minimum distributions on retirement accounts; or reviewing the likelihood of long-term care needs, given family health history. We also regularly ask…”What will you do when you retire?” |
| In our experience, written goals are followed up on far more than unwritten ones. This step is simple, but it literally makes it more likely that you will achieve your goals. |
| Sometimes, you may find you have more decisions to make than you can possibly handle at once. We make life simpler by helping you understand which opportunities and decisions need to be made now. |
| Your time and your money are both valuable. By focusing on the most achievable goals, we can help save you more of both. |
| We will turn over every rock to find possible ways for you to reach your goals faster…so that you can enjoy them sooner. |
| Having a written financial plan means you will always know what to do and when to do it. That means saying goodbye to confusion, uncertainty, and delay. |
| Sometimes, the best way to get past a wall isn’t to simply climb up and over. We help you find easier, more efficient ways to overcome any financial obstacles in your path. |
| Life insurance is one of the most boring topics imaginable – but it’s also one of the most valuable aspects of financial planning. That’s because it brings peace of mind that your family will always have their needs taken care of. |
| For most people, their company retirement plan is their single biggest retirement savings vehicle. Reviewing your plan options and updates regularly is crucial to your retirement success. |
| We want to assure you get the most out of your earned benefits. We have been conducting Social Security education events for years so we can help you determine when and how to take your benefits to maximize the value for you and your family. |
| The biggest benefit of an estate plan? A good’s night sleep. With an estate plan, you’ll never have to lie awake wondering, “What will happen if –” ever again. We will work with you to review your current plan, or assist in creating a plan. We will also provide you with qualified resources to implement your plan. |
| If you or a loved one is forced to make decisions on long-term care options, we will guide you through the options to pay for care, as well as provide you with professional resources to advocate for you or your loved ones. |
| Questions on whether or not to pay off your mortgage, refinance your home, downsize, loan money to a child, go into business with a family member, or purchase the vacation home you’ve always wanted? We can incorporate these “life planning” questions into your overall financial plan to help provide you with the ability to make informed decisions. |
| Every parent and grandparent dreams of their children getting a good education to secure an even brighter future. Another dream of every parent? That their child won’t have to live in the basement at age 25. By reviewing the educational savings vehicles available, we can make both dreams become reality. |
| As your financial advisor, we want to save you time and hassle whenever possible. This means assuring you avoid the 50% IRS penalty on required distributions that are not processed by their deadline. |
| You’ve got enough on your plate to worry about. Our job is to take things off your plate instead of piling things on. So we’ll act as your financial alarm clock, concierge, and calendar all 365 days of the year. |
| See #17 above. |
INVESTMENTS
These days, most people can’t afford to reach their financial goals on their employment income alone. The cost of living is simply too high. That’s why investing is so important: because it allows you the opportunity to put your money to work for you. Here at Schwartz Financial, we are constantly looking for ways to help you grow your money and seize opportunities for additional income. To do that, we will:
What We Do | Benefit to You |
| You want to protect your money. You want to grow your money. You want to risk it as little as possible. And you want the peace of mind that comes with knowing all this is done. That’s what this step is all about. |
| The markets can change in an instant, dragging your money up or down. By always knowing what’s going on in the world, we can turn the roller coaster of investing into something more closely resembling a kiddie ride. |
| You don’t have time to be constantly checking your phone to see how your portfolio is doing. So we do it for you. |
| One of the most important aspects of retirement planning is to ensure you never outlive your money. By converting investments to income, we can work to make sure that never happens. |
| To enjoy the retirement lifestyle you want, you’ll need income to fund it. are constantly on the lookout for new ways to increase your income so that you never have to worry about outliving your money. |
| In order to choose the right investments, you have to know what the right investments are. We are tireless in researching which investments can bring you the growth and safety you need to reach your goals. Our obligation as your fiduciary allows and requires this unbiased research and recommendations. |
| Some people want as little risk as possible. Others are comfortable with taking on a bit more risk if it means a greater chance at more gains. But many people don’t actually understand how much risk they’re really taking on. With our team of professionals, you will never have that problem. |
| The simpler your investment portfolio, the easier it is to understand, bringing both flexibility and peace of mind. |
| More information = more choices = more opportunities. At Schwartz Financial, we give you all the information and data you need to make informed decisions. |
| Our team recognizes that a “buy and hold” investment approach can sometimes amount to “buy and hope”. We believe that different stock market climates call for different approaches to portfolio management.* |
| You should always have 24/7 access to how your money is doing. We ensure that you do through both online account view and paper statements. |
*There is no guarantee that active asset management will outperform a buy and hold approach to investing. Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against lost in periods of declining values. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
TAXES
Many people seem to think that improving your tax situation is something that’s only available to the wealthiest 0.1%. But simplifying, and in many cases, minimizing, your taxes is something everyone can benefit from. Here at Schwartz Financial, we are always on the lookout for ways to help you legally keep more of what you worked so hard to earn, enabling you to reach your financial goals that much faster. So when it comes to your taxes, we will:
What We Do | Benefit to You |
| There are almost always ways to minimize the taxes you are legally required to pay. We won’t stop until we help you utilize them. We want to help you keep more of your retirement savings to actually use in retirement. |
| As a child, you learned that turning over rocks often yielded fascinating discoveries – the same is true of your tax returns. |
| The more current and accurate our knowledge of existing tax laws, the more we can help you take full advantage of them. |
| We provide you with a realized gain/loss report each year stating cost basis and other tax reporting information to ease your recordkeeping. You will also receive required tax reporting forms, such as a 1099, directly from account custodians. |
| Many investors fail to factor in the tax implications of their investments. That can lead them to miss out on some significant opportunities. But as a client of Schwartz Financial, you will never miss out. |
| Taxes can be complicated. That’s why it’s important that every professional you work with be on the same page so that your tax situation never gets messy, complex…or in the way of achieving your financial goals. |
Over the years, we at Schwartz Financial have found that being a good financial advisor isn’t just about knowledge. It’s about service. It’s about always being there when you need us. It’s about being proactive, alert, and thorough on your behalf, so you can focus on enjoying your money instead of worrying about your money. To that end, we will always:
What We Do | Benefit to You |
| Children grow up, adults grow old, and nothing ever stays the same. The changes life brings can affect your finances both positively and negatively. We will help you plan and respond to both. |
| You should never have to wonder where your financial advisor is or what he/she is doing. That’s why we are committed to always staying in contact with you. We do this with regular calls to check-in; weekly email updates on your portfolio and current market conditions; monthly letters on topics meant to improve your financial well-being; and invitations to attend comprehensive reviews of your portfolios as needed. Decided by you. |
| We provide a website that is updated regularly to keep you abreast of upcoming events, provide online links to useful resources and financial calculators, as well as daily account access. |
| Our team works tirelessly keep you informed and educated. Through our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog social networking pages, we share articles and links to materials and resources targeted to help improve your quality of life. We share information on money-saving tips, community activities, volunteering opportunities, to name a few. |
| We believe that education is the key to success. In that sense, we offer ongoing educational classes throughout the year to keep you abreast of changes in tax laws, Social Security updates, and Medicare changes, to name a few. We also offer classes to help protect and improve your quality of life, such as health and wellness and identity theft protection. |
| Both common sense and industry studies agree: educated investors make better investors. If there’s ever anything you don’t understand – whether it’s a financial term, or something you read about in the news – don’t hesitate to come to us. We will explain it to you and answer all your questions, so that you never feel lost, confused, or worried. |
| We will walk your beneficiaries through every step to assure your assets are passed to them according to your wishes. We will assist them in handling accounting for your assets, tax liability, and transfer of assets. In the event you become disabled or fall ill, we will work diligently with your family or trusted source to answer financial-related questions, help them obtain a financial Power of Attorney to act in your best interests, and assure your financial resources are available through them. |
| Here at Schwartz Financial, we have a wide network of trusted professionals and partners that we work with on a regular basis. If you ever have need of a particular type of professional, chances are we can introduce you to someone who is qualified, experienced, and above all, trustworthy. |
| Sometimes, when times are tough, it’s helpful to know that you’re not alone, and that others share or have shared in your burdens. It can also be helpful to know how other people solved similar problems or overcame similar challenges. Because we work with clients from all walks of life, we are able to help and empathize with almost all of life’s obstacles. |
| Want to know a secret? When it comes to achieving financial success, consistency is more important than sophistication. We’ll hold your hand when you need it, give you a nudge when you need it, or even provide a shoulder to lean on when you need it…because we are just as committed to you reaching your goals as you are. |
| If there’s ever a chance you’re simply not saving enough for the goals you’ve specified, we’ll let you know immediately…and we’ll also suggest solutions. |
| Deciphering through the numerous Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage options is an overwhelming task. We provide you with the needed resources to learn the options available, and choose what works best for you, given your budget and health care needs. An understanding of enrollment periods (to avoid penalties); how other insurance works with Medicare; as well as the different parts of Medicare are important to reaching your overall financial goals and objectives. |
| We implement and preserve strategies to keep your personal information private, and your money safe from hackers, scammers and thieves. We schedule regular maintenance checks and upgrades of computer and email security features, including use of the latest anti-virus software and spyware. We also run checks on the security of those companies we work with to manage your money. We have strict policies and procedures in place to protect your security, both on paper and electronically. |
| This is perhaps the most important thing we can do for you. Honesty is not only a virtue – it’s a necessity when it comes to working with financial professionals. For us here at Schwartz Financial, it’s the foundation upon which our business is based on. |
*While we provide access to trusted resources, we do not receive any referral fees or compensation from these resources, and cannot endorse or guarantee the quality of any services provided by outside companies or professionals.
