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CASE STUDIES
Here for our clients through all points in life
CASE STUDY 1:
Cusp of Retirement
James and Lisa are always on the go. They think that a "true retirement" would be boring and they see themselves continuing to work in some capacity forever. Impacting lives is what drives them. James is an executive engineer specializing in the design and development of medical facilities. Lisa is a physician that takes pride in knowing how important her work is. Over the years they've accumlated a significant amount...
CASE STUDY 2:
Retired
Tim and Judy have recently retired from rewarding careers and are looking forward to the future. Over the years, they've worked with a couple of different advisors, but they always felt a certain disconnect. They want to ensure that they have a plan when the market goes down, make sure they are tax efficient with their withdraw strategy, and get some peace of mind that they will never run out of money - especially with the rising cost of healthcare.
CASE STUDY 3:
High-Earner, Aggressive Saver
Ashley is a young and successful executive in the automotive industry. She has worked hard to be in a position earning a high-dollar income but isn't quite sure how to optimize it. She is ready to move out of her long-time apartment and into a condo or single-family home. She wants to minimize her tax liability and know that she is on the right track to make work optional one day. The two obstacles in her way: ZERO TIME AND ZERO PLAN.
CASE STUDY
James and Lisa
Cusp of Retirement
Age:
54 & 50
Primary Goal:
Get organized and make strategic decisions with their money to make sure their nest egg can support them if/when they choose to retire.
The Challenge:
James and Lisa are always on the go. They think that a "normal" retirement would be boring and they see themselves continuing to work in some capacity forever. Impacting lives is what drives them.
James is an executive engineer specializing in the design and development of medical facilities. Lisa is a physician that takes pride in knowing how important her work is. She feels energized by the ability to literally heal the people around her.
James and Lisa have built careers they love and care a lot about. As they've worked hard to excel in their respective professional roles, they've also worked hard in their financial lives.
In fact, they're the type of people that appear to be "all-set" with everything. They do a lot of things right:
They have good incomes, they continue to max out their retirement plans at work, they consistently contribute to other investment accounts, they have little-to-no debt, and they've always been smart about protecting themselves with the right types of insurance.
So what's the problem?
Well, James and Lisa have been checking all the boxes they know that they should be checking...but they're not sure if they're missing anything. They feel a lack of confidence that they're optimizing everything they're doing.
They have multiple accounts among different platforms with no real goal for their assets. They also have never worked with an advisor that prepared a written plan that is simple enough to understand and execute - yet sophisticated enough to ensure they meet their goals. They know they need to get organized, but they lack the time and expertise to go it alone.
They know they've done well with savings and investing, but they know that with something as important as their financial future, it's important to work with someone that is a specialist.
It's important to James and Lisa to know that retirement is possible in whatever capacity they desire, and they don't want financial limitations to be the reason they can't do what they want.
The Approach:
James and Lisa knew they needed advice, but didn't know where to begin. They're both smart and self-aware, which is one of the reasons they decided to reach out to a professional when they faced a feeling of uncertainty in their planning.
Plus, they're incredibly busy with careers and lives that keep them happy and engaged. They didn't want to get bogged down in trying to figure everything out on their own.
We knew we'd need to focus in on a few key things to give James and Lisa the answers, clarity, and confidence they wanted. We set out to:
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Consolidate and optimize their 7 different investment accounts
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Develop strategies to reduce their tax burden
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Construct a retirement plan that allows them the flexibility to retire on their terms, without the fear of running out of money
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Maximize their insurance policies and estate plan so that they could continue to impact lives positively even after they pass away
The Results:
When James and Lisa initially contacted us, they wanted to know whether or not they were on the right track to have the freedom to choose to live the life they wanted in retirement. They knew they'd done good things financially up to this point, but they wanted to do the best things.
After we began working together on their financial plan and investment strategy, we were able to:
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Provide a tailored investment strategy backed by decades of academic research and empirical evidence
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Reduce their investment fees significantly, improved their overall asset allocation, and created a systematic rebalancing strategy to use over time
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Utilize a creative IRA funding strategy to create long-term tax efficiencies
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Develop a plan with a high probability of success that they would never run out of money
We also gave James and Lisa access to industry-leading technology that provided them to see their plan in real time, giving them clarity around all aspects of their financial life. With the ability to understand and see everything at a glance, their situation started to feel simpler, and much more within their control.
James and Lisa now enjoy the peace of mind that comes from the clear plan they have around their money. They have more energy and mental bandwidth to dedicate toward the jobs they love so much, knowing they can retire when - and if - they want to.
WANT TO LEARN HOW WE CAN HELP YOU CLARIFY YOUR GOALS TO LIVE THE RETIREMENT YOU WANT?
The first step in our process is to schedule a 15-minute phone consultation. This is a chance for both of us to make sure your situation matches our expertise.
CASE STUDY
Tim and Judy
Retired
Age:
67 & 60
Primary Goal:
Reduce taxes, make sure their investments are optimized, create peace of mind with a reliable income stream in retirement.
The Challenge:
Tim and Judy have recently retired from rewarding careers and are looking forward to the future. Over the years, they've worked with a couple of different advisors, but they always felt a certain disconnect. They want to ensure that they have a plan when the market goes down, make sure they are tax efficient with their withdraw strategy, and get some peace of mind that they will never run out of money - especially with the rising cost of healthcare.
Tim devoted 35 years to his company before deciding it was time to move onto the next phase in life. With Tim and Judy's children grown, they're looking forward to traveling, golfing, and giving back to their community.
Tim's retirement package included a 401(k), stock options, and a pension. He is hoping to put these assets to work so he and Judy can enjoy a comfortable future filled with all the things on their bucket list.
Tim's friends at work that have recently retired told him what they were going to do with their pension and stock options, but Tim wanted to seek advice from a professional. Tim's ultimate goal was simply to make sure their money would outlive them, while facilitating a comfortable lifestyle they've always envisioned.
The Approach:
We wanted to help make Tim and Judy's retirement planning process as easy as possible.
The last thing we wanted was to add stress to what should be a carefree time in their lives, so we made sure to identify any potential tax challenges they may soon face.
Working together with Tim and Judy's CPA we helped them in the following ways:
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Compiled all the information needed from his company's benefits administrator
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Summarized all the options available to them, along with any corresponding tax ramifications
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Established investment/retirement accounts
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Analyzed Tim's pension options to make sure he knew the benefits of each one
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Strategized a withdraw plan to provide them with a reliable income stream
Being able to see and understand all of their options removed a lot of worries. They were able to move forward with their plans, confident in knowing that they would be well looked after.
The Results:
The solution we developed for Tim and Judy helped them in many ways:
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They were able to reduce taxes now, and into the future
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Tim's retirement savings were protected
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We developed a plan for when the market goes down
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We helped them create a predictable stream of income that they couldn't outlive
Today, Tim and Judy are having the time of their lives. They travel between their primary home and their vacation home - one where they spend weekends and holidays with their family.
They have the confidence of knowing that their financial plan is sustainable and that they can relax and life live on their terms - regardless of what happens in the market - something they cannot control.
We monitor Tim and Judy's portfolio regularly. We keep the lines of communication open with their CPA to make sure we are aware of any changes to tax laws that would impact their savings and adjust our strategy accordingly.
READY TO CREATE A DOWN-MARKET STRATEGY THAT PROVIDES YOU A RELIABLE INCOME STREAM IN RETIREMENT?
The first step in our process is to schedule a 15-minute phone consultation. This is a chance for both of us to make sure your situation matches our expertise.
CASE STUDY
Ashley
High-Earner, Aggressive Saver
Age:
39
Primary Goal:
Reduce taxes, make sure her investments are optimized and that she is saving in the correct places, spend less time managing her finances so she can enjoy life.
The Challenge:
Ashley is a young and successful executive in the automotive industry. She has worked hard to be in a position earning a high-dollar income, but isn't quite sure how to optimize it. She is ready to move out of her long-time apartment and into a condo or single-family home. She wants to minimize her tax liability and know that she is on the right track to make work optional one day.
However, there were two massive obstacles in the way:
She had ZERO TIME and ZERO PLAN.
As a busy executive, Ashley didn't have time to properly manage her investments. Plus, she wasn't confident her plan was the right one. She had been called by an insurance agent trying to sell her a product, and she'd also been turned away by large brokerage firms since she didn't meet their minimums. Lastly, she's also heard that since the market is at an all-time high, she shouldn't invest the six-figure sum she had sitting in cash.
She knew she needed to work with someone that she could trust 100% with her money.
The Approach:
When we first met with Ashley, we caught her off guard. She was expecting to be sold a product or pitched on a certain product. She thought we'd talk about fees and minimums. Instead, we simply listened.
We listened to her about her goals of buying a house. Listened about how she desires to live a wealth driven life - one that is more than being financially wealthy. She was determined to get started with a plan that is customized for her.
Here's What We Did:
First, we educated Ashley on how LifePoint Planning works. We work in the best interest of our clients - every single time.
It was time to create a winning long-term strategy. We educated Ashley on how the market works, and with her 20+ year time horizon, put her mind at ease knowing that we will be the behavioral coach to help her avoid big investing mistakes. She understood our goals to maximize investment results, minimize fees and taxes, and protect her income.
Second, we set her up on our secure client portal. Now she can view ALL of her financial accounts at a glance.
Third, we helped create a plan to not only have enough for a down payment on her future house, but help her dollar cost average her large emergency fund into the market. On the money that she left in her savings, we found an account paying an interest rate 100x greater than she got at her local bank.
Here's the best part - WE WERE JUST GETTING WARMED UP
For Ashley, just like ALL of our clients, we help clarify and optimize their ENTIRE financial lives - an advantage you'll never get from the big financial firms (I know - I've been there!).
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We suggested which investments to choose in her company 401(k)
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We analyzed and optimized her employer benefits
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We identified additional tax-efficient saving and investment opportunities
BEFORE: Ashley had a nice income but lacked confidence and clarity in her plan. She was overwhelmed confused about investing and worried about the future.
TODAY: Ashley is 100% confident in her career, her investments, and her future.
ARE YOU A HIGH-EARNER THAT NEEDS CLARITY ON HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR SAVINGS STRATEGY?
The first step in our process is to schedule a 15-minute phone consultation. This is a chance for both of us to make sure your situation matches our expertise.
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