Services

Retirement Planning

The amount you will need in retirement depends upon a number of variables, including the age you plan to retire, your desired retirement lifestyle, how long you expect to live and the rate of return that you expect to earn on your investments. Social Security and employer-sponsored pension plans will likely provide a smaller percentage of your retirement income than they provided for your parents retirement income.

One of more of the following strategies could help you to maximize your retirement income.

Retiring at a later age
Saving more before retirement
Spending less during retirement
Investing to earn a potentially higher rate of return on investments while still feeling comfortable with the level of risk involved.

Planning Years

In the Planning Years you will be making decisions on when to start saving for retirement, how much to start saving and what financial vehicle is most appropriate for you. Weighing the priorities of whether you are buying a house, car, education needs for children. All of these factors will determine how much and at what point you can begin setting aside funds for retirement.

Transition Years

In the Transition Years you will be making decisions regarding rolling over retirement plans into more tax-friendly options. You will be making decisions on how much money you will need to live the lifestyle of your choice. When to start receiving social security, pension payments and deferred plans. Maybe you’re thinking about downsizing your home, making a move to another part of the country or doing some consulting work. We can help you plan for the changes that you will be making.

Retirement Years

In the Retirement Years we will be doing more monitoring of cash flow needs, investment performance and income. Managing the investments you have versus life span to ensure that you make your money last. We will review any changes that have occurred since you took retirement. Have you moved? Do you have new hobbies? Have you been doing some traveling? Have there been any injuries or illnesses? We can adjust the investment plan to accommodate any of these changes.

Investment Planning

You can now receive similar portfolio management services as many institutional investors – whether it is a separately managed account or an investment wrap portfolio.

Some potential benefits of managed portfolios include:

Providing access to top-tier investment management professionals
Tailored portfolios to meet specific investment needs
Ownership of individual securities
Ease of pre-designed investment portfolios

Every investor is unique and investment advisory services provide you with professional investment advice and a personalized investment strategy. Whether you are seeking a tailored, professionally managed portfolio or the convenience and simplicity of a diversified wrap program, your investment choice should focus on pursuing your financial goals. During this process, you should consider current and future growth objectives, income needs, time horizon and risk tolerance. These considerations from the blueprint for developing a portfolio management strategy. The process involves, but is not limited to the following important stages:

Set investment objectives
Develop an asset allocation strategy
Evaluate/Select investment vehicle
Portfolio review – Ongoing portfolio monitoring

Education Planning

Education planning for your children can be a major financial consideration. Planning early allows you to take advantage of the time value of money and help minimize the savings requirement.

Consideration should be given to one or more of the following strategies when trying to maximize your college planning:

Prioritizing your education objective with your insurance needs, retirement needs, major purchases and current income needs.
Developing an effective savings strategy that considers asset allocation and takes advantage of education plans.
Considering the various education funding accounts – Qualified State Tuition Plans (also known as 529 Plans), Uniform Transfer to Minor Accounts (UTMA)/Uniform Gifts to Minor Accounts (UGMA), Coverdell Educational savings accounts and prepaid tuition plans.
Ensuring college expenses are realistically calculated and include tuition, room and board and living expenses. There are many factors to consider such as the inflation rate for the rising cost of tuition, whether your child will attend post-graduate studies and whether your child is likely to receive scholarships or financial aid.

Risk Management Planning

A sound financial plan must address the insurance coverage that you, your spouse and family members may require.

It is important to consider the following while making a decision on insurance coverage:

Life insurance is used to pay for funeral expenses, repay outstanding debts, make charitable donations and provide living expenses for surviving family members. It can also be used to cover state taxes and probate fees to enable your estate to be liquidated in the most appropriate manner.
Disability income insurance is to help partially replace income of persons who are unable to work because of sickness or an accident. In terms of its financial effect on the family, long-term disability can be just as severe as death. Disability income protection can come from several sources: social insurance programs, employer provided benefits and individually purchased policies.
Long Term Care insurance is a relatively new type of insurance product. Many people do not understand what Long Term Care insurance policies cover, how and when the policies benefit and who should obtain coverage.

We can help in finding out what type of coverage may be appropriate for you and your family and then work to find the best plan.

Estate Planning

What you value may be more important than what you own. To follow through on your commitments, to yourself, your family and your ideals, you need to think ahead. A personalized estate plan is important in helping to protect your family and your legacy.

A well-constructed strategy can help address your specific estate planning needs including:

Minimizing income and estate taxes
Transferring wealth from one generation to the next
Developing charitable gifting strategies
Aligning existing portfolios and retirement accounts with your estate pan

JM Franklin & Company LLC, Stratos Wealth Partners and LPL Financial do not provide legal advice or services. Please consult your legal advisor regarding your specific situation.

Business Planning

There are a number of issues that business owners face, including providing employee benefits, obtaining insurance and transferring the business upon death, disability or retirement. For most small business owners their business lives and their personal lives are inseparable. The financial planning process helps business owners to manage both business concerns and personal concerns so that they can pursue their goals and dreams.

A personalized financial plan can help you, the small business owner, address concerns such as the following:

Protecting your business assets
Ensuring the continuation and succession of your business
Promoting, recruiting, retaining and rewarding your key employees
Maximizing your compensation benefits
Proving estate equalization
Promoting family harmony