Guidance for all of life’s decisions

When one thinks of financial planning, often “retirement planning” is what comes to mind.  While that is certainly an essential part of it, we prefer to think of financial planning as “Planning for Life.” Life’s journey has many twists and turns, some anticipated and others unexpected. Your financial plan is the working document that is designed to adapt and change as your goals and needs do throughout life.

When it comes to investment recommendations, we believe in responsible investing and a conservative approach. It is important that investments are diversified, and this is accomplished by using an asset allocation model and managed money approach specific to your needs and goals. We also think it is important for you to know not only what investments you own, but why – so you can feel confident about your financial situation.

Diversification and asset allocation do not guarantee a profit nor protect against a loss.

Because people are living longer today, the possibility of going 30 years without a paycheck takes careful planning and disciplined investing. We can help you with every phase of planning for your retirement. During your working years, the accumulation phase, we’ll develop and monitor a wealth accumulation plan based on your specific goals and objectives. As you approach retirement, the pre-retirement phase, we’ll assist you with critical decisions regarding retirement plan options, Social Security and tax mitigation. Then once you are retired, we will determine tax-efficient income and wealth transfer strategies designed to help you in retirement.

Funding a child’s or grandchild’s higher education can be a personally rewarding use of your wealth. We can help you provide for this opportunity with investment vehicles such as 529 college savings accounts and specialized trust vehicles.

Whether it’s providing income for a spouse, educating children or grandchildren or leaving money to your favorite charity, proper estate planning can help ensure that your assets accumulated over your lifetime are protected from improper use and preserved for the use you have intended.

Charitable giving

Giving cannot only help the organizations you choose, but can also generate personal tax benefits and advance your wealth management plan. We can help you with strategies that include private family foundations, charitable trusts, charitable gift annuities, pooled-income funds and donor-advised funds.

Giving cannot only help the organizations you choose, but can also generate personal tax benefits and advance your wealth management plan. We can help you with strategies that include private family foundations, charitable trusts, charitable gift annuities, pooled-income funds and donor-advised funds.

Because insurance protects you from the unexpected, it plays a crucial role in your comprehensive financial plan. Raymond James provides a wide array of quality insurance alternatives, including life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance and annuities. They can offer an important layer of safety for you, your family or your business.

Since insurance helps protect you in case of accident, illness, disability or death, it plays a crucial role in your comprehensive financial plan. Through Raymond James, we can provide a wide array of quality insurance alternatives that can offer an important layer of safety for you, your family, your business or your organization.

For example, we can help you build a protective cushion with life insurance, preserve your estate with long-term care insurance and combine preservation and tax-advantaged growth opportunities with annuities.

One of the most common causes of income loss is through a disability. While most disabilities cause only temporary loss of income, any loss can be devastating if you are not prepared.

Disability insurance can provide you with financial independence by replacing a portion of your income when you are unable to work because of an accident or illness. By providing a monthly benefit, it can help you and your family maintain your lifestyle while you focus on recovery. We can help you secure the coverage you need.

Seventy percent of people turning 65 can expect to use some form of long-term care during their lives.* Medicare provides only limited coverage and does not cover custodial care, the type older individuals often need. We can help you secure long-term care insurance to help you preserve your savings and give you access to a range of care options.

These policies have exclusions and/or limitations. The cost and availability of LTC insurance depend on factors such as age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of LTC insurance. Guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company.

*Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; LongTermCare.gov

To help simplify and enhance your financial life, Capital Access offers a comprehensive range of services that address your immediate and long-term cash needs quickly and efficiently. Your Capital Access account links to your Raymond James brokerage account so you can maintain all your financial information in one place. It also provides a host of privileges including:

• Unlimited check writing
• Competitive interest rates
• Enhanced online bill payment with automated payment functionality
• Overdraft protection
• Visa® Platinum debit card
• Optional cash back at point of sale
• Easy-to-use tools to monitor your income and expenses
• Ability to download to leading financial software programs
• Industry-leading fraud protection services
• No minimum for opening or maintaining an account
• World-class client service team, available 24/7

We take a tax-sensitive approach to financial planning and work with you and your other professional advisors – accountants and tax attorneys – to help minimize the impact of taxes. By developing and implementing strategies designed to lessen or shift current and future tax liabilities, we can help improve your prospects for meeting your financial objectives. In addition to impacting your life today, prudent tax planning can play a large role in the amount of wealth you will be able to someday transfer to your heirs.

While we are familiar with the tax provisions of the issues presented herein, as financial advisors, we are not qualified to render advice on tax or legal matters. You should discuss tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.

Through Raymond James Trust, N.A., we offer a full array of trust structures, including charitable-giving tools that may also feature tax advantages. Whether your goal is to minimize estate taxes, help ensure you have the funds you need down the road, provide for a loved one or spell out exactly how you want your wishes to be carried out, we can help.

We review your cash management and lending needs and propose strategies for filling them. Through Raymond James, we offer ways to access your cash and earn interest on funds awaiting investment. Our cash management services include:

• Securities Based Lending
• Tax mitigation
• Cash “sweep” to brokerage account
• Rewards program
• Online account access
• Check writing
• Overdraft protection
• Automatic payment/fund transfer
• Visa^® debit card

If you’ve changed jobs or are retiring, rolling over your retirement assets to an IRA can be an sound strategy. It is a non-taxable event when done properly – and gives you access to a wide range of investments and the convenience of having consolidated your savings in a single location.

In addition, flexible beneficiary designations may allow for the continued tax-deferred investing of inherited IRA assets. We can handle all details for you, including contacting your former plan administrator, opening your new rollover IRA and completing the paperwork.

In addition to rolling over your 401(k) to an IRA, there are other options. Here is a brief look at all your choices. For additional information and what is suitable for your particular situation, please consult us.

▪ Leave money in your former employer’s plan, if permitted
Pro: May like the investments offered in the plan and may not have a fee for leaving it in the plan. Not a taxable event.

▪ Roll over the assets to your new employer’s plan, if one is available and it is permitted.
Pro: Keeping it all together and larger sum of money working for you, not a taxable event
Con: Not all employer plans accept rollovers.

▪ Roll over to an IRA
Pro: Likely more investment options, not a taxable event, consolidating accounts and locations
Con: usually fee involved, potential termination fees

▪ Cash out the account
Con: A taxable event, loss of investing potential. Costly for young individuals under 59½; there is a penalty of 10% in addition to income taxes.

You should carefully consider all of your available options and the applicable fees and features of each before moving your retirement assets.

A well-constructed 401(k) plan or profit sharing plan is an ideal way for organizations to attract and retain quality staff, as well as help owners, executives and directors plan and save for their own futures. We can help you establish, manage and run the plan that is right for you and your company or nonprofit.

We are involved with all aspects of the plan, including investment policy statement development, investment recommendations, provider reviews, yearly annual reviews and a high level of education for employees on site.

We can develop an Investment Policy Statement to outline how an investment program is expected to operate, providing clear risk and return objectives, performance evaluation standards, and any portfolio constraints that must be considered. We believe proper development and review of such a policy is the key to the success of any investment strategy.

A business succession plan helps you address and resolve many important considerations. Should you transfer ownership to family members or employees or perhaps an outside party? Shouldn’t you have an orderly plan in place in the event of an incapacitating health event or death? How can I pull money out of the business in a tax-efficient manner? We help you answer these important questions and smooth the transition by building a solid business succession plan.

We offer a number of short-term and long-term cash management strategies that may be beneficial to entities having large reserves of cash. Specific to nonprofits, we offer strategies for managing donations of cash annuities, life insurance policies, stock, and other related financial instruments.