ADVISING OPHTHALMOLOGISTS a long-standing partnership

A deep affinity and respect for ophthalmologists runs in the family. Husband and wife John J. and Traudy Grande, along with their son, John S., are all CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioners and serve as exclusive content contributors and co-editors of Ophthalmology Times’ Money Matters column*. They have lectured at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for the past 20 years, and serve as financial advisors to ophthalmologists throughout the U.S. on a diverse range of investment and financial matters.

The family shares a passion for saving sight. Both John J. and Traudy have dedicated years to opening eye banks around the world, helping to reverse blindness. The Financial Planning Association bestowed a humanitarian award** on the philanthropists for their dedicated work in the field.

*Raymond James is not affiliated with Ophthalmology Times.

**This ranking is not based in any way on the individual’s abilities in regard to providing investment advice or management. This ranking is not indicative of an advisor’s future performance, is not an endorsement and may not be representative of an individual client’s experience. Raymond James is not affiliated with the Financial Planning Association.

We serve ophthalmologists in every far-reaching corner of the country, and we build close, personal relationships with all of them. We travel frequently to meet with our clients and find ourselves often welcomed into their private homes.

We’re happy to take the burden of micromanaging their financial matters off our clients’ plates, giving them the freedom to explore what they really want to pursue – traveling the world, spending time with their families and engaging in the hobbies and interests that bring joy to their lives.

Ophthalmologists are a quick study, we’ve found, showcasing high financial literacy and a desire to look beyond the standard stock-and-bond portfolio to alternative investments and different types of structured products that can provide hedging strategies.

As financially savvy as many ophthalmologists are, those who manage their own investments can still be prone to detrimental behavioral biases that plague many investors, such as overconfidence and aversion to volatility. We serve as a voice of reason, helping give them objectivity in times of stress.

We help our clients further diversify their portfolios and potentially enhance returns by employing other asset classes, such as commodities and real estate, or investing in core asset classes in nontraditional or “alternative” ways, including hedge funds, managed futures, private equity, real estate, commodities and tangible assets.

Alternative investments involve substantial risks that may be greater than those associated with traditional investments and may be offered only to clients who meet specific suitability requirements, including minimum net worth tests. These risks include but are not limited to: limited or no liquidity, tax considerations, incentive fee structures, speculative investment strategies, and different regulatory and reporting requirements. There is no assurance that any investment will meet its investment objectives or that substantial losses will be avoided.

Investing in commodities is generally considered speculative because of the significant potential for investment loss. Their markets are likely to be volatile and there may be sharp price fluctuations even during periods when prices overall are rising.

Real estate investments can be subject to different and greater risks than more diversified investments. Declines in the value of real estate, economic conditions, property taxes, tax laws and interest rates all present potential risks to real estate investments.

Managed futures involve specific risks that may be greater than those associated with traditional investments and may be offered only to clients who meet specific suitability requirements, including minimum net worth tests. You should consider the special risks with alternative investments, including limited liquidity, tax considerations, incentive fee structures, potentially speculative investment strategies, and different regulatory and reporting requirements. You should only invest in hedge funds, managed futures or other similar strategies if you do not require a liquid investment and can bear the risk of substantial losses. There can be no assurance that any investment will meet its performance objectives or that substantial losses will be avoided.

Just as holistic medicine considers the whole person, our holistic financial planning examines your full financial picture. We want our clients to see clearly, maybe for the first time, how all of their assets work together in one cohesive view.

We essentially serve as their financial quarterback, coordinating everything together – their retirement accounts, brokerage accounts and all of the different financial instruments they have. We offer recommendations for developing a well-correlated portfolio that doesn’t riskily expose them to owning too much of a single asset, stock or market sector.

In addition to carefully managing investments, we also coordinate other important needs, such as retirement planning, risk management, tax planning, estate planning, insurance planning and cash flow management. It’s all integrated to give our clients the confidence of knowing that we strive to care for everything in a thoughtful and thorough manner.

Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected, including diversification and asset allocation.

Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.

To supplement our own deep planning experience, we also have access to a full team of experienced professionals in the home office of Raymond James, one of the largest independent financial services firms in the country. We put the full scope of the firm to work for us – and for you.

The high-level strategies we provide are not only guided by our own industry experience, but also encompass the specialized knowledge of Raymond James professionals in financial disciplines such as wealth preservation, tax-efficient wealth transfer, trust services and charitable giving strategies.