Financial Planning Pro Shop

Most financial planners at some or the other come across a client situation where they wish they could consult an expert in a field outside their expertise.

Now you can!!!

• Assembled for you is such a group of experts.
• Use as little or as much of the expertise.
• Pay for only what you use.
• We will stand by our expert advice in all circumstances.

Assured.

Brief descriptions of some expertise areas are given below. Contact us with your needs.

Credit & Debt Management

There are literally thousands of calculators on the web. Ever wondered how you could authenticate them? Ever considered the costs to a client for any calculation errors that you may inadvertently pass of to your clients due to the usage of such calculators? Worry no more!!! Read an authoritative report on debt consolidation – follow all the steps in the calculations – and serve your clients right.

A Simplified and Accurate Approach to Debt Consolidation Analysis
by Dr. Somnath Basu
Published in the Journal of Financial Planning, May, 2003

Tax Planning

Tax considerations are key factors in implementing any successful investment plan. An effective tax strategy and investment strategy must complement each other in order to be effective. All aspects of life insurance, retirement funding and estate planning must be taken into consideration when formulating an investment and tax strategy since the goal of most individuals is to avoid or defer taxes for as long as possible.

At a very basic level, the current situation of the investor must be taken into consideration as improper investment techniques could fail to maximize returns by paying excessive taxes relative to other investment choices. For instance, advising an investor to sell a piece of investment property rather than performing a like-kind exchange, could be detrimental to the investor’s tax situation in a year when the investor did not need the proceeds from the sale. The financial planner should also consider balancing portfolios with a proper mix of taxable and non-taxable investments so that risk is minimized but return is maximized.

An appropriate investment strategy should attempt balance the sale of short-term and long-term assets in the tax year that will yield the most optimal benefit to the client from both a profit and tax perspective.

Education Planning

Educational planning is similar to retirement planning in that, the planner must first consider when the clients began saving for their children’s education and how much has been accumulated versus what is required to fund the education. The planner should also note that future funding needs will vary by the type of institution (private vs. public), its status, location, etc. The number of children and the remaining time they have before beginning college is another important consideration. Depending on the time frame and the amount that must be saved, the planner must calculate the required savings amounts in the limited window of time available to the client.

The planner must also consider appropriate investment vehicles that balance the risks and returns with the client’s needs. When an individual is closer to beginning college, lower risk investments are generally preferred by the planner in order to minimize any losses due to market risk. The converse is true when the child has many years left before beginning college.

Estate Planning

Depending on the objectives of estate planning, investment planning may be an important consideration. (Annie: something here about how client’s often use living trusts to store wealth and generate income to meet everyday needs and its investment implications) At death, a decedent may want to insure that any assets left behind are conserved and invested or preserved on behalf of any beneficiaries. In order to meet the objectives set by the decedent prior to death, a proper investment plan must have been developed during the decedent’s life.

Individuals who have estates in excess of $1M must consider how to minimize taxes and maximize the funds left to beneficiaries. The planner must also help the client to determine whether debts will be paid off by life insurance, sale of existing assets or through other investment vehicles. Tax implications if any, must be weighted against these investment strategies. An investment planner should also assist the client in determining how assets are owned and registered so that efficient transfer can occur.

Financial Statement Advising

The main objective of Financial Statement Advising is to provide individuals and small businesses with a comprehensive understanding and working knowledge of the financial management process. The advising especially delve into four critical areas: 1) Understanding financial statements, 2) The assessment of financial health including performance analysis, 3) Tools and techniques of planning and control: Budgeting, and 4) Investment decisions and the budgeting process. The material will fully integrate individual or firm specific information. The advice is interactive in structure. The delivery of the material is synchronized with specific participant activities. Participants receive a workbook. The workbook contains exercises and mini-cases that reflect the subject matter and allow each person to assess their comprehension of the material. After completion of a session, the participants should have a considerably enhanced understanding of the critical role of financial management for financial health. Further, participants will be able, to an extent, to analyze and measure as well as appreciate the financial impact of many of their decisions and activities.