Derek Jeter needs a coach, you need a Financial Advisor

 

 www.MintcoFinancial.com

Even the canniest self-directed investors should consult a financial advisor.

Sure, sure. You steered your own financial course for years, with decent results. You don’t need to pay some character to help you do it, right? Wrong.

Every player needs a coach, whether you’re Derek Jeter or Harry, the slow-pitch softball catcher. Every writer needs an editor, whether you’re William Shakespeare or Joe, the ad-copy scribe. And every person needs a knowledgeable third party to look over her shoulder and opine about her financial arrangements.

When some think of an advisor, they believe they must turn over all their finances, paying around 1% of assets yearly. Or they think of brokers, who charge by the transaction.

But do-it-your-selfers can consult an advisor once a year for a few hundred bucks (standard rate: $500 an hour). Or pay the advisor a few thousand for a complete financial plan (depending upon its complexity, the charge usually ranges from $2,000 to $5,000). Much of that is tax-deductible.

A skillful advisor asks you the questions you may or may not be asking yourself: What is your goal? To retire in 10 years? To buy a second home? To set up a trust for your kids? To pass along assets you have inherited? Even the most studious amateur may not have the answers to these questions.

Take insurance. A good advisor can help you find weaknesses in your coverage. It may be that the company providing your policy has gone bust, or is about to. If you own expensive jewelry, is it covered in the event or fire or theft?

Some don’t realize that they are not covered by disability insurance. Should they be unable to work, their family’s finances could fall apart. Do you know how much disability coverage you should have? A good advisor can tell you.

Asset allocation is a tricky business. The old rule of thumb is that your fixed-income portion should equal your age. So if you are 40, you have 40% in bonds and 60% in stocks. But that is a very simplistic gauge.

 Other factors come into play, such as your health, your kids’ education needs, your risk tolerance and your job stability. An advisor will look at all your records and piece together what your needs are now – and what they likely will be in the future.

An advisor can do something for you called a Monte Carlo simulation. This tests the odds of your assets growing to the point that you can have a comfortable retirement – determining when it’s safe for you to quit working. It can even give you the odds of having something left over to pass on to your loved ones once you die.

More broadly, an advisor can lay out an entire plan that encompasses every bit of your financial needs, from investments to real estate to insurance to inheritances. A financial plan has many moving parts, and one segment of it can affect the others.

Mintco Financial Team custom-tailor plans for people with different goals. Because each person is different and has different goals and dreams.

Visit our website at www.MintcoFinancial.com

Or call us at 813-964-7100. 

We are a boutique Financial Company that takes each client as a unique one.

Variable Annuities

Maximize your potential return with stock market participation while putting Uncle Sam on hold!

Variable annuities provide the opportunity for market appreciation—through a variety of investment options—with tax-deferred accumulation and future income.

Variable annuities are designed for people willing to take more risk with their money in exchange for greater growth potential. While there is more risk associated with a variable annuity, many variable annuities offer guarantees of principal and downside protection at an additional cost (depending on contract rider availability). However, these guarantees do not apply to the investment performance or safety of amounts held in the variable investment options.

A Variable Annuity is commonly selected in an effort to increase potential return.

• Provides a monthly payout based on a variable interest rate, dependent on market performance of the underlying portfolio you choose.
• Offers multiple options for payout, including an income stream for life.
• Provides a return of your original investment (principal) through withdrawals or a death benefit.
• Can specify payouts for a fixed period of time or for life (annuitization).
• Tax deferred.
• Best for investors with medium to high risk tolerance who seek maximum growth potential.

What Does Variable Annuity Mean?

An insurance contract in which, at the end of the accumulation stage, the insurance company guarantees a minimum payment. The remaining income payments can vary depending on the performance of the managed portfolio.

Variable Annuities offer:

• Tax-deferred Growth Potential: Taxes are deferred on earnings until money is withdrawn.
• The Opportunity for Market Appreciation: A variety of investment options are available.
• Access to Account Value: Most variable annuities allow withdrawal of a portion of your account value without penalty. Higher withdrawals, typically 10% of principal, may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge within the first several years of any contribution, and if taken prior to age 59½, will be subject to a 10 percent IRS penalty.
• Benefits to Beneficiaries: Death benefits paid directly to a named beneficiary, potentially avoiding probate.
• Benefits to Spouses: Spousal beneficiaries may continue the contract and its tax deferral, if this option is chosen.

Variable annuities have become a part of the retirement and investment plans of many Americans.

 Before buying any variable annuity, however, you should find out about the particular annuity you are considering and talk to your financial advisor.

If you have questions please email me at anecamara@mintcofinancial.com

Or give us a call at 813-964-7100 or 716-565-1300

www.MintcoFinancial.com

Wealth Management in Florida: Why you need a wealth manager

Wealth managers do a lot more than pick stocks. They can help you plan your total financial life. And you don't need to be rich to use one.

For starters, wealth managers are actively involved in their client's retirement planning. This can mean, among other things, updating and changing your client's investment profile based on where they are in their life cycle, with older customers being moved into more stable investments.  

While asset allocation is a fairly basic concept in any sort of financial planning, wealth managers also coordinate clients with accountants and attorneys. In addition, they help with trust planning, insurance requirements and managing clients' risks.  

In comparison, most employees who work at large financial institutions, aka wire-houses, are typically not going to get involved with their client's financial planning to this extent.

Such help is especially important now because in these days of disappearing pension plans we are all required to become our own defined benefit plans. We have to also figure out what our own liabilities are. One problem is that few people look at their retirement nest egg in the proper light. Some see it as an ATM to draw from before retirement, others see it as something to chip away from once their work is done, but the real necessity is to get people to understand that they need this money to produce income during retirement.

There's a complete disconnect with what the public understands between wealth management and investment management. And individuals can definitely go out and buy some no-load mutual funds and probably do as well as most professionals. Wealth management is not only about picking investments and making sure the allocation is consistent with time horizons. Monitoring to make sure the management stays intact. If it changes, to make changes in who you choose based on your life cycle.Also, determining what the allocation should be. And also, coordinating that with accountants and attorneys, and making sure that the investments are made in the right structures. If you have trust accounts, retirement accounts who the beneficiaries are and everything related to it.

Mintco Financial is a "boutique" wealth management company serving  retirees, business owners and families structuring their finances to grow and protect their wealth. 

Mintco Financial considers each client situation as unique.

Contact us for a first analysis or a second opinion:

http://www.mintcofinancial.com/contactus.asp