By Ryan Turbyfill, MBA Financial Advisor
Holistic financial planning considers your personal, financial, and lifestyle goals to develop a comprehensive plan for all your financial needs.
While we take our responsibility and the trust you have placed in us to manage your hard earn money, especially in times like these, we feel our real value may even lay outside of just the investment management. Don’t get me wrong, I think we do a great job, thanks to all in our Investment Committee and dedication to our data driven analysis and decisions, but there is so much more.
Finding Clarity
For a few years now, we have used a financial planning tool, called the Financial Fingerprint. This offers us a holistic, 360-degree view of your assets, savings, social security and pensions, and what it would take to meet your goals. We incorporate the risk in your accounts, rate of return required on your assets and even inflation. Maybe you’re preparing for retirement, looking to buy a vacation home, saving for kids in college, or have other ambitions. This tool gives us a nuanced understanding of your financial position, empowering you to make well-informed choices to achieve your goals. If you’re a Casptone client and we haven’t created your Financial Fingerprint, please reach out; I believe you’ll find it to be an invaluable tool.
Common Questions
Social Security timing and strategy is something we really dive into while reviewing the Finanical Fingerprint. Social Security can have a significant impact on your retirement as it’s a set income that you’ll receive the rest of your life. With the Financial Fingerprint process we’re able to answer common questions like, At what age should I take retirement?; “If I postpone retirement, how do I fund my lifestyle until I get there?; “My spouse has a social security benefit that is higher (or lower) than mine, does it make sense to start them at different times? Then it gets even more complex if there is a claim on an ex-spouse or if it’s combined with a government pension such as Colorado’s PERA. We understand these are tough questions, and we’re here to help you work through the complexities so you can feel confident with your decisions.
We talk with a lot of clients about purchasing or refinancing their homes, and what makes sense as interest rates fluctuate. A lot has changed on this front since fall of 2021, and we have continued to stay on top of the changing market so we can make well-informed recommendations.
Another area we help with is tax strategy. While we are not CPA’s and can’t give tax advice, we sure can help with tax-smart strategies. A few of these include tax loss harvesting which is something we do every year to help eliminate or minimize capital gains.
Charitable giving is another common topic, especially now that the IRS Standard Deduction is so high. If you’re over 73 years old, does a Qualified Charitable Contribution from your IRA make sense? Does giving appreciated stock or opening a Donor Advised Fund work for you? What about a Roth conversion in a year of low income or before starting Social Security?
If you’re self-employed, there are a vast number of options for retirement plans, working on cash flow fluctuations in your business and so forth. Do you have kids or grandkids that you’re concerned about being able to afford education and does a 529 or other vehicle make sense? The laws continue to change with many of these strategies including the Secure Act 2.0 that just passed at the end of 2022.
At Capstone, we help plan every aspect of your financial life through a personalized and caring approach. We’re committed to offering clarity on your financial standing as the cornerstone for making savvy decisions for your future. Call us today to get started.