Our process provides clients with a financial plan that is extensively researched and personally tailored to their needs. This plan becomes the focal point of each client relationship. Read on to learn more about the steps of our process and what it's like to work with us.
1. Asset Inventory
New relationships begin with a complete asset inventory, creating a starting point for the client's financial plan.
Bring in that stack of account statements in your desk drawer, those company memos about the old retirement plan, or the pile of paperwork that came with your deferred compensation. We'll go through everything, figure out the puzzle, and compile the details of it all together, letting you see on one page a concise summary of what you've got and what it's all worth.
Assets we evaluate include, but are not limited to:
- Brokerage Accounts
- Stock Options
- Pension Plans
- Insurance Coverage
- Real Estate
- Illiquid, Non-Traded Investments
- 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and IRAs
- Social Security
- Trusts
- Small Business Ownership
- Deferred Compensation
2. Financial Planning
We build financial plans personalized for each client.
Whether you're aiming to save for a child's college education, prepare for retirement, or protect your legacy, we create a plan that will help guide you there. This plan becomes the focal point of every client relationship.
A pretty graph is not a financial plan.
At Beacon, we use a proprietary model to combine dozens of variables including current assets, projected future income, anticipated expenses, and potential investment earnings. Combining these variables puts real numbers around important life decisions, and provides a road map designed to help achieve your goals.
3. Estate Planning
Estate tax laws are constantly evolving, and reviewing a client's estate plan is an integral part of any financial plan.
Beacon can help "quarterback" the estate planning process, working closely with trust and estates attorneys and serving as your advocate. We're there to help translate legalese into plain English, confirm that your plan encompasses the entirety of your estate, and ensure your documents accurately reflect your wishes.
The detailed view we take of our clients' assets provides an ideal perspective from which to approach the estate planning process. We strive to leave no stone unturned as we work toward the goal of helping you develop an expedient and tax efficient plan. Our approach may help uncover previously overlooked opportunities for tax savings potentially worth thousands of dollars.
4. Asset Management
We invest our clients' assets based on the individualized financial plan we've built for them, with the aim of providing sufficient long-term return to meet their goals without taking unnecessary risk.
Our portfolios are designed to be broadly diversified, provide daily liquidity, and aim to deliver gradual, incremental returns over market cycles. Beacon's proprietary framework provides exposure to a broad range of asset classes as well as investment themes through a combination of no load mutual funds and ETFs.
We monitor performance of all client portfolios to ensure they remain on track relative to their financial plan, rebalancing investments as they drift from their target allocation and harvesting tax losses when appropriate.
For clients who have reached retirement, we can schedule monthly transfers from their investment account directly to their checking account to provide income. While once upon a time this would have required large holdings of "income producing" investments like municipal bonds or high dividend stocks, our approach is designed to provide the same result while maintaining a well diversified portfolio.
If you think you'd benefit from working with Beacon or just want to learn more, we'd welcome the opportunity to meet with you for a complimentary consultation. There's no cost and absolutely no obligation.