Wealth Builder
OUR GOAL
TO HELP YOU build your wealth wisely while still enjoying your life (and lattes) today
WHAT WE OFFER
Forthright Finances offers young professionals financial planning advice, investment management, tax mitigation strategies so that they can live their best life, knowing that we are taking care of all the details.
OUR SERVICES CAN HELP YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS (AND MORE)
• How much do I need to save to be financially independent (ie, retired)?
• Do I have the right investments?
• How do I prioritize all the financial things I have going on?
• What should I select for my 401K investments?
• What do I need to do to create a proper Estate Plan?
• Am I taking full advantage of my employee benefits?
• Is there anything I can do to lower my taxes, now or in the future?
• Will my family be okay if something terrible happens to me?
• Is my emergency fund adequate?
• Is my spending aligned with my goals?
Getting started
The starting point in our work will be creating your overall financial plan, or what we call our Wealth Builder Blueprint. This Blueprint will be the guide for all other decisions that we make. However, as your life changes, as tax laws change, as the financial markets change, it is inevitable that your financial plan will change as well. Our services are designed so that we are your trusted advisor to work with you through any and all changes in your financial life.
Here is how we would get started:
Get Organized
Gather all your financial information into one folder – your taxes, insurance, investments – everything. Let’s figure out what you’ve got and where you need to go.
GET clarity on goals
We will meet together to discuss your life and financial goals so that we know exactly what we are working to achieve.
GET a plan
At this stage, we will present to you a one page plan outlining everything you should do to build your wealth the right way. With your plan in place, we will then start taking action so that you can have the retirement that you desire.
WHAT WE OFFER
Now that we have your Wealth Builder Blueprint in place, in our first year of working together, we will go through our Wealth Builder Navigation Process, which allows us to go into more depth on the most essential topics related to your financial life:
INVESTMENTS : We will go over your current investments as well as your 401K. Then, if appropriate, we will recommend new investments that match your goals and potentially lower the expenses that you have to pay to fund companies.
RISK MANAGEMENT: We will review any life or disability policies that you have. If you do not have either, we will discuss if you do need them, and if so, we will with with an insurance specialist to help us examine your options.
ESTATE PLANNING: We will review your current Estate Plan to ensure everything is in place so that if something happens, your wishes are met. For those without an Estate Plan, we partner with a national Estate Planning firm to create important documents for you.
TAX ANALYSIS + PLANNING: We will review how you can pay less taxes over the entirety of your life, not just in the current year. This is sorely needed for many people, who do not have enough “tax diversification” and are at risk of paying higher taxes in the future.
ONGOING financial PLANNING + wealth building
After we have completed the work described above, we regularly update and monitor your retirement plan. We do this with a carefully structured process, which includes:
After our first year of working together, we will transition to annual meetings to discuss any plan updates and recommendations.
We typically have these meetings from October to early December, so we can discuss any type of open enrollment you may have, as well as tax planning strategies that need to be implemented before the end of the calendar year.
In order to be of most value to our clients, every quarter we proactively monitor and update different aspects of their financial life. Here is a sample schedule of what that includes:
• January: Create a 1099 Tax Letter To Assist In Tax Filing Process
• April: Analyze Tax Return To Review + Assess Tax Saving Opportunities
• July (Every Two Years): Review Estate Plan To Ensure Assets Are Directed Where Intended.
• July (Every Two Years): Review Risk Management And Discuss Any Potential Adjustments
• October: Create 1 Page Employee Benefits Summary To Determine Any Potential Benefits To Claim
While we offer the meetings and plan updates listed above, we are more than happy to help if you need anything along the way. We want to be a trusted advisor that you turn to when you have questions we can assist with.
Every year, we review our clients tax return to identify areas we could save money in the current year.
In addition (and more importantly), we also plan for how to pay less in taxes over our clients lifetime. While we want to pay all the taxes we owe, we don’t want to leave a tip.
We will ensure that you are using the best investment vehicles that will help you achieve your financial goals as well as incur lower taxes and lower expenses. We will also ensure that you do not make any emotional decisions that could derail your wealth building goals.
Let’s face it: You have a lot going on. Part of our job is to make sure that the things that need to get done, actually get done.
Your Investment For financial peace of mind
The fee for the Wealth Builder Services can either be paid by a flat dollar amount, or a quarterly fee, based on the assets that we manage. That fee starts at 1.25% for accounts up to $250,000, and drops to 1% for accounts above that amount.
Please note: Unlike 99% of financial advisory firms, we do not have account minimums, nor do we charge so much that you need to have a 6 figure income to afford our fee. This service is designed so that anyone trying to get started, regardless of their assets, income, or investments, can get honest, straight forward, and comprehensive financial advice.